jolly

From Middle English joli, jolif (“merry, cheerful”), from Old French joli, jolif (“merry, joyful”)^[1] It is uncertain whether the Old French word is from Old Norse jól ("a midwinter feast, Yule", hence "fest-ive"),^[2] in which case, equivalent to yule +‎ -ive, compare Dutch jolig (“happy, festive, frolicsome, jolly”), West Frisian joelich, joalich (“merry, jolly”), Middle High German jœlich (“hooting, jubilant”); however, OED considers this etymology unlikely.^[3] Alternatively, the Old French adjective originates from Vulgar Latin *gaudivus (from Latin gaudeō, more at joy), which would require that Early Old French ⟨d⟩ /ð/ irregularly turns up as ⟨l⟩ in jolif instead of being regularly dropped (alternatively, /l/ may be a hiatus filler inserted into expected *joïf). Possible parallels are found in French cigale and Provençal cigala from cigāda, and French Valois from Vadensis.^[3] For the loss of final -f compare tardy, hasty, hussy, etc.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒɒli/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒɑli/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒli
• Hyphenation: jol‧ly

jolly (comparative jollier, superlative jolliest)

1. Full of merriment and high spirits; jovial; joyous; merry.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto II”, in The Faerie Queene. , London: [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, , stanzas xi-xii:

     "Full jolly Knight he seemed […] full large of limb and every joint / He was, and cared not for God or man a point."

   • 1815, William Wordsworth, Hart-Leap Well, Part Second:

     "A jolly place," said he, "in times of old! / But something ails it now: the spot is curst. ..."

   • 1819, Washington Irving, “The Stage Coach”, in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.:

     […] he is swelled into jolly dimensions by frequent potations of malt liquors […]

2. (colloquial, dated) Splendid, excellent, pleasant.
   • 1852 March – 1853 September, Charles Dickens, chapter 16, in Bleak House, London: Bradbury and Evans, , published 1853, →OCLC:

     Jo silently notices how white and small her hand is and what a jolly servant she must be to wear such sparkling rings.

3. (informal) Drunk.

• jolliness
• jollisome

jolly (plural jollies)

1. (UK, dated, often humorous) A pleasure trip or excursion.
2. (slang, dated) A marine in the English navy.

   Synonym: joey

   • 1896, Rudyard Kipling, Soldier an' Sailor Too:

     I'm a Jolly — 'Er Majesty's Jolly — soldier an' sailor too!

3. (slang, archaic) A word of praise, or favorable notice.
   • 2021, Jenni Spangler, The Incredible Talking Machine:

     'We just need to chuck him a jolly.'
     'I beg your pardon?' said Faber.
     'Chuck a jolly... you know! Get people on the street talking about how amazing the show is! Tell them the tickets are sold out for the next two weeks.'

4. Short for jolly boat.
   • 1838, [Edgar Allan Poe], The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket. , New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, , →OCLC:

     Indeed it is nearly impossible to conceive how the small jolly they were in could have escaped destruction for a single instant.

• jollyful

jolly (comparative more jolly, superlative most jolly)

1. (British, dated) very, extremely

   It’s jolly hot in here, isn’t it?

   • 1991, Stephen Fry, chapter III, in The Liar, London: William Heinemann, →ISBN, page 26:

     Adrian thought it worth while to try out his new slang. ‘I say, you fellows, here's a rum go. Old Biffo was jolly odd this morning. He gave me a lot of pi-jaw about slacking and then invited me to tea. No rotting! He did really.’

jolly (third-person singular simple present jollies, present participle jollying, simple past and past participle jollied)

1. (transitive) To amuse or divert.
2. (transitive, informal, archaic) To praise or talk up.
   • 1898, Marketing/Communications, volume 23, page 52:

     I do not believe in 'jollying' and 'soft soaping' a man when his work is really bad.

• Jolly in the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica, vol. 15, p. 495.

Borrowed from English jolly joker, an older name for the joker card in a deck of cards.

• IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒɔl.li/
• Rhymes: -ɔlli

jolly m (invariable)

1. (card games) joker
2. wild card

Playing cards in Italian · carte da gioco (layout · text)
asso	due	tre	quattro	cinque	sei	sette
otto	nove	dieci	fante	donna, regina	re	jolly, joker, matta