From en.wiktionary.org:
[Jolly]
** English
*** Etymology
From [en], [enm], from [en], [fro].[1] For the loss of final _-f_ compare
[en], [en], [en], etc.
It is [en] whether the Old French word is from [en] ["a midwinter feast, [en]
", hence " _fest-ive_ "],[2] in which case, equivalent to [en], compare [nl],
[fy], [fy], [gmh]. Alternatively, the Old French adjective has been
conjectured to derive from a [VL.] (from [la], more at [en]), in which case it
would require Early Old French [d] /ð/ to irregularly become [l] in _jolif_
rather than being dropped, which is the usual case (alternatively, /l/ may be
a hiatus filler inserted into expected *_joïf_). A possible parallel of [d]
to [l] can be seen in the French name _Valois_, according to one hypothesis
from Latin _Vadensis_, though this origin is itself uncertain and disputed.
*** Pronunciation
- [en]
- [en]
- [en]
- [en]
- [en]
*** Adjective
[er]
1. Full of merriment and high spirits; jovial ; joyous; merry.
2. * [I]
3. * {{ quote-text | en | year=1815 | author=w:William Wordsworth | title=Hart-Leap Well | section=Part Second
|passage="A JOLLY place," said he, "in times of old! / But something ails it
now: the spot is curst. ..."}}
1. * {{ quote-book | en | year=1819 | author=w:Washington Irving | title=The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. | chapter=The Stage Coach
|passage=[...] he is swelled into JOLLY dimensions by frequent potations of
malt liquors [...]}}
1. [en] Splendid, excellent, pleasant.
2. * [chapter=16]
3. [en] [drunk] .
**** Derived terms
[en]
**** Translations
[jovial]
*** Noun
[en-noun]
1. [en] A pleasure trip or excursion .
2. * [en]
3. [en] A marine in the English navy .
4. * {{ quote-text | en | year=1896 | author=w:Rudyard Kipling | title= Basa Sunda: The Seven Seas/Soldier an' Sailor Too
|passage=I'm a JOLLY — 'Er Majesty's Jolly — soldier an' sailor too!}}
1. [en] A word of praise , or favorable notice .
2. * {{ quote-text | en | year=2021 | author=Jenni Spangler | title=The Incredible Talking Machine
|passage='We just need to chuck him a JOLLY.'<br>'I beg your pardon?' said
Faber.<br>'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.'}}
1. [en] .
2. * [passage=Indeed it is nearly impossible to conceive how the small JOLLY they were in could have escaped destruction for a single instant.]
**** Derived terms
- [en]
*** