merry

Also found in: Thesaurus, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

merry

happy, cheery, glad; jolly, jovial, mirthful; joyous in disposition: a merry old elf

Not to be confused with:

marry – take a husband or wife; wed; combine, connect, join: The new cars marry fuel efficiency and roominess.

mer·ry

(mĕr′ē)

adj. mer·ri·er, mer·ri·est

1. Full of cheerfulness, liveliness, and good feelings: merry revelers.

2. Marked by or offering fun, good feelings, and liveliness; festive: a merry evening.

3. Brisk: a merry pace.

4. Archaic Delightful or pleasing.

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

mer′ri·ly adv.

mer′ri·ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

merry

(ˈmɛrɪ) or

merrie

adj, -rier or -riest

1. cheerful; jolly

2. very funny; hilarious

3. informal Brit slightly drunk

4. archaic delightful

5. make merry to revel; be festive

6. play merry hell with informal to disturb greatly; disrupt

[Old English merige agreeable]

ˈmerrily adv

ˈmerriness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

mer•ry

(ˈmɛr i)

adj. mer•ri•er, mer•ri•est.

1. full of cheerfulness or gaiety; joyous in disposition or spirit.

2. characterized by rejoicing or festive conviviality.

3. Archaic. causing happiness.

[before 900; < Old English mer(i)ge pleasant]

mer′ri•ly, adv.

mer′ri•ness, n.

merry

- First meant "peaceful" or "pleasant," which is what it first meant in "Merry Christmas."

merry

adjective

1. cheerful, happy, upbeat (informal), carefree, glad, jolly, festive, joyous, joyful, genial, fun-loving, chirpy (informal), vivacious, rollicking, convivial, gleeful, blithe, frolicsome, mirthful, sportive, light-hearted, jocund, gay, blithesome He was much loved for his merry nature.
cheerful sad, unhappy, miserable, gloomy, dismal, dejected, down in the dumps (informal)

2. (Brit. informal) tipsy, happy, elevated (informal), mellow, tiddly (slang, chiefly Brit.), squiffy (Brit. informal) After a couple of glasses I was feeling a bit merry.

make merry have fun, celebrate, revel, have a good time, feast, frolic, enjoy yourself, large it (Brit. slang), carouse, make whoopee (informal) Neighbours went out into the streets and made merry together.

Quotations
"A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance" Bible: Proverbs

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

merry

adjective

1. Characterized by joyful exuberance:

blithe, blithesome, boon, convivial, gay, gleeful, jocund, jolly, jovial, mirthful.

2. Marked by festal celebration:

festive, gala, glad, gladsome, happy, joyful, joyous.

Translations

بَهِيجٌشِبه سَكْرانمَرِح

veselýčilýlehce podnapilý

gladlystigmunter

fröhlich lustig munter angeheitert fidel

χαρωπός

alegre

hauskailoinen

joyeux pompette

veseo

spiccesvidám

glaîlegur, líflegurgóîglaîur, hreifur

allegro brillo contento far festa festevole

陽気な

즐거운

įkaušęslinksmybėspramogautojaspramogostriukšmingas linksminimasis

iereibis, ieskurbisjautrs, priecīgs

vesel

gladmunter

รื่นเริง

çakırkeyfneşeli şen şen şakrak

vui vẻ

欢乐的微醉的

merry

[ˈmerɪ] ADJ (merrier (compar) (merriest (superl)))

1. (= cheerful) [laughter, face, tune] → alegre
they were in a very merry mood → estaban de muy buen humor
Robin Hood and his merry men → Robin Hood y sus valientes compañeros
Merry Christmas! → ¡Feliz Navidad!
to make merry (liter) → divertirse
to go one's (own) merry way whatever advice you give her she just goes her own merry way (iro) → le des el consejo que le des, ella sigue haciendo su santa voluntad
to lead sb a merry dance (Brit) (iro) → enredar a algn
see also hell A1
see also more B2

2. (Brit) (= tipsy) → achispado, alegre
to get merry → achisparse, ponerse alegre

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

merry

[ˈmɛri] adj

(= cheerful) → joyeux/euse
bursts of merry laughter → de joyeux éclats de rire
a merry little tune → un petit air gai
Merry Christmas! → Joyeux Noël!
A merry Christmas to all our readers → Un joyeux Noël à tous nos lecteurs.

(= tipsy) → gai(e)
He was rather merry after the office party → Il était plutôt gai après l'arrosage au bureau.
to get merry → prendre du bon temps

to make merry (= have a good time) (old-fashioned) → prendre du bon temps

(humorous) to continue on one's merry way (= continue regardless) → continuer son petit bonhomme de cheminmerry-go-round [ˈmɛrigəʊraʊnd] n

(in fairground) → manège m

(= whirl) → tourbillon m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

merry

adj (+er)

(= cheerful) → fröhlich, vergnügt, lustig; song, tune → fröhlich; to make merry → lustig und vergnügt sein; Merry Christmas! → fröhliche or frohe Weihnachten!; a Merry Christmas to all our readers → allen unseren Lesern ein frohes Weihnachtsfest; Merry England → das gute alte England

