Riant - #493

Today’s word of the day is giant, R-I-A-N-T. Riant is an adjective that means cheerful or happy.  Riant comes directly from France where it means ‘laughing.’ The word happy may refer to a long-term condition as in ‘he lived a happy life’ or it may simply mean laughing or mirthful at a particular time.  Riant is best used to refer to the latter, as in: In spite of her current problems, Shelly seemed pretty riant. It looked as though she was laughing through the pain. Riant is spelled RIANT.