entry
felicitous
/fəˈlɪsɪtəs/well-chosen, apt, or unusually happy
From Latin, through Old French and Middle English felicity (Happiness).
Word Ancestry
Picture ancient Rome as an agricultural society where a good harvest was practically a divine endorsement. Latin fēlīx could mean both “happy” and “fruitful,” because prosperity was not an abstract mood when the grain bins were full and the vines were heavy with grapes. That word produced fēlīcitās, later French felicité and English felicity; by about 1600, felicity had also acquired the sense of skillful, perfectly appropriate expression. English then added -ous, creating felicitous: something so apt that it seems almost blessedly well-produced—especially a phrase that lands exactly where it should. The memorable link is this: felicitous language is “fruitful” language, yielding the precise effect you hoped to harvest.
The Story
Picture ancient Rome as an agricultural society where a good harvest was practically a divine endorsement. Latin fēlīx could mean both “happy” and “fruitful,” because prosperity was not an abstract mood when the grain bins were full and the vines were heavy with grapes. That word produced fēlīcitās, later French felicité and English felicity; by about 1600, felicity had also acquired the sense of skillful, perfectly appropriate expression. English then added -ous, creating felicitous: something so apt that it seems almost blessedly well-produced—especially a phrase that lands exactly where it should. The memorable link is this: felicitous language is “fruitful” language, yielding the precise effect you hoped to harvest.
Modern Usage
A vulgar slang sense describing pleasure associated with receiving fellatio.
Notable References
- Urban Dictionary entry
Kin & Kindred
From 'felicity'·Happiness, fertility, fruitfulness, or good fortune
Derived Terms
English words from this root