English Explanatory Dictionary

merry

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Jolly and full of high spirits; happy.
  2. Festive and full of fun and laughter.
  3. Brisk
  4. Causing laughter, mirth, gladness, or delight.
  5. drunk; tipsy
noun
  1. An English wild cherry.
name
  1. A surname transferred from the nickname. Originally a nickname for a merry person.
  2. A female given name from merry.
  3. A diminutive of the female given name Mercy.
  4. A diminutive of the male given name Meredith.

Pronunciation

mĕrʹē /ˈmɛ.ɹi/ en-us-ne-merry.ogg /ˈmɛ(ə)ɹ.i/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Grendelkhan-merry.wav /ˈmeɹ.i/ /ˈmɛɹ.ɪ/ /ˈmɛɹ.e/ /ˈmʌɹ.i/

Word forms

merry merrier merriest merie merrie mery merries

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.

Synonyms

content ecstatic exultant gay happy jovial joyful pleased lively spirited muzzy squiffy cheerful convivial energetic delightful gladful lushy

Antonyms

miserable unhappy

Related words

mirth cherry-merry cherry-merry-bamboo

Derived words

be on one's merry way continue on one's merry way go on one's merry way like merry hell make merry Mary-marry-merry merger merrily merriment merriness Merriweather merry-andrew merry as a cricket merry as a grig merrybell merry chase merry Christmas merry cocker merry company merry dance merry dancers merrydom merry-go-around merry-go-down merry-go-round merry-go-sorry merry-go-whirl Merry Hill Merry Lees merrymaker merry-maker merry-making merrymaking merryman merrymeeting merry-meeting merry men merrythought merry-totter merry widow merry Xmas overmerry play merry havoc with play merry hell with
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