Definition of felicitate
obsolete
:made happy
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felicitate was our Word of the Day on 03/05/2012. Hear the podcast!
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Origin and Etymology of felicitate
Late Latin felicitatus, past participle of felicitare to make happy, from Latin felicitas
Definition of felicitate
felicitated;
felicitating
transitive verb
1
archaic
:to make happy
2 a
:to consider happy or fortunate
b
:to offer congratulations to
Examples of felicitate in a Sentence
the other pianists rushed to felicitate the winner of the piano competition
Did You Know?
Felix, a Latin adjective meaning "happy" or "fruitful," is the root of our English words "felicity" and "felicitate." The former is the older of the two; it dates back to the 14th century and refers to the state of being happy or to something that makes people happy. When writing King Lear, William Shakespeare was probably pleased when he thought of the word felicitate as an adjective meaning "made happy," but not everyone took a shine to it and it fell into disuse. However, people were happy to pick up "felicitate" as a verb meaning "to make happy." That meaning is now considered archaic but it was the seed for other meanings of the word. "Felicitate" eventually grew to mean "to consider happy or fortunate" and "to congratulate."
First Known Use of felicitate
1628
felicitate Synonyms
Synonyms
compliment, congratulate, hugRelated Words
applaud, cheer, commend, hail, salute; extol (also extoll), glorify, laud, praiseNear Antonyms
bad-mouth, belittle, cry down, decry, deprecate, depreciate, diminish, discount, disparage, minimize, put down, write off; jeer, mock, ridicule, taunt, teaseLearn More about felicitate
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See words that rhyme with felicitate Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for felicitate Spanish Central: Translation of felicitate Nglish: Translation of felicitate for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of felicitate for Arabic speakers
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