allegria

cheerfulness, joy

noun ahl-leh-GREE-ah Rare

Origin: From Latin alacritas (liveliness, eagerness), via Old Italian.

Usage Note

Allegria describes a lively, infectious good cheer — stronger than mere contentezza (contentment) and more spontaneous than felicità (happiness). Che allegria! is an exclamation of delight. It is uncountable in most uses. The exclamation allegria! is also used as a toast or cheer, similar to 'cheers!' The adjective is allegro.

Examples

"C'era molta allegria alla festa di compleanno."

Natural Translation

There was a lot of cheerfulness at the birthday party.

Literal Translation

There-was much cheerfulness at-the party of birthday.

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