Enjoyment

How to spell enjoyment

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce enjoyment

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does enjoyment mean?

1. nounThe state or feeling of taking pleasure or satisfaction in something.

Enjoyment in a sentence

• The long holiday gave her real enjoyment after months of work.

• His enjoyment of the concert was spoiled by the noisy crowd.

Where does enjoyment come from?

Language of origin: French

This word is built on the older verb 'enjoy', which English took from Old French 'enjoir' (and the related 'enjoier'), meaning 'to give joy' or 'to take delight in'. At its heart sits the Latin 'gaudere', meaning 'to rejoice' or 'to be glad', which also gave us 'joy' itself and the festive word 'gaudy'. The 'en-' prefix carries the sense of 'making' or 'putting into', so to enjoy something was literally to put oneself into a state of joy. English added the French-derived suffix '-ment', which turns a verb into a noun naming the result or state of the action, and 'enjoyment' was in use by the late 1400s to name the pleasure or satisfaction taken in something. The spelling is fairly faithful to its parts, though the silent way the 'y' meets the '-ment' ending is the small detail writers should keep in mind.

How the word is built

• en- (in, make)
• joy (gladness, delight)
• -ment (noun suffix denoting result or state)