exhilarate
/ɪɡˈzɪləreɪt/verb
To make someone feel cheerful, lively, or joyous
From Latin ex- (Out of) + Latin, ultimately from Ancient Greek hilarare (To cheer or gladden).
Lineage
ex-
hilarare
The story
Picture the word arriving in English in the 1530s, carrying a Latin recipe for lifting someone’s spirits: ex-, with its sense of “out” or “thoroughly,” joins hilarō, “to cheer.” The cheerfulness inside hilarō came through Greek ἱλαρός, “merry,” and reaches back, according to Wiktionary, to a reconstructed root meaning “comfort, mercy.” That makes the word’s history feel less like a passing giggle and more like being brought out of gloom into kindness. Its close cousin hilarity keeps the same bright Greek inheritance, while ex- also turns up in words such as exuberant and exclaim. Exhilarate is, quite literally, a word for cheering someone up from the inside out.
Modern usage
A vulgar, sexual use meaning to arouse or excite.
- Heard in
- vulgar slang
Words from the same roots
ex- · Latin, ‘Out of; away from; by extension, thoroughly or intensely.’
Derivedexclaim, exuberant, excruciate, exhort
hilarare · Latin, ultimately from Ancient Greek, ‘To cheer or gladden; related to Greek words for cheerful and gracious.’
Derivedhilarity, hilarious, hilariousness
Sources
- Etymonlineexhilarate, ex, ex-, latin, inebriate, pink
- Urban Dictionaryexhilarate
- Wiktionaryexhilarate, ex, ex-