Gaiety (noun)
Definition- joyful or festive activity.
Source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gaiety
Location: This word was found in the book Beloved by Toni Morrison; located in the 8th line on the 87th page.
Quote: She had never seen Beloved this happy. She had seen her pouty lips open wide with the pleasure of sugar or some piece of news Denver gave her. She had felt warm satisfaction radiating from Beloved’s skin when she listened to her mother talk about the old days. But gaiety she had never seen.
While reading the passage I understood that Beloved was happy but the word gaiety through me off because it made it seem that there was more to her happiness. With research I understand now that it means that she was simply at the highest extent of happiness, a more festive type of feeling. With the understanding of this word it simply made the paragraph a smoother read even though with context clues the definition can be assumed. With the understanding of the word and its definition the paragraph simply took more life and color.
