merry

adj

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.

1. Jolly and full of high spirits; happy.

   “We had a very merry Christmas.”

   “I am neuer merry when I heare ſweet muſique.”

2. Festive and full of fun and laughter.

   “Everyone was merry at the party.”

   “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.”

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”

   “There eke my feeble barke a while may ſtay, / Till mery wynd and weather call her thence away.”

5. Drunk; tipsy.

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

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.

   “'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.'”

   “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.”

4. A diminutive of the male given name Meredith.

noun

Etymology: From French merise.

1. An English wild cherry.