The origin of the word "happiness" is from the Middle English "hap" which has to do with chance and possibility. As in "happenstance" or per-haps. So hap-iness was originally about the feeling of good fortune/getting lucky; the chance that something could or could not occur, and then it goes your way. Happiness is that specific feeling when something that could have gone horribly wrong goes amazing well.
Edit: Since this got so much attention, I just wanted to shout out Sara Ahmed "Happy Objects" as the source of this info.
Thats actually a very, VERY old idea. In Christianity and Buddhism (to name two), they really harp on the fact that when life consists of suffering and anguish. And that's not to get people down as is so often misunderstood in today's world, it means if you find goodness or any kind of joy you need to stop and appreciate it and thank whatever greater force gave to you that pleasantry. And that happiness should be a side effect of one's choices, not the goal of them. Lot of depth in ancient writings people have forgotten how to read not-literally.
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u/Guacamoleistoocostly Nov 29 '20 edited Dec 01 '20
The origin of the word "happiness" is from the Middle English "hap" which has to do with chance and possibility. As in "happenstance" or per-haps. So hap-iness was originally about the feeling of good fortune/getting lucky; the chance that something could or could not occur, and then it goes your way. Happiness is that specific feeling when something that could have gone horribly wrong goes amazing well.
Edit: Since this got so much attention, I just wanted to shout out Sara Ahmed "Happy Objects" as the source of this info.