Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Jolly

Jol′ly

(jŏl′ly̆)
,
Adj.
[
Com
par.
Jollier
(-lĭ-ẽr)
;
sup
erl.
Jolliest
.]
[OF.
joli
,
jolif
, joyful, merry, F.
joli
pretty; of Scand. origin, akin to E.
yule
; cf. Icel.
jōl
yule, Christmas feast. See
Yule
.]
1.
Full of life and mirth; jovial; joyous; merry; mirthful.
Like a
jolly
troop of huntsmen.
Shakespeare
“A
jolly
place,” said he, “in times of old!
But something ails it now: the spot is cursed.”
Wordsworth.
2.
Expressing mirth, or inspiring it; exciting mirth and gayety.
And with his
jolly
pipe delights the groves.
Prior.
Their
jolly
notes they chanted loud and clear.
Fairfax.
3.
Of fine appearance; handsome; excellent; lively; agreeable; pleasant.
“A jolly cool wind.”
Sir T. North.
[Now mostly colloq.]
Full
jolly
knight he seemed, and fair did sit.
Spenser.
The
coachman is swelled into
jolly
dimensions.
W. Irving.

Webster 1828 Edition


Jolly

JOL'LY

, a.
1.
Merry; gay; lively; full of life and mirth; jovial. It expresses more life and noise than cheerful; as a jolly troop of huntsmen.
[It is seldom applied in colloquial usage to respectable company. We rarely say of respectable persons, they are jolly. It is applied to the young and the vulgar.]
2.
Expressing mirth or inspiring it.
And with his jolly pipe delights the groves.
The coachman is swelled into jolly dimensions by frequent potations of malt liquors.
3.
Exciting mirth and gayety; as jolly May.
4.
Like one in high health; pretty.

Definition 2024


Jolly

Jolly

See also: jolly

English

Proper noun

Jolly

  1. A female given name
  2. A surname.

jolly

jolly

See also: Jolly

English

Adjective

jolly (comparative jollier, superlative jolliest)

  1. Full of high and merry spirits; jovial.

Translations

Noun

jolly (plural jollies)

  1. (Britain, dated) A pleasure trip or excursion.
  2. (slang, dated) A marine in the English navy.
    • Rudyard Kipling
      I'm a Jolly 'Er Majesty's Jolly soldier an' sailor too!

Adverb

jolly (comparative more jolly, superlative most jolly)

  1. (Britain, dated) very, extremely

Derived terms

Verb

jolly (third-person singular simple present jollies, present participle jollying, simple past and past participle jollied)

  1. (transitive) To amuse or divert.

Derived terms

References

  1. Etymology
  2. Etymology
  • JOLLY in the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica, vol. 15, p. 495.

Italian

Etymology

From English jolly joker, an older name for the joker card in a deck of cards.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈdʒɔlli/

Noun

jolly m (invariable)

  1. (card games) joker
  2. wild card

See also

Playing cards in Italian · carte da gioco (layout · text)
asso due tre quattro cinque sei sette
otto nove dieci fante donna,
regina
re jolly, joker,
matta