What is "happiness"

Happiness \Hap"pi*ness\, n. [From Happy.]

1. Good luck; good fortune; prosperity.

   All happiness bechance to thee in Milan!
   --Shak.

2. An agreeable feeling or condition of the soul arising from good fortune or propitious happening of any kind; the possession of those circumstances or that state of being which is attended with enjoyment; the state of being happy; contentment; joyful satisfaction; felicity; blessedness.

3. Fortuitous elegance; unstudied grace; -- used especially of language.

   Some beauties yet no precepts can declare, For there's a happiness, as well as care.
   --Pope.

   Syn: Happiness, Felicity, Blessedness, Bliss.

   Usage: Happiness is generic, and is applied to almost every kind of enjoyment except that of the animal appetites; felicity is a more formal word, and is used more sparingly in the same general sense, but with elevated associations; blessedness is applied to the most refined enjoyment arising from the purest social, benevolent, and religious affections; bliss denotes still more exalted delight, and is applied more appropriately to the joy anticipated in heaven.

   O happiness! our being's end and aim!
   --Pope.

   Others in virtue place felicity, But virtue joined with riches and long life; In corporal pleasures he, and careless ease.
   --Milton.

   His overthrow heaped happiness upon him; For then, and not till then, he felt himself, And found the blessedness of being little.
   --Shak.

1520s, "good fortune," from happy + -ness. Meaning "pleasant and contented mental state" is from 1590s. Phrase greatest happiness for the greatest number was in Hutcheson (1725).

n. 1 The emotion of being happy; joy. 2 (context archaic English) Good luck; good fortune; prosperity. 3 Fortuitous elegance; unstudied grace; — used especially of language.

1. n. state of well-being characterized by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy [syn: felicity] [ant: unhappiness]

2. emotions experienced when in a state of well-being [ant: sadness]

Happiness is a mental or emotional state of well-being defined by positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. Happy mental states may also reflect judgements by a person about their overall well-being. A variety of biological, psychological, economic, religious and philosophical approaches have striven to define happiness and identify its sources. Various research groups, including positive psychology and happiness economics are employing the scientific method to research questions about what "happiness" is, and how it might be attained.

The United Nations declared 20 March the International Day of Happiness to recognise the relevance of happiness and well-being as universal goals.

Happiness is a 1998 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Todd Solondz, that portrays the lives of three sisters, their families and those around them. The film was awarded the FIPRESCI Prize at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival for "its bold tracking of controversial contemporary themes, richly-layered subtext, and remarkable fluidity of visual style," and the cast received the National Board of Review award for best ensemble performance.

The film spawned the pseudo- sequel Life During Wartime which premiered at the 2009 Venice Film Festival.

Happiness is an album by Fridge released 24 September 2001 on Text Records.

Happiness was a British sitcom broadcast on BBC2 with dramatic, melancholy overtones written by Paul Whitehouse and David Cummings with Whitehouse in the lead role.

There were two series, the first running in 2001 and the second in 2003. Whitehouse has stated that there will probably not be a third.

Happiness is an emotional state characterized by feelings of enjoyment, pleasure, and satisfaction.

"Happiness" may refer to:

Happiness is the first album released by pop- folk band The Weepies. It was released independently by the band on November 29, 2003.

Happiness is the second album by Lisa Germano. It was originally released by Capitol Records in 1993, and re-released by 4AD Records the next year.

"Happiness" is a song by American singer-songwriter Elliott Smith. It was released on February 8, 2000 by record label DreamWorks as the first single from his fifth studio album, Figure 8. It was also released on 7-inch vinyl by Cavity Search.

Happiness is an album released by Matthew Ryan in 2002 on One Little Indian. It was recorded in his own home.

"Happiness" is the twentieth single of the Japanese boy band, Arashi. The single was released in two editions: a regular edition containing the karaoke versions of the songs released in the single, and a limited edition containing a bonus track. The single is the group's ninth consecutive and seventeenth overall number one release, as well as their third consecutive English-titled release.

Happiness is a 2007 South Korean film, directed by Hur Jin-ho and starring Hwang Jung-min and Im Soo-jung. It is a love story about two people who meet while battling serious illnesses.

Happiness is a 1924 American silent comedy film directed by King Vidor, and starring stage actress Laurette Taylor in one of her rare film appearances. The film is based on the 1914 Broadway play of the same name written by Taylor's husband J. Hartley Manners. This film is preserved at George Eastman House and Gosfilmofond (Russian State archives) Moscow.

Happiness is a 1990 album from British pop band The Beloved. The album reached #14 on the UK Albums Chart on its release, in March 1990, and subsequently reached #154 on the U.S. Billboard 200 Pop Albums Chart.

