English
lighthearted
Lighthearted comes from Middle English lyght hertyd.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lyght hertyd
- Englishearliest quotation 2024lighthearted
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lyght hertyd
- Englishearliest quotation 2024lighthearted
Earliest quotation: 2024, Charles M. Blow, Kamala Harris Isn’t Americans’ ‘Momala.’ She’s Our Vice Pres: “On Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris appeared on “The…”
A compound of light ‘the radiation which allows for vision by…’ + herted ‘having a specified disposition, emotion, or…’
Proto-Indo-European *lewk- ‘light’
Proto-Indo-European *lewktom
Proto-Germanic *leuhtą ‘light’
Proto-West Germanic *leuht ‘light’
Old English lēoht ‘light, daylight’
Middle English light ‘the radiation which allows for vision by brightening objects and colours’
Middle English herte
Middle English herted ‘having a specified disposition, emotion, or attitude’
Every English word from Middle English lyght hertyd
Today it means
adj Joyful, glad, taking pleasure in being alive; not depressed or sad.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English lyght hertyd / lighthearted