Meanings
comparative more jocund · superlative most jocund
- Jovial; exuberant; lighthearted; merry and in high spirits; exhibiting happiness.
I was feeling blithe, almost jocund.
1876 June, Mark Twain, “The Facts Concerning the Recent Carnival of Crime in Connecticut”, in The Atlantic5 more examples
Nights candles are burnt out, and iocond Day / Stands tiptoes on the myſtie mountaine tops.
c. 1591–1595 (date written), [William Shakespeare], […] Romeo and Juliet. […] (First Quarto), London: […] Iohn Danter, published 1597, →OCLC, [Act III, scene v]Thou mak'ſt me merry: I am full of pleaſure, / Let vs be iocond. Will you troule the Catch / You taught me but whileare?
1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii], page 12, column 2There was once a widdow faire, young, free, rich, and withall very pleaſant and iocund, that fell in loue with a certaine round and well-ſet ſeruant of a Colledge: […]
1612, [Miguel de Cervantes], “Which Treates of the Strange Aduentures that Hapned to the Knight of the Mancha, in Sierra Morena: And of the Penance He Did there, in Imitation of Belti Nebros”, in Thomas Shelton, transl., The History of the Valorous and Wittie Knight-errant Don-Quixote of the Mancha. […], London: […] William Stansby, for Ed[ward] Blount and W. Barret, →OCLC, part 3, page 243First in his train is jocund Health, Content, who o'er her distaff sings, And from the plough that honest Wealth Which scorns the tear-bought robe of kings.—
1827, Lydia Sigourney, Poems, Toil, page 107Kunana, where we enjoyed a peace and Prosperity that were unequalled anywhere; where our cattle waxed fat along the green valleys and bred like so many wild animals; where our flocks with the jocund lambs around their dams would frolic, while the she-goats fed from two to three kids each, till we were forced to increase and extend our outposts to give them more and still more space to roam about; Kunana, where maidens sang and danced in the moonlight and made life merry with their mirth; Kunana, our former home, but now, one of the Matebele outposts.
1930, Solomon Tshekisho Plaatje, “Mhudi’s Alarming Experiences”, in Mhudi, page 19
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latiniūcundus“pleasant, agreeable”
- Old Frenchjocond
- Englishjocund
From Old French jocond, from Latin iūcundus (“pleasant, agreeable”). Doublet of jucund.
More words from Old French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian весел, радостен
- весел (vesel)jovial, exuberant, lighthearted; merry and in high spirits
- радостен (radosten)jovial, exuberant, lighthearted; merry and in high spirits
Catalan jocund
- jocundjovial, exuberant, lighthearted; merry and in high spirits
French enjoué, gai
- enjouéjovial, exuberant, lighthearted; merry and in high spirits
- gaijovial, exuberant, lighthearted; merry and in high spirits
- jovialjovial, exuberant, lighthearted; merry and in high spirits
German heiter
- heiterjovial, exuberant, lighthearted; merry and in high spirits
Italian giocondo
- giocondojovial, exuberant, lighthearted; merry and in high spirits
Polish radosny, wesoły
- radosnyjovial, exuberant, lighthearted; merry and in high spirits
- wesołyjovial, exuberant, lighthearted; merry and in high spirits
Portuguese jocundo
- jocundojovial, exuberant, lighthearted; merry and in high spirits
Russian весёлый
- весёлый (vesjólyj)jovial, exuberant, lighthearted; merry and in high spirits
Spanish jocundo
- jocundojovial, exuberant, lighthearted; merry and in high spirits
Cite this entry
jocund. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jocund
“jocund.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jocund. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “jocund,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jocund.
Source: jocund on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.