Cheerfullest

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. The utmost degree of displaying joyfulness and positivity
2. The most extreme manifestation of happiness and enthusiasm
3. Displaying the highest level of happiness and bright positivity

Etymology: "Cheerfullest" is the superlative of "cheerful," so it is the form used to say that someone or something has the most cheer of any in a group, the utmost degree of the quality. The base adjective is built from "cheer" and the suffix "-ful," meaning "full of," so "cheerful" means full of cheer. The noun "cheer" has an older sense that is worth knowing. It comes from Old French "chiere," meaning face or countenance, and it originally referred to the look on someone's face rather than a mood or a shout of encouragement. A person of good cheer once had a bright expression, and the sense of gladness came later. The Middle English form "chereful" carried that facial sense forward, so "cheerful" was first a description of a countenance before it described a temperament.