gratulate

Definition

To express joy at (an event or situation).

Etymology

First attested circa 1567; borrowed from Latin grātulātus, perfect active participle of grātulor, see -ate (verb-forming suffix).

Example Sentences

• "To gratify the good Andronicus, / And gratulate his safe return to Rome, / The people will accept whom he admits."
• "[H]is friends and neareſt companions, / Did gratulate his ſafetie with kinde words, […]"
• "Queen Elizabeth. […] Whither away? / Lady Anne. No farther than the Tower; and, as I guess, / Upon the like devotion as yourselves, / To gratulate the gentle princes there."