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Webster 1913 Edition

Merry

Mer′ry

,
Adj.
[
Com
par.
Merrier
;
sup
erl.
Merriest
.]
[OE.
merie
,
mirie
,
murie
, merry, pleasant, AS.
merge
,
myrige
, pleasant; cf.
murge
, adv.; prob. akin to OHG.
murg
, short, Goth.
gamaúrgjan
to shorten; cf. L.
murcus
a coward, who cuts off his thumb to escape military service; the Anglo-Saxon and English meanings coming from the idea of making the time seem short. Cf.
Mirth
.]
1.
Laughingly gay; overflowing with good humor and good spirits; jovial; inclined to laughter or play; sportive.
They drank, and were
merry
with him.
Gen. xliii. 34.
I am never
merry
when I hear sweet music.
Shakespeare
2.
Cheerful; joyous; not sad; happy.
Is any
merry
? let him sing psalms.
Jas. v. 13.
3.
Causing laughter, mirth, gladness, or delight;
as, a
merry
jest
.
“Merry wind and weather.”
Spenser.
Merry dancers
.
See under
Dancer
.
–
Merry men
,
followers; retainers.
[Obs.]

His
merie men
commanded he
To make him bothe game and glee.
Chaucer.
–
To make merry
,
to be jovial; to indulge in hilarity; to feast with mirth.
Judg. ix. 27.
Syn. – Cheerful; blithe; lively; sprightly; vivacious; gleeful; joyous; mirthful; jocund; sportive; hilarious.

Mer′ry

(mĕr′ry̆)
,
Noun.
(Bot.)
A kind of wild red cherry.

Webster 1828 Edition

Merry

MER'RY

, a.
1.
Gay and noisy; jovial; exhilarated to laughter.
Man is the merriest species of the creation.
They drank and were merry with him. Gen.43.
2.
Causing laughter or mirth; as a merry jest.
3.
Brisk; as a merry gale. [This is the primary sense of the word.]
4.
Pleasant; agreeable; delightful.
To make merry, to be jovial; to indulge in hilarity; to feast with mirth. Judges 9.

Definition 2024

Merry

Merry

See also: merry and Merrý

English

Proper noun

Merry

  1. A surname​. Originally a nickname for a merry person.
  2. A female given name from the adjective, also a diminutive of Mercy.
    • 1844 Charles Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit, Chapter 2:
      '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.'
    • 1964 Brigid Brophy, The Waste Disposal Unit, Best Short Plays of the World Theatre 1958-1967, page 50:
      It was on account of she had such a happy temperament I persuaded Mr. van der Most to let me call her Merry. Lots of folks, when they first meet her, they think she's called Mary - Maria, as you would say it, Signor Lumaca - but no, her name is really Merry, M-E-double-R-Y, because, I always tell them, she is.
  3. A diminutive of the male given name Meredith.

merry

merry

See also: Merry and Merrý

English

Alternative forms

Adjective

merry ‎(comparative merrier, superlative merriest)

  1. Jolly and full of high spirits.
    We had a very merry Christmas.
    • Shakespeare
      I am never merry when I hear sweet music.
  2. Festive and full of fun and laughter.
    • 1883, Howard Pyle, The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood Chapter V
      If I have the chance, I will make our worshipful Sheriff pay right well for that which he hath done to me. Maybe I may bring him some time into Sherwood Forest and have him to a right merry feast with us.
    Everyone was merry at the party.
  3. Brisk
    The play moved along at a merry pace.
  4. Causing laughter, mirth, gladness, or delight.
    a merry jest
    • Spenser
      merry wind and weather
  5. (euphemistic) drunk; tipsy
    Some of us got a little merry at the office Christmas party.

Derived terms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Translations

Derived terms

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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