MERRY

merry. Merry, a. cheerful, laughing, jovial, successful

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Mer″ry (?), a. [Compar. Merrier (?); superl. Merriest.] [[OE. merie, mirie, murie, merry, pleasant, AS. merge, myrige, pleasant; cf. murge, adv.; prob. akin to OHG. murg, short, Goth. gamaúrgjan to shorten; cf. L. murcus a coward, who cuts off his thumb to escape military service; the Anglo-Saxon and English meanings coming from the idea of making the time seem short. Cf. Mirth.]] 1. 1. Laughingly gay; overflowing with good humor and good spirits; jovial; inclined to laughter or play ; sportive.
They drank, and were merry with him. Gen. xliii. 34. I am never merry when I hear sweet music. Shak. 2. 2. Cheerful; joyous; not sad; happy.
Is any merry? let him sing psalms. Jas. v. 13. 3. 3. Causing laughter, mirth, gladness, or delight; as, a merry jest. “Merry wind and weather.” Spenser.
Merry dancers. See under Dancer. — Merry men, followers; retainers. His merie men commanded he To make him bothe game and glee. Chaucer. — To make merry, to be jovial; to indulge in hilarity; to feast with mirth. Judg. ix. 27. Syn. — Cheerful; blithe; lively; sprightly; vivacious; gleeful; joyous; mirthful; jocund; sportive; hilarious.