Alacrity

noun

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Eagerness; liveliness; enthusiasm. countable, uncountable

    "Besides, a wealthy man, well at ease, may pray to God quietly and merrily with alacrity and great quietness of mind, whereas he who lieth groaning in his grief cannot endure to pray nor can he hardly think upon anything but his pain."

  2. 2
    liveliness and eagerness wordnet
  3. 3
    Promptness; speed. countable, uncountable

    "Governments show thus how successfully men can be imposed on, even impose on themselves, for their own advantage. […] Yet this government never of itself furthered any enterprise, but by the alacrity with which it got out of its way."

Etymology

Mid-15th century; from Middle English alacrite, from Latin alacritās, from alacer (“brisk”) + -itās (“-ity”).

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