DefinitionsEpicaricacy; Glee
• epicaricacy (n.): rejoicing at, or taking joy in, the misfortunes of others. [from Greek epi, ‘upon’ + chara,
‘joy’ + kakon, ‘evil’; Bailey’s Dictionary (1751) spells it epicharikaky⁽*⁾; the accent falls on the ‘ick’;
the Oxford English Dictionary (1933) ignores the word, but alas! the feeling is not so easily set aside]. ~ (page 241
• epicaricacy (n.): taking pleasure in others’ misfortunes. [pronounced ěp″ǐ-kər-ik′ə-sē].
~ (page 67 • epicaricacy (n.; rare): rejoicing at or deriving pleasure from the misfortunes of others; (usage notes): the word appears in most of the editions of Nathaniel Bailey’s dictionary; his dictionary was highly respected, was published and republished for about fifty years, starting in 1721, and was Samuel Johnson’s basic word-list from which he prepared his dictionary, acknowledged it to be his master; linguist Joseph T. Shipley included it in his Dictionary of Early English (1963), citing Bailey; evidence of actual usage seems scant until it was picked up by various ‘interesting word’ websites around the turn of the twenty-first century. [etymology: from Ancient Greek ἐπιχαιρεκακία (epikhairekakía), ‘joy upon evil’]. ~ (Wiktionary English Dictionary). • epicaricacy (n.): deriving joy and/or pleasure from the misfortune of others; rejoicing at the adversity and/or misery of others;
[e.g.]: “He rejoiced in the moment of epicaricacy as the evil conspiracies of his rivals were exposed”; “The bullies were punished at school, today, and
I do not experience epicaricacy even though I should be happy”; “I noticed a touch of epicaricacy in your attitude today. What’s the reason behind it?”;
“The feeling of epicaricacy is too weak to devour those who are kind and wise”. [origin: Greek, ‘joy upon evil’, from
epi-, ‘upon’ + khará, ‘joy’ + kakós, ‘evil’]. ~ (Win-Sun’s English Academy • epicaricacy (n.): pleasure from the misfortunes of others. An underutilised jewel. What a word! What a concept! It should bring
joy to the hearts of all the people (the majority of the readers of this volume) who chuckle inwardly when they see someone trip and fall or step into a
glistening pile of dog droppings. Sadly, epicaricacy has been unfairly neglected over the years. Numerous modern English dictionaries make no mention of
it; meanwhile, they see fit to include the German word schadenfreude (same definition), apparently for the sole reason that it fills a void in our language!
The fact is, long before schadenfreude wormed its way into the lexicon, there existed an English word for the exact same concept. The word epicaricacy has a
noble lineage, coming from the Greek roots of epi, ‘upon’ + chara, ‘joy’ + kakon, ‘evil’. And it has appeared in many old and esteemed dictionaries. Yet the
word is now largely ignored in favor of a foreign interloper; [e.g.]: “The residents of quiet, tree-lined Bowker Street were a peaceful lot as a rule, but
their feathers got a bit ruffled when the local ice cream truck man refused to lower the volume of the horrid wheedling music his vehicle constantly emanated.
And so when the deranged war veteran from the next block destroyed the truck with a bazooka one fine spring morning, they all felt the warm glow of
epicaricacy spreading through their veins”; compare ucalegon⁽*⁾. [pronounced
ep-ik-aah-rik-uh-see]. ~ (pp. 77-78
• glee (n.): great merriment or delight, often caused by someone else’s misfortune. [Middle English gle, ‘entertainment’, from Old English gléo, related to Old Norse glӯ, akin to Old Norse glōa, ‘glow’, ‘to show emotion or elation’]. ~ (Collins English Dictionary + Webster’s College Dictionary). • glee (n.): malicious satisfaction; [e.g.]: “Her glee at his misfortune was obvious to all”; (synonyms): gloat, gloating; [e.g.]: “He could barely stop gloating at her misfortune”; (related word): satisfaction (the contentment one feels when one has fulfilled a desire, need, or expectation; [e.g.]: “The chef tasted the sauce with great satisfaction and pleasure”). ~ (Princeton’s WordNet 3.0). • be rubbing (one’s) hands with glee (idiom): to be very enthusiastic or happy about something, typically another’s misfortune; [e.g.]: “The ᴄᴇᴏ was practically rubbing his hands with glee when he heard that our rival company had gone bankrupt”. ~ (Farlex Dictionary of Idioms). • be rubbing your hands with glee (idiom): if someone is rubbing their hands with glee, they are very pleased about something, often something which is bad for someone else; [e.g.]: “Already the newspapers were rubbing their hands with glee and calling the place ‘Dr. Terry’s House of Horrors’”; “The party leaders are rubbing their hands with glee at the opposition party’s troubles”. ~ (Collins Co-Build Idioms Dictionary). Random Literary Samples. • “‘Have you tried putting the engines into reverse?’ asked Hugo Rune, of the captain, pushing onto the bridge. • “In the ‘Nicomachean Ethics’ (2.7.1108b1-10), where Aristotle exploits the threefold classification of virtues and emotions according
to excess, mean, and deficiency, he uses the term *epikhairekakia*, roughly ‘pleasure at another’s misery’, as the opposite of phthonos, with nemesis
occupying the mean. In this scheme nemesis is again defined as ‘a painful response to another’s undeserved good fortune’, while phthonos is ‘a painful
response to any good fortune’, deserved or not. The *epikhairekakos* person, finally, actually takes pleasure at another’s ill fortune, evidently
without regard to desert {often ‘just deserts’, as in virtue or merit; a just reward or punishment}. The paradigm is not very
coherent, however, mixing as it does the paired variables of pain and pleasure, merited and unmerited misfortune, and good fortune versus ill”.
