Etymology

cheerful

cheer·ful
C3H4E1E1R1F4U1L1

Today it means: Noticeably happy and optimistic. Full definition →

Middle English chereful
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The story

  1. Middle English · inherited fromchereful
  2. English todaycheerful

From Middle English chereful, cherful, equivalent to cheer + -ful.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.