wellspring of joy
1
4.9
- noun
:
fuente de alegría
- Volunteering at the shelter became a wellspring of joy for him, filling his life with purpose.
Examples
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Her laughter is a wellspring of joy that brightens everyone's day.
-
All the way up the steep path leading to eternal life are wellsprings of joy to refresh the weary.
Blog text (2) -
My desire is to be so filled with the love of Jesus that my life may be a wellspring of joy to all who ever meet me on the trail of life.
Blog text (2) -
The children's smiles were a constant wellspring of joy during the party.
Synonyms
7
7.2
A source of many ideas or strong feelings
How Abundant
1
4.9
∞
2.6
Surface Forms
Morphology
wellspring + of + joy
The phrase is fully compositional: 'wellspring' denotes a plentiful source or origin and the prepositional phrase 'of joy' specifies what it supplies, so the meaning 'a source of happiness' follows directly from the constituents. The 'source/of' construction is cross-linguistically common and therefore an average B1 learner who knows 'wellspring' and 'joy' would readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Wellspring of joy is a phrase that comes from the picture of a bubbling wellspring, a natural spring of water that keeps flowing, and the idea that joy can flow like water. So, calling someone a wellspring of joy means they are a steady 'source' of 'happiness' that keeps giving.