easy

Definition

Comfortable; at ease.

Etymology

From Middle English esy, eesy, partly from Middle English ese (“ease”) + -y, equivalent to ease + -y, and partly from Anglo-Norman eisé from Old French aisié (“eased, at ease, at leisure”), past participle of aisier (“to put at ease”), from aise (“empty space, elbow room, opportunity”), of uncertain origin. See ease. Merged with Middle English ethe, eathe (“easy”), from Old English īeþe, from Proto-Germanic *auþuz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éwtus, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ew- (“to enjoy, consume”). Compare also Old Saxon ōþi, Old High German ōdi, Old Norse auðr, auð-, Icelandic auð (adverb), auð-, all meaning "easy." More at ease, eath.

Example Sentences

• "Now that I know it's taken care of, I can rest easy at night."
• "“[…] She takes the whole thing with desperate seriousness. But the others are all easy and jovial—thinking about the good fare that is soon to be eaten, about the hired fly, about anything.”"
• "It's often easy to wake up but hard to get up."

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