exhilarate

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*selh₂-“comfort, mercy”
2. Ancient Greek · derived fromἱλαρός“cheerful, merry”
3. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*h₁eǵʰs“out”
4. Latin · derived fromexhilarō“to delight, to gladden, to make merry”
5. English todayexhilarate

From Latin exhilarō (“to delight, to gladden, to make merry”), from ex- (“out, away”) (from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵʰs (“out”)) + hilarō (“to cheer, to gladden”), from hilaris (“cheerful, light-hearted, lively”), from Ancient Greek ἱλαρός (hilarós, “cheerful, merry”), from ἵλαος (hílaos, “gracious, kind, propitious”), from Proto-Indo-European *selh₂- (“comfort, mercy”). By surface analysis, ex- + Latin hilar(ō) + -ate.

Words from the same roots