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the state or feeling of being .
enjoyment or satisfaction derived from what is to one’s liking; gratification; delight.
worldly or frivolous enjoyment:
the pursuit of pleasure.
recreation or amusement; diversion; enjoyment:
Are you traveling on business or for pleasure?
sensual gratification.
a cause or source of enjoyment or delight:
It was a pleasure to see you.
quality:
the pleasure of his company.
one’s will, desire, or choice:
to make known one’s pleasure.
to give pleasure to; gratify; .
to take pleasure; delight:
I pleasure in your company.
to seek pleasure, as by taking a holiday.
Contemporary Examples

On top of the pleasure (or pain), the clients who saw Mistress Carla received their own additional perks.
Whip It: Secrets of a Dominatrix Justin Jones November 24, 2014

It is a pleasure to hear from all of you, particularly those commenters who believe I hold a PhD in Propaganda Studies.
Greetings From Your New Editor, Frumbeasters! Justin Green September 9, 2012

The entrance into these difficult concepts is the pleasure of food, which is a wonderful way to learn.
Home Ec at Harvard Laura Colarusso December 5, 2010

The French aristocrat Marquis de Sade once said that “It is only by way of pain one arrives at pleasure.”
The Twisted Sadism of ‘Borgman’ Alex Suskind June 27, 2014

He promised social security with meaning and purpose and pleasure.
How LBJ and Reagan Wrecked Our Faith in Government Scott Porch October 20, 2014

Historical Examples

He had so lived for pleasure that he had never known Happiness.
Night and Morning, Complete Edward Bulwer-Lytton

He would say that his was a trip of business, and not pleasure, and hard work he had.
Explorations in Australia John Forrest

What did they contain of pleasure, of happiness, or of grief?
The Works of Guy de Maupassant, Volume VIII. Guy de Maupassant

She laughed her little laugh of pleasure, and thanked him prettily for the compliment.
Viviette William J. Locke

I missed them from their usual haunts—the haunts of pleasure.
The Quadroon Mayne Reid

noun
an agreeable or enjoyable sensation or emotion: the pleasure of hearing good music
something that gives or affords enjoyment or delight: his garden was his only pleasure

amusement, recreation, or enjoyment
(as modifier): a pleasure boat, pleasure ground

(euphemistic) sexual gratification or enjoyment: he took his pleasure of her
a person’s preference or choice
verb
when intr, often foll by in. to give pleasure to or take pleasure (in)
n.

late 14c., “condition of enjoyment,” from Old French plesir, also plaisir “enjoyment, delight, desire, will” (12c.), from noun use of infinitive plaisir (v.) “to please,” from Latin placere “to please, give pleasure, be approved” (see please (v.)). Ending altered in English 14c. by influence of words in -ure (measure, etc.). Meaning “sensual enjoyment as the chief object of life” is attested from 1520s.
v.

1530s, “to take pleasure in;” 1550s as “give pleasure to,” from pleasure (n.). Sexual sense by 1610s. Related: Pleasured; pleasuring.