merry

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   Jolly and full of high spirits; happy.

   We had a very merry Christmas.

2. 2
   adj

   Festive and full of fun and laughter.

   Everyone was merry at the party.

3. 3
   adj

   Brisk

   The play moved along at a merry pace.

4. 4
   adj

   Causing laughter, mirth, gladness, or delight.

   a merry jest

5. 5
   adj

   drunk; tipsy

   Some of us got a little merry at the office Christmas party.

6. 6
   name

   A diminutive of the female given name Mercy.

   'Is he handsome, Pa?' inquired the younger daughter. 'Silly Merry!' said the eldest: Merry being fond for Mercy. 'What is the premium, Pa? tell us that.'

7. 7
   adj

   quick and energetic

8. 8
   adj

   offering fun and gaiety

Etymology

From Middle English myrie, merie, mery, from Old English myrġe, myriġe (“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.