(fig) to lead somebody a merry dance → jdn ganz schön an der Nase herumführen; to play merry hell with something (inf) → etw total durcheinanderbringen; to give somebody merry hell (inf) → jdm einheizen (inf); to go one’s merry way → seiner Wege gehen

(Brit inf: = tipsy) → beschwipst, angeheitert (inf); to get merry → sich (dat) → einen anpicheln (inf)

merry

merry-go-round

n → Karussell nt

merrymaker

n → Festgast m, → Feiernde(r) mf

merrymaking

n → Feiern nt, → Belustigung f, → Lustbarkeit f (liter); after the merry had finished → nach Beendigung des Festes or der Lustbarkeiten (liter)

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

merry

[ˈmɛrɪ] adj (-ier (comp) (-iest (superl))) (cheerful) → allegro/a, gaio/a, festoso/a (Brit) (fam) (tipsy) → brillo/a
Merry Christmas! → Buon Natale!

merry

(ˈmeri) adjective

1. cheerful; noisily or laughingly lively etc. merry children; a merry party.

2. slightly drunk. He's been getting merry on whisky.

ˈmerrily adverb

ˈmerriness noun

ˈmerriment noun

fun and laughter. There was a great deal of merriment at the party.

ˈmerry-go-round noun

(American ˌcarouˈsel) a revolving ring of toy horses etc on which children ride at a fair.

ˈmerrymaking noun

cheerful celebration. all the merrymaking at Christmas.

ˈmerrymaker noun

merry

→ بَهِيجٌ veselý glad fröhlich χαρωπός alegre iloinen joyeux veseo contento 陽気な 즐거운 vrolijk lystig wesoły feliz веселый glad รื่นเริง şen şakrak vui vẻ 欢乐的

Merry Christmas! → Veselé Vánoce! → Glædelig jul → Frohe Weihnachten! → Καλά Χριστούγεννα! → ¡Feliz Navidad! → Hyvää joulua! → Joyeux Noël ! → Sretan Božić! → Buon Natale! → メリークリスマス！ → 메리 크리스마스! → Vrolijk kerstfeest! → God jul! → Wesołych Świąt! → Feliz Natal! → С Рождеством! → God jul! → Mutlu Noeller! → Giáng Sinh vui vẻ! → 圣诞快乐！

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

There is an admirable foundation for a philosophic romance in the curious history of the early settlement of Mount Wollaston, or Merry Mount.

Bright were the days at Merry Mount, when the Maypole was the banner staff of that gay colony!

View in context

IN MERRY ENGLAND in the time of old, when good King Henry the Second ruled the land, there lived within the green glades of Sherwood Forest, near Nottingham Town, a famous outlaw whose name was Robin Hood.

It was at the dawn of day in the merry Maytime, when hedgerows are green and flowers bedeck the meadows; daisies pied and yellow cuckoo buds and fair primroses all along the briery hedges; when apple buds blossom and sweet birds sing, the lark at dawn of day, the throstle cock and cuckoo; when lads and lasses look upon each other with sweet thoughts; when busy housewives spread their linen to bleach upon the bright green grass.

View in context

1-26) Muse, tell me about Pan, the dear son of Hermes, with his goat's feet and two horns -- a lover of merry noise.

For there, though a god, he used to tend curly-fleeced sheep in the service of a mortal man, because there fell on him and waxed strong melting desire to wed the rich-tressed daughter of Dryops, and there be brought about the merry marriage.

View in context

"That was how the rum took him," added Merry. "Blue!

"Belay there, John!" said Merry. "Don't you cross a sperrit."

View in context

The merry man was the first to greet the strangers with a nod; and following the old man's eyes, he observed that perhaps that was the first time he had ever seen a Punch off the stage.

View in context

I can now travel into the wide world, and make myself merry.' With that he put his money into his purse, and set out, roaming over hill and valley.

View in context

`I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a schoolboy.

View in context

And the worst of it was that her merry eye was in partnership with a merry tongue.

Adj.	1.	merry - full of or showing high-spirited merriment; "when hearts were young and gay"; "a poet could not but be gay, in such a jocund company"- Wordsworth; "the jolly crowd at the reunion"; "jolly old Saint Nick"; "a jovial old gentleman"; "have a merry Christmas"; "peals of merry laughter"; "a mirthful laugh" jocund, jolly, jovial, mirthful, gay joyous - full of or characterized by joy; "felt a joyous abandon"; "joyous laughter"
	2.	merry - offering fun and gaiety; "a festive (or festal) occasion"; "gay and exciting night life"; "a merry evening" festal, festive, gay joyous - full of or characterized by joy; "felt a joyous abandon"; "joyous laughter"
	3.	merry - quick and energetic; "a brisk walk in the park"; "a lively gait"; "a merry chase"; "traveling at a rattling rate"; "a snappy pace"; "a spanking breeze" brisk, spanking, zippy, alert, rattling, lively, snappy energetic - possessing or exerting or displaying energy; "an energetic fund raiser for the college"; "an energetic group of hikers"; "it caused an energetic chemical reaction"