Etymology

glad

G2L1A1D2

Today it means: Pleased; happy; gratified. Full definition →

Middle English glad ← Old English glæd ← Proto-Germanic *gladaz
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glad · adjective, verb1

  1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*gʰladʰ-
  2. Proto-Germanic · derived from*gladaz“shiny; gleaming; radiant; happy; glossy; smooth; flat”
  3. Old English · derived fromglæd“shining; bright; cheerful; glad”
  4. Middle English · derived fromglad
  5. English todayglad

From Middle English glad, gled, from Old English glæd (“shining; bright; cheerful; glad”), from Proto-Germanic *gladaz (“shiny; gleaming; radiant; happy; glossy; smooth; flat”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰladʰ-, from *ǵʰelh₂- (“to shine”). Cognate with Scots gled, glaid (“shining; bright; glad”), Saterland Frisian glääd (“smooth; sleek”), West Frisian glêd (“smooth”), Dutch glad (“smooth; sleek; slippery”), German glatt (“smooth; sleek; slippery”), Danish, Norwegian and Swedish glad (“glad; happy; cheerful”), Icelandic glaður (“glad; joyful; cheery”), Latin glaber (“smooth; hairless; bald”), Russian гла́дкий (gládkij, “smooth”). Doublet of glatt.

glad · noun2

Abbreviation of gladiolus.

Words from the same roots

Old Englishglæd all →

Gladstone

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.