Meanings
nounDear Joy (plural Dear Joys)
plural Dear Joys
- derogatoryobsoleteAn Irishman.
A Dear Joy in the late King James his Army, being newly Liſted, and Armed with a Match-lock, having never before ſeen any of that Faſhion, was much put to a ſtand, at the rare Phyſiognomy of this ſurprizing Whim-wham:
1690, anonymous author, Teagueland Jeſts, or Bogg-Witticisms, part 2, page 135
Origin
From the supposed propensity of 17th-century Irishmen to exclaim ‘dear joy’.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
Dear Joy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Dear%20Joy
MLA
“Dear Joy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Dear%20Joy. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Dear Joy,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Dear%20Joy.
Source: Dear Joy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.