Etymograph

English

enjoy

Enjoy comes from Middle English enjoyen, and goes back to Old French enjoier.

  1. Old Frenchc. 842–1400enjoier1
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500enjoyen1
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1611enjoy1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English enjoy
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “that the children of Israel may enjoy every man…”.

Lineage

  1. Old Frenchc. 842–1400enjoierWiktionary, English enjoy
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500enjoyenWiktionary, English enjoy
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1611enjoyWiktionary, English enjoy. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “that the children of Israel may enjoy every man…”

Formed from en- + joy

Latin gaudeō ‘to be glad, rejoice’

Latin gaudium

Late Latin gaudia

Old French joie

Middle English joye ‘joy’

English joy

Every English word from Old French enjoier

Today it means

verb To receive pleasure or satisfaction from something.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “enjoy”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Old French enjoier / enjoy

Shirt and support for this word