different between comfort vs delight

English

Etymology

The verb is from Middle English conforten, from Old French conforter, from Late Latin confort? (“to strengthen greatly”), itself from Latin con- (“together”) + fortis (“strong”).

The noun is from Middle English confort, from Old French cunfort, confort, from the stem of Late Latin confort?. It replaced Old English frofor, Middle English frovre.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?k?m.f?t/
• (Northern England) IPA^(key): /?k?m.f?t/
• (General American) enPR: k?m'f?rt, IPA^(key): /?k?m.f?t/, [?k???.f?t]
• (obsolete) enPR: k?mfôrt', IPA^(key): /k?m?f??t/

Noun

comfort (countable and uncountable, plural comforts)

1. Contentment, ease.

2. Something that offers comfort.

3. A consolation; something relieving suffering or worry.

4. A cause of relief or satisfaction.

Synonyms

• liss

Antonyms

• (contentment, ease): austerity

Translations

Verb

comfort (third-person singular simple present comforts, present participle comforting, simple past and past participle comforted)

1. (transitive) To relieve the distress or suffering of; to provide comfort to.
2. (transitive) To make comfortable. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
3. (obsolete) To make strong; to invigorate; to fortify; to corroborate.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Wyclif to this entry?)

   • 1594, Richard Hooker, Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie

     God's own testimony […] doth not a little comfort and confirm the same.

4. (obsolete) To assist or help; to aid.

Synonyms

• besoothe

Translations

Derived terms

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch confoort, from Old French confort.

Pronunciation

• (Netherlands) IPA^(key): /k?m?f??r/
• (Belgium) IPA^(key): /k?m?f?r(t)/
• Hyphenation: com?fort

Noun

comfort n (plural comforts, diminutive comfortje n)

1. Physical comfort, ease.

Derived terms

• comfortabel
• ligcomfort
• rijcomfort
• zitcomfort

English

Etymology

An unetymological spelling, in imitation of words like light, might, etc.; the analogical modern spelling would be delite; from Middle English delite, from Old French deleiter, deliter, from Latin delectare (“to delight, please”), frequentative of delicere (“to allure”); see delectation and delicate.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d??la?t/, /d??la?t/
• Rhymes: -a?t

Noun

delight (countable and uncountable, plural delights)

1. Joy; pleasure.
   • 1611, King James Version of the Bible, Proverbs 18.2,^[1]

     A fool hath no delight in understanding.

   • c. 1611, William Shakespeare, The Tempest, Act III, Scene 2,^[2]

     […] the isle is full of noises,

     Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:delight.
2. Something that gives great joy or pleasure.
   • 1580, Greensleeves,

     Greensleeves was all my joy / Greensleeves was my delight, […]

   • 1667, John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book 5, lines 17-19,^[3]

     […] Awake

     My fairest, my espous’d, my latest found,

     Heav’ns last best gift, my ever new delight,

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:delight.

Derived terms

• undelight
• delightful

Translations

Verb

delight (third-person singular simple present delights, present participle delighting, simple past and past participle delighted)

1. To give delight to; to affect with great pleasure; to please highly.
   • 1842, Tennyson, Le Morte d’Arthur:

     Delight our souls with talk of knightly deeds.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:delight.

2. (intransitive) To have or take great pleasure.
   • c. 1515–1516, published 1568, John Skelton, Again?t venemous tongues enpoy?oned with ?claunder and fal?e detractions &c.:

     A ?claunderous tunge, a tunge of a ?kolde,
     Worketh more mi?chiefe than can be tolde;
     That, if I wi?t not to be controlde,
     Yet ?omwhat to ?ay I dare well be bolde,
     How ?ome delite for to lye, thycke and threfolde.

   • 1580, Greensleeves:

     For I have loved you well and long, / Delighting in your company.

   • 1908, T.J. Griffths, The Cambrian (volume 28, page 504)

     He was an eisteddfodwr and delighted to hear good singing, whether it was in the sanctuary or at the eisteddfodic gatherings.

Derived terms

• delight in
• duping delight

Related terms

• delicacy
• delicate
• delicatessen
• delicious

Translations

Further reading

• delight in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• delight in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• gildeth, glideth, lighted