What does delightsome mean?
Delightsome is an adjective meaning highly pleasing, delightful, or full of charm — describing anything that gives keen pleasure to the senses or mind. Formed by attaching the suffix '-some' to 'delight', it arose alongside other '-some' adjectives such as 'handsome' and 'wholesome'. Although once a normal part of everyday English, it has receded into literary, poetic, and deliberately old-fashioned registers, where its quaintness is part of its appeal: a writer who calls a landscape or a meal 'delightsome' evokes an almost storybook warmth. The word remains best known today partly through its appearance in Latter-day Saint scripture, where phrases like 'a delightsome people' have preserved it in religious American usage. Synonymous with 'delightful' but rarer and more affectionate in tone, it suits contexts that invite gentle, lyrical description.
adjectiveHighly pleasing or delightful; charming and full of delight. Now chiefly literary or archaic, the word conveys a warm, often quaint sense of something that gives great pleasure.
- Giving great pleasure or delight; highly pleasing or charming (now chiefly literary or archaic).
"The garden was a delightsome maze of roses, lavender, and shaded stone paths."
"They wandered through the delightsome countryside, pausing at every wildflower meadow."
"The old novel is filled with delightsome descriptions of feasts and festivals."
Before 'delightful' stole the spotlight, English speakers reached for 'delightsome' — a word so charming that Mormon scripture kept it alive long after everyday speech let it go.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of delightsome
Delightsome was formed in Middle English by combining 'delight' with the adjective suffix '-some', on the pattern of words like 'handsome' and 'gladsome'. Its ultimate roots lie in the Latin verb 'delectare', meaning 'to please or charm', which entered English via Old French 'delit'. It flourished through the early modern period before gradually giving way to the now-dominant form 'delightful'; cognates sharing the Latin root include 'delectable', 'delicious', and 'dilettante'.
How delightsome is actually used
Register: literary, formal, or deliberately archaic; rare in ordinary conversation. It carries a warm, affectionate, slightly quaint connotation. The word survives notably in Latter-day Saint scriptural usage (e.g., 'a delightsome people'), which keeps it recognizable in American religious contexts.
Easily confused with delightsome
Though it rhymes with 'delightsome', 'handsome' means attractive in appearance, especially of a person, rather than a source of general delight.