Word of the Day

: December 13, 2006

euphoria

noun yoo-FOR-ee-uh

What It Means

: a feeling of well-being or elation

euphoria in Context

The whole college was swept up in the euphoria of winning the national basketball title, and dozens of spontaneous celebrations erupted across the campus and spilled out into the town.

Did You Know?

Health and happiness are often linked, sometimes even in etymologies. Nowadays "euphoria" generally refers to happiness, but it derives from "euphoros," a Greek word that means "healthy." Given that root, it's not surprising that in its original English uses, it was a medical term. A 1706 quotation shows how doctors used it then: "'Euphoria,' the well bearing of the Operation of a Medicine, i.e. when the Patient finds himself eas'd or reliev'd by it." Modern physicians still use the term, but they aren't likely to prescribe something that will cause it. In contemporary medicine, "euphoria" describes abnormal or inappropriate feelings such as those caused by an illegal drug or an illness.