cheerinessn.
/ˈtʃɪərɪnᵻs/, U.S. /ˈtʃɪrinᵻs/ Cheery mood or behaviour; cheerfulness; (now) esp. liveliness, joviality, jolliness.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pleasure > cheerfulness > [noun]
blithenessc1000
blithec1400
cheerfulness1435
chertec1449
jocundness1482
hilarity1568
cheerliness1571
good humour1571
exhilaration1626
cheerishness1645
geniality1652
jocundry1655
cheeriness1658
brightness1660
shine1710
flow of spirits1716
sunshine1717
genialness1727
festiveness1777
sunniness1829
riancy1834
gleesomeness1847
Euphrasia1882
hilariousness1885
blithesomeness1886
gayness1896
1658 V. Marshall in R. Capel Remains To Rdr. sig. a5 He had more health and cheerinesse of spirit then formerly.
1659 E. Gayton Art Longevity xxxii. 88 Put into wine it doth inspirit that, Firks up its vertues, were it ne're so flat; And in the drinker strikes a cheeriness, That Plunder can't allay, nor lay distress.
1682 J. Flavel 2 Treatises Ep. Ded. sig. A4v Hope immediately fills his heart with cheariness, and displaies the signals of it in his very face.
1807 Lady Morgan Patriotic Sketches Ireland II. xvi. 95 The national cheeriness of his character then shines in every lineament of his face.
1876 M. E. Braddon Joshua Haggard's Daughter II. 96 ‘What have you two girls been talking about?’..asked Joshua, with an attempt at cheeriness.
1879 D. J. Hill Bryant 203 He fills the mind with the breezy cheeriness of spring-time.
1921 E. Ferber Girls x. 204 ‘Yoo-hoo!’ called Lottie with an airy assumption of cheeriness.
1978 Times 8 Nov. (Arts section) 12/6 Sophie's constant cheeriness can be tiresome.
2010 Belfast Tel. (Nexis) 6 Dec. 6 Her cheeriness and determination earned her the respect of her fellow camp-mates.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1658