Having slimmed down from a four piece to a duo comprising Jon Marsh and Steve Waddington in 1987, following the departure of original members Tim Havard and Guy Gausden, Marsh and Waddington soon fell under the influence of the burgeoning Acid House scene emerging in London at the time, from clubs such as Shoom. The duo changed their style from the New Order-influenced synthpop, and took in influences from acid house, pop and techno (the record also features Chicago house diva Kym Mazelle on female vocals).

The change in style proved to be their commercial breakthrough, as the album yielded three Top 40 UK singles: " The Sun Rising" at #26, " Hello" at #19, and " Your Love Takes Me Higher" at #39. A fourth single, "Time After Time" failed at Number 46 in the UK, but was one of the group's most popular songs in some European countries, including Italy, where the long playing work became known soon after the release of the final single, which also caused the previous singles to be reissued. The success of the album was so big as to push the band to release a whole remix album, called Blissed Out, in 1991, including almost all of the original album's songs, in one or more remixed versions, and a number of additional tracks, mostly instrumental.

It featured in a number of best of lists for 1990: Number 5 in The Face, number 19 in Select, number 26 in the NME and also in Q magazine's unranked 50 best albums of the year.

In 1996, Mixmag ranked the album at number 48 in its list of the "Best Dance Albums of All Time".

"Happiness" is a folktronica song by the English duo Goldfrapp from their fourth studio album, Seventh Tree (2008). Written and produced by Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory, the song was released as the album's second single on 14 April 2008. It was featured in advertisements for the newly rebranded SyFy network.

Happiness is an EP by the former lead singer of The Inspiral Carpets Tom Hingley. It was released on March 2002 on Newmemorabila. The EP plays home to tracks recorded in Radio 2, early versions of Soulfire tracks and a previously unreleased track.

Happiness is an alternative rock band from Helsinki, Finland. Formed in 2005, the band's current line-up consist of Alexandre Descargues (lead vocals), Jussi Korhonen (bass, vocals), Mikko Pietinen (drums) and Hans Hansen (guitar).

Their style can be defined as a mix of influences from bands like Queens of the Stone Age, Muse, Nine Inch Nails, Radiohead, Mew and Tool.

Most of their compositions are in English. The lyrics and single covers are strong and rated for containing cursing, sexual connotations and politics.

Made their debut in the rock scene with the album 66Ft Melodies in October 2007; recorded in the Dynasty Recordings and released by Warner Music Finland.

The first single was "Accelerate" in May 2007, that made them having a notable rotation in the media.

The second was "Need You" in September 2007, but it was censored and criticized by some media for containing the word "cock" in it.

In the next year, they released two singles more, "Eternal Sunshine of a Communist Mind" in May 2008 and "We Have Come in Means of Terror" in October 2008.

They have been the opener band of artists such as Marilyn Manson and My Chemical Romance, giving them the chance to play in the Ice Hall from Helsinki.

Currently, the band is recording a new album for 2010.

is the fourth single by Berryz Kobo, released on August 25, 2004. The single entered the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart at number 20, with 11,000 copies setting a record for Berryz Kobo's first week sales.

Happiness is a 1917 comedy-drama feature film written by C. Gardner Sullivan and starring Enid Bennett and Charles Gunn. A rich orphan and heiress played by Bennett is described in the newspapers as "the richest and most snobbish girl in America." She goes to a co-ed college where she is snubbed by students who view her as a snob. A romance develops with a poor student (played by Charles Gunn) who is taking in washing to pay his way through college. A print exists in the Library of Congress collection.

Happiness is a 1956 Mexican drama film directed by Alfonso Corona Blake. It was entered into the 7th Berlin International Film Festival.

Happiness is the third full-length album from post-hardcore band Dance Gavin Dance. It was released by Rise Records on June 9, 2009. The band went into the studio with Kris Crummett to record the album on February 14, 2009. On April 10, they uploaded new artwork and a recording of the new song "Tree Village" onto their MySpace profile. On May 28, "Don't Tell Dave" was also added to their MySpace page with "NASA" being posted soon after on May 31.

This album marks a significant change for the band's sound, as it deviates from their traditional post-hardcore sound and instead embraces more experimental elements, many of which are expanded upon in following albums.

This is their first (and only, to date) album without original member Jon Mess, and therefore the first and so far only album with vocalist and guitarist Kurt Travis and Will Swan respectively handling screaming duties. It is also their only album with former bassist Jason Ellis, who left after the recording. It is their last album with lead vocalist, Kurt Travis. They have also made a music video for "Tree Village". It is their second release thus far to provide lyrics for each song in the CD booklet ( Whatever I Say Is Royal Ocean being the first).

