From Early Modern English pleasur, plesur, alteration (with ending accommodated to -ure), of Middle English plaisir (“pleasure”), from Old French plesir, plaisir (“to please”), infinitive used as a noun, conjugated form of plaisir or plaire, from Latin placēre (“to please, to seem good”), from the Proto-Indo-European *plā-k- (“wide and flat”). More at please.
pleasure (plural pleasures)
- (uncountable) A state of being pleased.
- He remembered with pleasure his home and family.
- I get a lot of pleasure from watching others work hard while I relax.
2012 April 22, Sam Sheringham, “Liverpool 0-1 West Brom”, BBC Sport:
- But the only statistic that will concern West Brom will be the scoreline, and their manager Roy Hodgson will take considerable pleasure from a victory over the club he managed for just 191 days.
- (countable) A person, thing or action that causes enjoyment.
- It was a pleasure to meet you.
- Having a good night's sleep is one of life's little pleasures.
- Bible, Acts xxv. 9
- Festus, willing to do the Jews a pleasure
1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 8, The Celebrity:
- The humor of my proposition appealed more strongly to Miss Trevor than I had looked for, and from that time forward she became her old self again; […] . Now she had come to look upon the matter in its true proportions, and her anticipation of a possible chance of teaching him a lesson was a pleasure to behold.
- (uncountable) One's preference.
- What is your pleasure: coffee or tea?
- (formal, uncountable) The will or desire of someone or some agency in power.
- to hold an office at pleasure: to hold it indefinitely until it is revoked
- to be imprisoned at Her Majesty's pleasure: to be imprisoned indefinitely
- at Congress's pleasure: whenever or as long as Congress desires
- (state of mind) delight, gladness, gratification, happiness, indulgence, satisfaction
- (person or thing that causes enjoyment): delight, joy
- (preference) desire, fancy, want, will, wish
- (will or desire of party in power) discretion
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
- (transitive) To give or afford pleasure to; to please; to gratify.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)
- [Rolled] his hoop to pleasure Edith.
- (transitive) to give pleasure (especially sexual pleasure) to
- Johnny pleasured Jackie orally last night.
- (intransitive, dated) To take pleasure; to seek or pursue pleasure.
- to go pleasuring