Definition: jovial

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Source: WordNet (r) 1.7 

jovial
     adj : full of or showing high-spirited merriment; "when hearts
           were young and gay"; "a poet could not but be gay, in
           such a jocund company"- Wordsworth; "the jolly crowd at
           the reunion"; "jolly old Saint Nick"; "a jovial old
           gentleman"; "have a merry Christmas"; "peals of merry
           laughter"; "a mirthful laugh" [syn: gay, jocund, jolly,
            merry, mirthful]

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) 

Jovial \Jo"vi*al\, a. [F., fr. L. Jovialis pertaining to Jove.
   The planet Jupiter was thought to make those born under it
   joyful or jovial. See Jove.]
   1. Of or pertaining to the god, or the planet, Jupiter.
      [Obs.]

            Our jovial star reigned at his birth. --Shak.

            The fixed stars astrologically differenced by the
            planets, and esteemed Martial or Jovial according to
            the colors whereby they answer these planets. --Sir
                                                  T. Browne.

   2. Sunny; serene. [Obs.] ``The heavens always joviall.''
      --Spenser.

   3. Gay; merry; joyous; jolly; mirth-inspiring; hilarious;
      characterized by mirth or jollity; as, a jovial youth; a
      jovial company; a jovial poem.

            Be bright and jovial among your guests. --Shak.

            His odes are some of them panegyrical, others moral;
            the rest are jovial or bacchanalian.  --Dryden.

   Note: This word is a relic of the belief in planetary
         influence. Other examples are saturnine, mercurial,
         martial, lunatic, etc.

   Syn: Merry; joyous; gay; festive; mirthful; gleeful; jolly;
        hilarious.

Source: The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (2003-OCT-10) 

JOVIAL

   <language> (Jule's Own Version of IAL) A version of IAL
   produced by Jules I. Schwartz in 1959-1960.  JOVIAL was based
   on ALGOL 58, with extensions for large scale real-time
   programming.  It saw extensive use by the US Air Force.  The
   data elements were items, entries (records) and tables.

   Versions include JOVIAL I (IBM 709, 1960), JOVIAL II (IBM
   7090, 1961) and JOVIAL 3 (1965).  Dialects: J3, JOVIAL
   J73, JS, JTS.

   Ada/Jovial Newsletter, Dale Lange +1 (513) 255-4472.

   [CACM 6(12):721, Dec 1960].

   (1996-07-19)