blithesome

adjective

blithe·​some ˈblīth-səm How to pronounce blithesome (audio)
ˈblīt͟h-
: gay, merry
blithesomely adverb

Did you know?

Blithe had been bounding about in the language for six centuries before English speakers attached a -some to its tail to make blithesome. Poet Robert Greene appears to have been among the first to employ the extension. In his 1594 poem "A Looking Glasse for London and England" he wrote "these [large leather bottles] of the richest wine, / Make me think how blithesome we will be." The suffix -some has over the centuries produced a great number of adjectives (many less popular than they once were) but it typically does so by binding itself to a noun or a verb, as we see in irksome, awesome, fearsome, and bothersome. But blithesome came from blithe—also an adjective—and is in fact a synonym of that word. A few other -some words, such as gladsome and lonesome, were formed likewise.

Examples of blithesome in a Sentence

a blithesome girl who never seems to be sad or angry a blithesome and silly joke among old friends

Word History

First Known Use

1594, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of blithesome was in 1594

Podcast

Dictionary Entries Near blithesome

Cite this Entry

“Blithesome.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blithesome. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

blithesome

adjective
blithe·​some ˈblīth-səm How to pronounce blithesome (audio)
ˈblīt͟h-
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!