merry

== English == === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) enPR: mĕrʹē, IPA(key): /ˈmɛ.ɹi/ (General American, without the Mary–marry–merry merger) IPA(key): /ˈmɛ.ɹi/ (General American, Mary–marry–merry merger) IPA(key): /ˈmɛ(ə)ɹ.i/ (General Australian, New Zealand) IPA(key): /ˈmeɹ.i/ (Scotland) IPA(key): /ˈmɛɹ.ɪ/, /ˈmɛɹ.e/ (Philadelphia, merry–Murray merger) IPA(key): /ˈmʌɹ.i/ Homophones: Mary, marry (both only in accents with Mary–marry–merry merger); Murray (merry–Murray merger) Hyphenation: mer‧ry Rhymes: -ɛɹi === Etymology 1 === 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. ==== Alternative forms ==== merie, merrie, mery (obsolete) ==== Adjective ==== merry (comparative merrier, superlative merriest) Jolly and full of high spirits; happy. Synonyms: cheerful, content, ecstatic, exultant, gay, happy, jovial, joyful, pleased; see also Thesaurus:happy Antonyms: miserable, unhappy Festive and full of fun and laughter. Synonyms: convivial, gay, jovial Brisk. Synonyms: energetic, lively, spirited; see also Thesaurus:active Causing laughter, mirth, gladness, or delight. Synonyms: delightful, gladful (euphemistic) Drunk; tipsy. Synonyms: lushy, muzzy, squiffy; see also Thesaurus:drunk ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Related terms ===== mirth ===== Translations ===== === Etymology 2 === From French merise. ==== Noun ==== merry (plural merries) An English wild cherry. === See also === === Anagrams === Rymer