[emphases and curly-bracketed insert added].
~ (page 25 • [Wikipedia]: “In the ‘Nicomachean Ethics’, Aristotle used *epikhairekakia*
(ἐπιχαιρεκακία in Greek) as part of a triad of terms, in which
epikhairekakia stands as
the opposite of phthonos (φθόνος), and nemesis (νέμεσις) occupies the mean. And nemesis is
‘a painful response to another’s undeserved good fortune’, while phthonos is a painful response to any good fortune of another, deserved or not. The
*epikhairekakos* (ἐπιχαιρέκακος) person takes pleasure in another’s ill fortune”.
[emphases added]. ~ (2024 Wikipedia Encyclopaedia • “Out of these two [powers, or inclinations, concupiscible or irascible] arise those mixed affections and passions of anger, which
is a desire of revenge; hatred, which is inveterate anger; zeal, which is offended with him who hurts that he loves; and
*ἐπιχαιρεκακία*, a compound affection of joy and hate, when we rejoice at other men’s
mischief, and are grieved at their prosperity; pride, self-love, emulation, envy, shame, &c., of which elsewhere”.
[emphasis added]. ~ (from “The Anatomy of Melancholy” by Robert Burton; 1621, Partition 1, Section 1, Member 2, Subsection 8 • “The feeling of misplaced glee you feel at someone else’s misfortune; epicaricacy (n.): deriving pleasure from the misfortunes
of others; [e.g.]: “When the boastful braggart was defenestrated by his club, my *epicaricacy* knew no bounds”. There’s always a particular malicious
satisfaction which some people gain from seeing others—especially those to whose vainglory we have been subject—receiving their comeuppance. I’d like
to think I’m largely immune from epicaricacy, because I was born without an envy gene, and have grown up convinced that the world has enough room for
everyone to succeed and that the sufferings of others should never be a cause of rejoicing for myself. Still, arrogant braggarts need to be brought down,
from time to time, if only for their own good. When you smile at bad news about someone, suppress a chortle and say, insincerely, “it couldn’t have happened
to a nicer guy”, you are experiencing epicaricacy. Grow out of it quickly, though—as any shrink will tell you—negative emotions are not good for you, or for
any of us, even politicians!”. [emphasis added]. ~ (Shashi Tharoor’s Word of the Week: Epicaricacy; Jun 15, 2019,
Hindustan Times • “Sometimes schadenfreude just won’t do. In this case you need *epicaricacy*, a much fancier and less teutonic word to describe
taking sadistic joy in the misfortune of others. If you’re going to be engaging in delectatio morosa, you definitely need *epicaricacy* in your vocabulary.
It’s an Aristotelian term from a continuum of virtues and emotions; where Nemesis is a righteous negative response to another’s undeserved good fortune,
Phthonos is pain caused by the good fortune of others, and Epicaricacy is a gloating pleasure in another’s ill fortune; [e.g.]: “The view from the gallows
revealed the mob in all its horror. Wyatt felt the rough fibres of the rope on his neck and wondered how a simple lynching could reduce men to a mass of
*epicaricacy*, drunkenness and bloodlust”. [etymology: from the Greek:
ἐπιχαιρεκακία, from epi, ‘upon’ +
kharis, ‘joy’ + kakos, ‘evil’].
