different between happy vs timely

English

Etymology

From Middle English happy (“fortunate, happy”), perhaps an alteration of Middle English happyn, happen (“fortunate, happy”), from Old Norse heppinn (“fortunate, happy”); assimilated to be equivalent to hap (“chance, luck, fortune”) +? -y. Compare also Icelandic heppinn (“lucky”), Scots happin (“fortunate, blessed”). See further at hap.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?hæpi?/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?hæpi/
• Rhymes: -æpi
• Hyphenation: hap?py

Adjective

happy (comparative happier or more happy, superlative happiest or most happy)

1. Having a feeling arising from a consciousness of well-being or of enjoyment; enjoying good of any kind, such as comfort, peace, or tranquillity; blissful, contented, joyous.
   • 1731, Thomas Bayes, Divine Benevolence: or, An Attempt to Prove that the Principal End of the Divine Providence and Government is the Happiness of His Creatures: Being an Answer to a Pamphlet, Entitled, Divine Rectitude; or, An Inquiry Concerning the Moral Perfections of the Deity. With a Refutation of the Notions therein Advanced Concerning Beauty and Order, the Reason of Punishment, and the Necessity of a State of Trial antecedent to Perfect Happiness, London: Printed for John Noon, at the White-Hart in Cheapside, near Mercers-Chapel, OCLC 642498368; quoted in Andrew I. Dale, Most Honourable Remembrance: The Life and Work of Thomas Bayes (Studies and Sources in the History of Mathematics and Physical Sciences), New York, N.Y.: Springer, 2003, ISBN 978-0-387-00499-0, page 138:

     […] For the most happy universe is not one that consists of the greatest possible number of the most happy beings only; but one that consists of that, and the greatest possible number of beings next inferior to the first rank, and so downward, till we come to those that approach the nearest to insensible matter.
2. Experiencing the effect of favourable fortune; favored by fortune or luck; fortunate, lucky, propitious.

   (Can we add an example for this sense?)
3. Content, satisfied (with or to do something); having no objection (to something).
4. (Of acts, speech, etc.) Appropriate, apt, felicitous.
   • 1991, Stephen Fry, The Liar, p. 58:

     ‘I had the happy notion of adding an egg,’ Williams shouted back. ‘It poaches in the soup. Not unlike an Italian stracciatella. Singularly toothsome...’

5. (in combination) Favoring or inclined to use.
6. (rare, of people, often followed by "at" or "in") Dexterous, ready, skilful.

Usage notes

• (contented, joyous): Said of people, hours, times, thoughts, etc.
• (fortunate, lucky): Said of efforts, expedients, omens, ventures, etc.

Alternative forms

• happie (obsolete)

Synonyms

• (contented, joyous): cheerful, content, delighted, elated, exultant, glad, joyful, jubilant, merry, orgasmic
• (fortunate, lucky): fortunate, lucky, propitious
• See also Thesaurus:happy

Antonyms

• (contented, joyous): blue, depressed, down, miserable, moody, morose, sad, unhappy
• (fortunate, lucky): unfortunate, unlucky, unpropitious
• (content, satisfied): disenchanted, dissatisfied
• (appropriate, apt): inappropriate, inapt, unfelicitous

Derived terms

Descendants

• ? German: happy
• ? Welsh: hapus (calque)
• ? Japanese: ????

Translations

Noun

happy (plural happies)

1. (informal, rare) A happy event, thing, person, etc.

Verb

happy (third-person singular simple present happies, present participle happying, simple past and past participle happied)

1. (intransitive, informal) Often followed by up: to become happy; to brighten up, to cheer up.
2. (transitive, informal) Often followed by up: to make happy; to brighten, to cheer, to enliven.

Synonyms

• (to make happy): happify

Further reading

• Happy (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

German

Etymology

Borrowed from English happy.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?h?pi/

Adjective

happy (comparative happyer, superlative am happysten)

1. (colloquial, chiefly predicative) glad; satisfied; momentarily happy

Usage notes

• The German word is used as a synonym of froh (“glad, momentarily happy”) rather than glücklich (“happy, both momentarily and generally in life”).
• On the rare occasion that this adjective is used attributively, the positive form happy typically remains undeclined, whereas the comparation forms are declined in the normal fashion.

English

Etymology

From Middle English timely, tymely, timliche, from Old English *t?ml?c (adj) and t?ml??e (“in good time; timely; soon”, adverb), equivalent to time +? -ly. Cognate with Danish timelig, Swedish timlig, Icelandic tímalegur, tímanlegur.

Pronunciation

• enPR: t?m?l?, IPA^(key): /?ta?mli/

Adjective

timely (comparative timelier, superlative timeliest)

1. Done at the proper time or within the proper time limits; prompt.

   Synonyms: on time, well-timed; see also Thesaurus:punctual

   Antonyms: ill-timed, late; see also Thesaurus:overdue
2. Happening or appearing at the proper time.

   Synonyms: opportune, seasonable; see also Thesaurus:timely

   Antonyms: inopportune, unseasonable; see also Thesaurus:untimely
3. (obsolete) Keeping time or measure.

Derived terms

Translations

Adverb

timely (comparative more timely, superlative most timely)

1. (archaic) In good time; early, quickly.
   • 2000, George RR Martin, A Storm of Swords, Bantam 2011, p. 587:

     ‘If I had been born more timely, he said, Rhaegar would have married me instead of Elia, and it would all have come out different.’

2. (obsolete) At the right time; seasonably.
3. (law) In compliance with applicable time limits.
   • 1998, United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, US v. Merino-Balderrama:

     On May 14, 1997, the jury convicted the defendant, who currently is serving a fifteen-month sentence. The defendant timely appeals.

   • 2003, United States Supreme Court, Clay v. United States:

     […] § 2255's one-year limitation period starts to run when the time for seeking such review expires. Under this rule, Clay's § 2255 petition was timely filed.

See also

• seasonably
• tidely

Middle English

Adverb

timely

1. Alternative form of tymely