happinesse

Noun

happiness (countable and uncountable, plural happinesses)

1. (uncountable) The emotion of being happy; joy; elation.
   • seek happiness

   Synonyms:

   felicity, high spirits

   Antonyms:

   haplessness, unhappiness, blueness, tristesse, mirthless, blues, crestfallenness, dejection, depression, despondency

2. (archaic, uncountable) Prosperity, thriving, wellbeing.
   • We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.1776, United States Declaration of Independence

   Antonyms:

   suffering

3. (archaic, uncountable) Good luck; good fortune.
   • All happineſſe bechance to thee in Millaine.c. 1590–1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...

   Synonyms:

   felicity, fortuity, fortune, fortuitousness, good cess, good fortune, good luck, luck

4. (countable, obsolete) Fortuitous elegance; unstudied grace, used especially of language.
   • Some Beauties yet, no Precepts can declare, / For there's a Happineſs as well as Care.1711 May, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Criticism, London: […] W[illiam] Lewis […]; and sold by W[illiam] Taylor […], T[homas] Osborn[e] […], and J[ohn] Graves […], →OCLC, page 10