merry

Etymology 1

From Middle English mery, merie, mirie, myrie, murie, murȝe, from Old English meriġe, miriġe, myriġe, myreġe, myrġe (“pleasing, agreeable; pleasant, sweet, delightful; melodious”), from Proto-West Germanic *murgī, 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.

adj

1. Jolly and full of high spirits; happy.
   We had a very merry Christmas.
   I felt comforted by the song of the redbreast, and I thought I felt less lonely and deserted as long as I heard the merry notes of the thrush. 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 281
2. Festive and full of fun and laughter.
   Everyone was merry at the party.
3. Brisk
   The play moved along at a merry pace.
   The car moved at a merry clip.
4. Causing laughter, mirth, gladness, or delight.
   a merry jest
5. (euphemistic) drunk; tipsy
   Some of us got a little merry at the office Christmas party.

Etymology 2

French merise

noun

1. An English wild cherry.