Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Full of cheerfulness, liveliness, and good feelings.
- adjective Marked by or offering fun, good feelings, and liveliness; festive.
- adjective Brisk.
- adjective Archaic Delightful or pleasing.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To make merry or glad; please; gratify; delight.
- Merrily; in a lively manner.
- Exciting feelings of enjoyment and. gladness; causing cheerfulness or light-heartedness; pleasant; delightful; happy: as, the merry month of May; a merry spectacle.
- Playfully cheerful or gay; enlivened with gladness or good spirits; mirthful in speech or action; frolicsome; hilarious; jubilant: as, a merry company.
- Sportive and mirthful in quality or character; jocund; jovial; rollicking; funny: as, a merry heart; a merry song.
- Brisk; lively; cheery.
- Full of gibes: sneering; sarcastic.
- noun The wild cherry of England, Prunus avium.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Bot.) A kind of wild red cherry.
- adjective Laughingly gay; overflowing with good humor and good spirits; jovial; inclined to laughter or play; sportive.
- adjective Cheerful; joyous; not sad; happy.
- adjective Causing laughter, mirth, gladness, or delight.
- adjective See under
Dancer . - adjective [Obs.] followers; retainers.
- adjective to be jovial; to indulge in hilarity; to feast with mirth.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective
Jolly and full ofhigh spirits - adjective
Festive and full offun andlaughter - adjective
Brisk - adjective happy or showing enjoyment
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective quick and energetic
- adjective full of or showing high-spirited merriment
- adjective offering fun and gaiety
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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But ere morning broke in upon them, many of the merry group were lying in a beastly state under the chairs and tables, or others had gone to bed; but this is what _they_ called spending a _merry night_.
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 10, No. 282, November 10, 1827 Various
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I use the term merry men not just as a very poor pun, but also because it perfectly encapsulates the group as an antagonistic presence in Hellsing.
DVD Times 2009
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A new song is better to him than a new jacket, especially if bawdy, which he calls merry; and hates naturally the puritan, as an enemy to this mirth.
Microcosmography or, a Piece of the World Discovered; in Essays and Characters John Earle
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With an armed population, the things that happened in merry olde England wouldn't be repeated - hopefully.
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With an armed population, the things that happened in merry olde England wouldn't be repeated - hopefully.
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I have to just point out to Jamie though that judgement is actually how we spell it over here in merry old England.
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I'd love to give this a go here in merry old England, but so many Texan recipes end up becoming the long method when you have to order Rotel and even fresh jalapenos online.
Tex-Mex chicken and dumplings recipe | Homesick Texan Homesick Texan 2009
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If you sabotage a Republican campaign, you are a prankster, engaged in merry pranks which we all find hilarious.
Leap Year -- Day John 2008
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Everyone in merry England can wake up and love the world the morning after St. George slays the dragon, but very few have the moral and physical courage to slay the dragon in the first place.
Heroes for the Future Mary Kate Hurley 2007
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And I would pluck a tube from the tray, thrilled to have a choice where one had never been present before, and brush my teeth in merry contentment.
Vive La Difference! clothing5 2006
pterodactyl commented on the word merry
For some people, Mary, merry, and marry all sound different. For others, they sound the same. You can see a map of this phenomenon (in the US) here.
April 10, 2008
bilby commented on the word merry
You could wed Mary on Chrismtas Day and go for the trifecta.
August 22, 2008
bilby commented on the word merry
Mother shakes the cherry-tree,
Susan catch a cherry;
Oh how funny that will be,
Let's be merry!
- Christina Rossetti, 'Let's Be Merry'.
November 1, 2008