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jolly - 6 dictionary results
jol⋅ly
[jol-ee] 
i
adjective, -li⋅er, -li⋅est, verb, -lied, -ly⋅ing, noun, plural -lies, adverb –adjective
| 1. | in good spirits; gay; merry: In a moment he was as jolly as ever. |
| 2. | cheerfully festive or convivial: a jolly party. |
| 3. | joyous; happy: Christmas is a jolly season. |
| 4. | Chiefly British Informal. delightful; charming. |
| 5. | British.
|
–verb (used with object)
| 6. | Informal. to talk or act agreeably to (a person) in order to keep that person in good humor, esp. in the hope of gaining something (usually followed by along): They jollied him along until the job was done. |
–verb (used without object)
| 7. | Informal. to jolly a person; josh; kid. |
–noun
| 8. | Informal. the practice or an instance of jollying a person. |
| 9. | Usually, jollies. Informal. pleasurable excitement, esp. from or as if from something forbidden or improper; thrills; kicks: He gets his jollies from watching horror movies. |
–adverb
| 10. | British Informal. extremely; very: He'll jolly well do as he's told. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To jolly
| jol·ly (jŏl'ē) adj. jol·li·er, jol·li·est
To a great extent or degree; extremely. v. jol·lied, jol·ly·ing, jol·lies v. tr. To keep amused or diverted for one's own purposes; humor. v. intr. To amuse oneself with humorous banter. n. pl. jol·lies
[Middle English joli, from Old French, perhaps of Scandinavian origin.] jol'li·ly adv., jol'li·ness n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Jolly
Jol"ly\ (j[o^]l"l[y^]), a. [Compar. Jollier (-l[i^]*[~e]r); superl. Jolliest.] [OF. joli, jolif, joyful, merry, F. joli pretty; of Scand. origin, akin to E. yule; cf. Icel. j[=o]l yule, Christmas feast. See Yule.]1. Full of life and mirth; jovial; joyous; merry; mirthful. Like a jolly troop of huntsmen. --Shak. "A jolly place," said he, "in times of old! But something ails it now: the spot is cursed." --Wordsworth. 2. Expressing mirth, or inspiring it; exciting mirth and gayety. And with his jolly pipe delights the groves. --Prior. Their jolly notes they chanted loud and clear. --Fairfax. 3. Of fine appearance; handsome; excellent; lively; agreeable; pleasant. "A jolly cool wind." --Sir T. North. [Now mostly colloq.] Full jolly knight he seemed, and fair did sit. --Spenser. The coachman is swelled into jolly dimensions. --W. Irving.Jolly
Jol"ly\, v. t. To cause to be jolly; to make good-natured; to encourage to feel pleasant or cheerful; -- often implying an insincere or bantering spirit; hence, to poke fun at. [Colloq.] We want you to jolly them up a bit. --Brander Matthews. At noon we lunched at the tail of the ambulance, and gently "jollied" the doctor's topography. --F. Remington.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : jolly
Spanish:
alegre, divertido, gracioso,
German:
fröhlich,
Japanese:
陽気な
jolly
c.1305, from O.Fr. jolif "festive, merry, amorous, pretty" of uncertain origin (cf. It. giulivo "merry, pleasant"), perhaps a Gmc. loan-word from a source akin to O.N. jol "a winter feast" (see yule), or from L. gaudere "to rejoice." Jollification "merrymaking" is from 1809; shortened form jolly led to phrase get (one's) jollies "have fun" (1957). A jolly boat (1727) is probably from Dan. jolle (17c.) or Du. jol (1682), both related to yawl (q.v.); or it may be from M.E. jolywat (1495) "a ship's small boat," of unknown origin.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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