Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Gladness and merriment, especially when expressed by laughter.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To please or make merry.
  • To rejoice.
  • noun Pleasure; joy.
  • noun A state or feeling of merriment; demonstrative gaiety; jollity; hilarity.
  • noun A cause or subject of merriment: that which excites gaiety or laughter.
  • noun Synonyms Mirth, Cheerfulness.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Merriment; gayety accompanied with laughter; jollity.
  • noun obsolete That which causes merriment.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The emotion usually following humour and accompanied by laughter; merriment; jollity; gaiety.
  • noun That which causes merriment.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun great merriment

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old English myrgth; see mregh-u- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Old English myrġþ, approximately equivalent to merry +‎ -th.

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Examples

Comments

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  • I always though mirth had a derisive attachment.

    July 26, 2009