Happiness peaked at number 145 on the Billboard 200 and 30 on the Top Independent Albums chart.

Happiness is the debut studio album by English synthpop duo Hurts, released on 27 August 2010 by RCA Records. It was preceded by the release of the singles " Better Than Love" on 23 May 2010 and " Wonderful Life" on 22 August 2010. Collaborators include Jonas Quant and production team The Nexus, as well as a duet with Australian singer Kylie Minogue on the song "Devotion". To promote the release of the album, the track "Happiness" was made available as a free download via Amazon.co.uk on 1 August 2010.

Happiness received mixed reviews from music critics. The album debuted at number four on the UK Albums Chart, selling 25,493 copies in its first week—the fastest-selling debut album of 2010 by a band in the United Kingdom. It reached number one on the Greek Foreign Albums Chart, number two in Austria, Germany, Poland and Switzerland, and the top ten in Denmark, Finland, Ireland and Sweden. Happiness has sold 180,218 copies in the UK and over 2 million copies worldwide.

"Happiness" is the debut single by American recording artist Alexis Jordan. It is the lead single from her self-titled debut studio album, released in the United States on September 7, 2010. The upbeat dance-pop and house rhythm behind the track was heavily sampled from electronic artist Deadmau5's "Brazil (2nd Edit)" (released two years prior to "Happiness"). The lyrics were written by Autumn Rowe, Petr Brdičko, and the track was re-edited for the lyrics by StarGate.

"Happiness" was generally well received by many critics, with some complimenting Jordan's vocal abilities. In the United States, the song topped the Hot Dance Club Songs chart, giving Jordan her first number one on the chart. It reached number 1 in the charts in the Netherlands (staying there for 10 weeks) and has also charted in the top five in countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia. An accompanying music video, directed by Aggressive sees Jordan being torn apart from her love interest. It was noted for its similarities to Kylie Minogue's " Can't Get You Out of My Head".

Happiness was the first single from Vanessa Williams' album Next. It was released on July 24, 1997. The song utilizes samples from Nu Shooz's " I Can't Wait" and Funkadelic's " (Not Just) Knee Deep".

"Happiness" is a song by Australian singer-songwriter, music producer, and former child actor Sam Sparro. The song was released on 17 February 2012 as the lead single from his second studio album Return to Paradise (2012). The single was certified platinum by the Belgian Entertainment Association.

The song hit number one in the Belgian charts. The Magician Remix (by Belgian DJ Stephen Fasano) is the version that is most popular in Belgium (and the one that made the hit list).

"Happiness" is a song by English vocalist Robert Palmer. The song was released as the fifth and final single from the album Don't Explain in 1991. The song was written solely by Palmer.

Happiness is a 2013 play by David Williamson.

Happiness is a 2014 French-Finnish documentary film written, directed and produced by Thomas Balmès. The film premiered in-competition at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 17, 2014. It won the Documentary World Cinema Cinematography Award at the festival.

The film premiered at 2014 Thessaloniki Documentary Festival in Views of the World section, on March 16, 2014. It also premiered at 2014 San Francisco International Film Festival on April 27, 2014.

Happiness is a Japanese pop girl group formed by LDH in 2008 and signed to Rhythm Zone. They are a dance and vocal unit of collective girl group E-girls alongside Dream and Flower. The group consists of two vocalists and five performers.

Happiness is the thirteenth studio album by electronic music musician Kid606, released in 2013 through Tigerbeat6. On the vinyl version of the album, "Tarsier Treehouse" is placed after "If I Am Only Allowed One Song On This Album With Cut Up Female Vocals Then This Song Is It".

Happiness (, Schastye) is a 1934 silent satirical slapstick (or rather lubok) comedy set in the Russian Empire before the October Revolution and in the Soviet Union at the time of the collectivization. Medvedkin's original title was The Snatchers or The Possessors .

The original print featured an experimental color sequence illustrating a poor peasant's dreams of becoming a king. It was the first color production of the Mosfilm studio. According to Medvedkin, "At that time the peasant could not dream of anything multicoloured of beautiful. His dream was limited, and in that the technology helped". The sequence was discarded on account of its poor technical quality and is apparently lost.

Unnoticed on its release, Happiness became well known in the 1960s among film scholars. It was especially championed by Chris Marker who included some excerpts from Happiness in his 1992 documentary The Last Bolshevik.

is a Japanese supernatural manga series written and illustrated by Shūzō Oshimi. The series is published by Kodansha in Japan and by Kodansha Comics USA in the United States.