Rejoice

How to spell rejoice

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce rejoice

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does rejoice mean?

1. verbTo feel or show great joy and delight, often openly.

Rejoice in a sentence

• The whole village began to rejoice when the floodwater finally receded.

• Investors had every reason to rejoice after the company reported record profits.

Where does rejoice come from?

Language of origin: French

This word arrived in English in the early 1300s from Old French rejoir or resjoir, meaning 'to gladden' or 'to be joyful'. That verb was built from the prefix re-, used here as an intensifier rather than to signal repetition, plus joir 'to be glad', which descends from the Latin gaudere, meaning 'to be glad' or 'to delight in'. The same Latin gaudere lies behind the English words 'joy', 'enjoy' and 'gaudy', so rejoice sits in a wide family of cheerful relatives. The spelling preserves the French -oi- vowel that gives the 'oy' sound, which is the main thing to watch: the ending is -joice, not -joyce, even though they sound alike. From its earliest use it carried the strong sense of open, expressed gladness rather than quiet contentment.

How the word is built

• re- (intensive, thoroughly)
• joice (from Old French joir: to be glad, ultimately Latin gaudere: to rejoice)