Gaudere

Gaudere is a Latin verb meaning to rejoice, be glad, or take pleasure. The infinitive gaudēre identifies it as a member of the Latin second conjugation. The noun gaudium (joy, delight) is derived from the same root, and related forms such as gaudēns (“rejoicing”) appear in Classical Latin.

Usage and meaning

In classical Latin, gaudere is used to express happiness, approval, or satisfaction in relation to a person, action, or situation. It can convey simple emotional state as well as pleasure taken in events or outcomes. The verb can be combined with various constructions to designate the source of joy, for example with clauses expressing reason or with prepositional phrases, and it appears in religious and literary texts as well as in ordinary prose.

Conjugation and forms

As a second-conjugation verb, gaudēre follows patterns typical of verbs ending in -ēre in the present system. Present indicative forms include gaudeō (I rejoice), gaudes (you rejoice), gaudet (he/she rejoices), gaudemus (we rejoice), gaudetis (you all rejoice), gaudent (they rejoice). The imperfect is gaudēbam, gaudēbās, gaudēbat, gaudēbāmus, gaudēbātis, gaudēbant, and the future is gaudēbō, gaudēbis, gaudēbit, gaudēbimus, gaudēbitis, gaudēbunt. The imperative forms are gaude (singular) and gaudēte (plural). A common perfect form is gauduit (“he rejoiced”), with other perfect and pluperfect forms found in classical authors as the verb shifts through standard patterns of the conjugation.

Derivatives and usage notes

Gaudium is the chief noun meaning joy or delight. The present participle gaudēns means “rejoicing,” and the phrase Gaudete, an exhortation meaning “Rejoice!” is well known from Latin liturgy and carols. Gaudere also appears in Christian Latin texts and classical literature to describe pleasure taken in various activities or events.

See also

Latin grammar, Gaudium, Gaudete.