[emphases added]. ~ (Steve Dempsey and Eoin Tierney; January 04, 2012, Uncommon Parlance  ).
• “Occasionally, I come across a word that’s so rare and mysterious that it’s a struggle to find out anything about it. This one turned
up in an article in the Observer on 10 August by Lauren Laverne, who was looking for a word “for the mistaken belief that there is no English equivalent for
a non-English word”. She noted Schadenfreude as an example of such a word, the pleasure that one derives from another person’s misfortune, which is from
German Schaden, ‘harm’, and Freude, ‘joy’. She said an English equivalent does exist—*epicaricacy*. It does? I tracked it down in “Insulting English”,
by Peter Novobatzky and Ammon Shea, dated 2001. They say that it’s from Greek epi, ‘upon’, plus chara, ‘joy’, and
kakon, ‘evil’. It’s recorded in several old
works, including Nathan Bailey’s “An Universal Etymological English Dictionary” of 1721, though in the spelling *epicharikaky*. It is recorded even
earlier in the original Greek spelling in Robert Burton’s “The Anatomy of Melancholy” of 1621. It was familiar to him and to other Greek scholars because
Aristotle used it. (...). It’s an erudite coining known to hardly anybody. Novobatzky and Shea may have attracted enough attention to it that in time it
might find a place in the language. Just don’t hold your breath waiting”. [emphases added]. ~ (from “Epicaricacy”,
by Michael Quinion; September 13, 2014, World Wide Words (left-clicking the yellow rectangles with the capital ‘U’ opens each in a new web page). Glee, Epicaricacy: • glee (n.): 1. jubilant delight; joy; 2. (music): a part song scored for three or more usually male and unaccompanied voices that was popular in the 1700s. [Middle English gle, ‘entertainment’, from Old English glēo]. ~ (American Heritage Dictionary). • gleeful (adj.): full of jubilant delight; joyful; (n.): gleefulness; (adv.): gleefully. ~ (American Heritage Dictionary). • gleefulness (n.): a state of joyful exuberance; (synonyms): blitheness, blithesomeness, gaiety, glee, hilarity, jocoseness, jocosity, jocularity, jocundity, jolliness, jollity, joviality, lightheartedness, merriment, merriness, mirth, mirthfulness. ~ (American Heritage Roget’s Thesaurus). • glee (n.): 1. great merriment or delight, often caused by someone else’s misfortune; 2. (music, other) a type of song originating in eighteenth-century England, sung by three or more unaccompanied voices; cf. madrigal¹. [Old English gléo; related to Old Norse glӯ]. ~ (Collins English Dictionary). • gleeful (adj.): full of glee; merry; (adv.): gleefully; (n.): gleefulness. ~ (Collins English Dictionary). • glee (n.): 1. exultant joy; 2. an unaccompanied part song for three or more voices. [before 900; Middle English; Old English glēo; cf. Old Norse glȳ; akin to glow]. ~ (Webster’s College Dictionary). • gleeful (adj.): full of glee; merry; exultant; (adv.): gleefully; (n.): gleefulness. [1580-90]. ~ (Webster’s College Dictionary). • glee (n.): 1. great merriment; (synonyms): gleefulness, hilarity, mirth, mirthfulness; (related words): gaiety, merriment (a gay feeling); 2. malicious satisfaction; (synonyms): gloat, gloating; (related words): satisfaction (the contentment one feels when one has fulfilled a desire, need, or expectation); [e.g.]: “The chef tasted the sauce with great satisfaction and delight”. ~ (Princeton’s WordNet 3.0). • gleeful (adj.): full of high-spirited delight; (synonyms): joyful, elated, jubilant; [e.g.]: “a joyful heart”; (related words): joyous (full of or characterised by joy); [e.g.]: “She felt a joyous abandon”; “His joyous laughter”; (adv.): gleefully; (n.): gleefulness. ~ (Princeton’s WordNet 3.0). • gleefulness (n.): great merriment; (synonyms): glee, hilarity, mirth, mirthfulness; (related words): gaiety, merriment (a gay feeling). ~ (Princeton’s WordNet 3.0). • glee (n.): delight, joy, triumph, exuberance, elation, exhilaration, mirth, hilarity, merriment, exultation, gladness, joyfulness, joyousness; [e.g.]: “His victory was greeted with glee and satisfaction”; (antonyms): depression, misery, gloom, sadness, melancholy. ~ (Collins English Thesaurus). • gleeful (adj.): delighted, happy, pleased, cheerful, merry, triumphant, gratified, exuberant, jubilant, joyous, joyful, elated, overjoyed, exultant, cock-a-hoop, mirthful; (informal): chirpy; [e.g.]: “He