Jovial
adj, noun ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 An inhabitant of the planet Jupiter; a Jovian.
- 1 Cheerful and good-humoured; jolly, merry. comparable
"A melancholy boddy is not the kindeſt nurſe for a chearely minde, (the joviall complexion is ſoverainly beholding to nature,) […]"
- 2 Pertaining to the planet Jupiter; Jovian. not-comparable, obsolete
- 3 Pertaining to the astrological influence of the planet Jupiter; having the characteristics of a person under such influence (see sense 1). not-comparable, obsolete
"This Planet [Jupiter] being a Fortune, and Friend unto nature, inclineth the native, upon this direction, not only unto healthfulneſs, but alſo to be jovial and merry, affable and pleaſant, and to delight in the company of religious men: […] [T]his direction importeth good from jovial perſons, and is an excellent time to have dealings with, or to receive any courteſie from, or benefit by them, […]"
- 4 Pertaining to the Roman god Jove or Jupiter (the counterpart of the Greek god Zeus), the god of the sky and thunder and the king of the gods; Jovian. Roman, not-comparable, obsolete
"I know the ſhape of's Legge: this is his Hand: / His Foote Mercuriall: his martiall Thigh / The brawnes of Hercules: but his Iouiall face— / Murther in heaven?"
- 1 full of or showing high-spirited merriment wordnet
Example
More examples"He was a dashing, jovial old soldier in his usual mood, but there were occasions on which he seemed to show himself capable of considerable violence and vindictiveness."
Etymology
First attested in 1590; borrowed from Middle French jovial (“under the influence of Jupiter; of Jove; jovial, jolly”), from Italian gioviale (“(now obsolete) born under the influence of the planet Jupiter”) (attested in Dante, Paradiso, canto XVIII, early 14th century), from Late Latin Ioviālis (“relating to the Roman god Jupiter”), from Iuppiter, Iovis (“the Roman god Jove or Jupiter, counterpart of the Greek god Zeus”) (from Proto-Indo-European *dyew- (“to be bright; heaven, sky”)) + -ālis (suffix forming adjectives of relationship); analysable as Jove + -ial. Sense 1 (“cheerful and good-humoured”) refers to the fact that individuals born under the astrological influence of the planet Jupiter were believed to have that disposition.
See jovial.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.