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Origin and history of felicitate

felicitate(v.)

1620s, "to render happy" (obsolete); 1630s, "to reckon happy;" from Late Latin felicitatus, past participle of felicitare "to make happy," from Latin felicitas "fruitfulness, happiness," from felix "fruitful, fertile; lucky, happy" (see felicity). Meaning "congratulate, compliment upon a happy event" is from 1630s. Related: Felicitated; felicitating. Little-used alternative verb form felicify (1680s) yielded adjective felicific (1865).

also from 1620s

Entries linking to felicitate

felicity(n.)

late 14c., "happiness; that which is a source of happiness," from Old French felicite "happiness" (14c.), from Latin felicitatem (nominative felicitas) "happiness, fertility," from felix (genitive felicis) "happy, fortunate, fruitful, fertile" (from suffixed form of PIE *dhe(i)- "to suck," with derivatives meaning "to suckle, produce, yield").

A relic of Rome's origins as an agricultural community: that which brings happiness is that which produces crops. Compare pauper (see poor (adj.)) "poor, not wealthy," literally "producing little." The meaning "skillful adroitness, admirable propriety" is attested from c. 1600.

felicitation(n.)

"complimentary expression of belief in another's happiness or good fortune," 1709, noun of action from felicitate. Related: Felicitations.

Congratulation, like its verb congratulate, implies an actual feeling of pleasure in another's happiness or good fortune; while felicitation (with felicitate) rather refers to the expression on our part of a belief that the other is fortunate, felicitations being complimentary expressions intended to make the fortunate person well pleased with himself. [Century Dictionary]
*dhe(i)-

*dhē(i)-, Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to suck."

It might form all or part of: affiliate; affiliation; effeminate; effete; epithelium; fawn (n.) "young deer;" fecund; fellatio; Felicia; felicitate; felicity; Felix; female; feminine; femme; fennel; fenugreek; fetal; feticide; fetus; filial; filiation; filicide; filioque; fitz; infelicity.

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit dhayati "sucks," dhayah "nourishing;" Greek thēlē "mother's breast, nipple," thēlys "female, fruitful;" Latin felare "to suck," femina "woman" ("she who suckles"), felix "happy, auspicious, fruitful," fetus "offspring, pregnancy;" fecundus "fruitful, fertile, productive; rich, abundant;" Old Church Slavonic dojiti "to suckle," dojilica "nurse," deti "child;" Lithuanian dėlė "leech;" Old Prussian dadan "milk;" Gothic daddjan "to suckle;" Old Swedish dia "suckle;" Old High German tila "female breast;" Old Irish denaim "I suck," dinu "lamb."

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    congratulate
    "address with expressions of sympathetic pleasure," 1540s, from Latin congratulatus, past participle of congratulari "wish joy," from assimilated form of com "together, with" (see con-) + gratulari "give thanks, show joy," from gratus "agreeable" (from suffixed form of PIE root *
    wish
    Old English wyscan "to wish, cherish a desire," from Proto-Germanic *wunsk- (source also of Old Norse œskja, Danish ønske, Swedish önska, Middle Dutch wonscen, Dutch wensen, Old High German wunsken, German wunschen "to wish"), from PIE root *wen- (1) "to desire, strive for." Rela
    bid
    probably an early Middle English mutual influence or confusion of two older words: The sense in bid farewell is from Old English biddan "to ask, entreat, beg, pray, beseech; order" (class V strong verb, past tense bæd, past participle beden), from Proto-Germanic *bedjanan "to pra
    pharmacy
    late 14c., farmacie, "a medicine that rids the body of an excess of humors (except blood);" also "treatment with medicine; theory of treatment with medicine," from Old French farmacie "a purgative" (13c.) and directly from Medieval Latin pharmacia, from Greek pharmakeia "a healin
    Saxon
    c. 1200, Sexun, Saxun, "member of a people or tribe formerly living in northern Germania who invaded and settled in Britain 5c.-6c.," from Late Latin Saxonem (nominative Saxo; also source of Old French saisoigne, French Saxon, Spanish Sajon, Italian Sassone), usually found in plu
    respite
    mid-13c., "extension of time for an action, deliberation, etc., grace period; postponement of an action, judgment, etc.," from Old French respit "delay, respect" (Modern French répit), from Latin respectus "consideration, recourse, regard," literally "act of looking back (or ofte
    resolution
    late 14c., resolucioun, "a breaking or reducing into parts; process of breaking up, dissolution," from Old French resolution (14c.) and directly from Latin resolutionem (nominative resolutio) "process of reducing things into simpler forms," noun of action from past-participle ste
    planet
    late Old English planete, in old astronomy, "star other than a fixed star; star revolving in an orbit," from Old French planete (Modern French planète) and directly from Late Latin planeta, from Greek planētēs, from (asteres) planētai "wandering (stars)," from planasthai "to wand
    commonwealth
    mid-15c., commoun welthe, "a community, whole body of people in a state," from common (adj.) + wealth (n.). Specifically "state with a republican or democratic form of government" from 1610s. From 1550s as "any body of persons united by some common interest." Applied specifically
    bank
    "financial institution," late 15c., originally "money-dealer's counter or shop," from Old Italian banca and also from French banque (itself from the Italian word), both meaning "table," from a Germanic source (such as Old High German bank "bench, moneylender's table"), from Proto

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