took a gleeful delight in proving them all wrong”. ~ (Collins English Thesaurus). • glee (n.): a state of joyful exuberance; (synonyms): blitheness, blithesomeness, gaiety, gleefulness, hilarity, jocoseness, jocosity, jocularity, jocundity, jolliness, jollity, joviality, lightheartedness, merriment, merriness, mirth, mirthfulness. ~ (The American Heritage Roget’s Thesaurus). • gleeful (adj.): characterised by joyful exuberance; (synonyms): blithe, blithesome, boon, convivial, gay, jocund, jolly, jovial, merry, mirthful. ~ (The American Heritage Roget’s Thesaurus). • be rubbing one’s hands with glee (idiom): to be very enthusiastic or happy about something, typically another’s misfortune; [e.g.]: “The ᴄᴇᴏ was practically rubbing his hands with glee when he heard that our rival company had gone bankrupt”. ~ (Farlex Dictionary of Idioms). • chortle with glee (idiom): to give a laugh or chuckle filled with gleefulness; [e.g.]: “I began chortling with gleefulness over Tom’s ridiculous comments”. ~ (Farlex Dictionary of Idioms). • chuckle with glee (idiom): to laugh in a particular manner; [e.g.]: “I couldn’t help but chuckle with glee when I saw the little girl feed her ice cream cone to her dog”. ~ (Farlex Dictionary of Idioms). • be rubbing one’s hands with glee (idiom): if someone is rubbing their hands with glee, they are very pleased about something, often something which is bad for someone else; [e.g.]: “Already the newspapers were calling the place ‘Dr. Terry’s House of Horrors’ and rubbing their hands with glee over the headline”; “The party leaders are rubbing their hands with glee at the opposition leader’s troubles”. ~ (Collins Co-Build Idioms Dictionary). • epicaricacy (n.; rare): rejoicing at or deriving pleasure from the misfortunes of others; (usage notes): the word appears in most of the editions of Nathaniel Bailey’s dictionary (“An Universal Etymological English Dictionary”). His dictionary was highly respected, being published and republished for about fifty years, starting in 1721, and was Samuel Johnson’s basic word-list from which he prepared his dictionary (“A Dictionary of the English Language”) and acknowledged it to be his master word-list. Linguist Joseph T. Shipley included it in his “Dictionary of Early English” (1963), citing Bailey. Evidence of actual usage seems scant until it was picked up by various ‘interesting word’ websites around the turn of the twenty-first century. [etymology: from Ancient Greek ἐπιχαιρεκακία (epikhairekakía), ‘joy upon evil’]. ~ (Wiktionary English Dictionary). • [Pavonine]: epicaricacy is the English word for Schadenfreude. I first found this word in Novobatzky and Shea’s “Depraved and Insulting English”; Ammon Shea then came to our discussion board (Wordcraft) to explain his citation: “To the best of my knowledge the word first appeared in Nathaniel Bailey’s “Universal Etymological English Dictionary”. I think the first edition was published in 1727 and it went through twenty or twenty-two subsequent editions; he spells the word differently and defines it thusly, “epicharikaky: a joy at the misfortunes of others; the etymology is from the Greek epi, ‘upon’ + chara, ‘joy’ + kakon, ‘evil’, as well”; I have seen it in a number of other books with what appears to be the modernised spelling; I can’t remember all of these sources off the top of my head but aside of Mrs. Byrnes it also appears in a book of obscure words by Paul Dickson. I think Joseph Shipley may have it in his “Dictionary of Early English”. ~ (Pavonine; comment on the word epicaricacy; August 2, 2009). 
The Third Alternative (Peace On Earth In This Life Time As This Flesh And Blood Body) Here is an actual freedom from the Human Condition, surpassing Spiritual Enlightenment and any other Altered State Of Consciousness, and challenging all philosophy, psychiatry, metaphysics (including quantum physics with its mystic cosmogony), anthropology, sociology ... and any religion along with its paranormal theology. Discarding all of the beliefs that have held humankind in thralldom for aeons, the way has now been discovered that cuts through the ‘Tried and True’ and enables anyone to be, for the first time, a fully free and autonomous individual living in utter peace and tranquillity, beholden to no-one.
Richard's Text ©The Actual Freedom Trust: 1997-. All Rights Reserved.
Disclaimer |
