Added 10 October 2026
jovial
/ˈd͡ʒəʊ.vɪ.əl/ adjective
First recorded: 1590 Wiktionary
adjective Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about jovial at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- Cheerful and good-humoured; jolly, merry.
- Pertaining to the astrological influence of the planet Jupiter; having the characteristics of a person under such influence (see sense 1).
Origin
First attested in 1590; borrowed from Middle French jovial (“under the influence of Jupiter; of Jove; jovial, jolly”), from Italian gioviale (“(now obsolete) born under the influence of the planet Jupiter”) (attested in Dante, Paradiso, canto XVIII, early 14th century), from Late Latin Ioviālis (“relating to the Roman god Jupiter”), from Iuppiter, Iovis (“the Roman god Jove or Jupiter, counterpart of the Greek god Zeus”) (from Proto-Indo-European *dyew- (“to be bright; heaven, sky”)) + -ālis (suffix forming adjectives of relationship); analysable as Jove + -ial.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)