merry

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See also: Merry and Merrý

English

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Middle English mery, merie, mirie, myrie, murie, murȝe, from Old English meriġe, miriġe, myriġe, myreġe, myrġe (pleasing, agreeable; pleasant, sweet, delightful; melodious), from Proto-West Germanic *murgī (short, slow, leisurely), from Proto-Germanic *murguz (short, slow), from Proto-Indo-European *mréǵʰus (short). Cognate with Scots mery, mirry (merry), Middle Dutch mergelijc (pleasant, agreeable, joyful), Norwegian dialectal myrjel (small object, figurine), Latin brevis (short, small, narrow, shallow), Ancient Greek βραχύς (brakhús, short). Doublet of brief.

Alternative forms

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Adjective

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merry (comparative merrier, superlative merriest)

  1. Jolly and full of high spirits; happy.
    We had a very merry Christmas.
    • c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies [] (First Folio), London: [] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:
      I am neuer merry when I heare ſweet muſique.
    • 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 281:
      I felt comforted by the song of the redbreast, and I thought I felt less lonely and deserted as long as I heard the merry notes of the thrush.
  2. Festive and full of fun and laughter.
    Everyone was merry at the party.
  3. Brisk
    The play moved along at a merry pace.
    The car moved at a merry clip.
  4. Causing laughter, mirth, gladness, or delight.
    a merry jest
  5. (euphemistic) drunk; tipsy
    Some of us got a little merry at the office Christmas party.
Synonyms
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Antonyms
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Derived terms
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Translations
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Etymology 2

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From French merise.

Noun

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merry (plural merries)

  1. An English wild cherry.

See also

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Anagrams

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