fə̇ˈlisəd.ē, -sətē, -i noun
( -es )
Etymology: Middle English felicite, from Middle French felicité, from Latin felicitat-, felicitas, from felic-, felix happy, fruitful + -itat-, -itas -ity — more at feminine
1.
a. : the quality or state of being happy
everlasting joy and felicity — Book of Com. Prayer
no one more entitled by unpretending merit, or better prepared by habitual suffering, to receive and enjoy felicity — Jane Austen
b. : something that promotes or is the source of happiness
2. archaic
a. : good fortune : success
b. : a fortunate achievement : a stroke of fortune
3.
a. : a felicitous manner, faculty, or quality especially in art or language : telling or elegant neatness or appropriateness : aptness , grace
felicity in the painting of children
pleased by the felicity of the expression
a writer of fluency and felicity , of graciousness and gentleness — Saxe Commins
the special felicities of water color as opposed to oil
b. : a felicitous turn of phrase or artistic expression : a happy achievement : an apt expression
a style marked by felicities
a poem is more than the sum of its felicities — Times Literary Supplement
Synonyms: see happiness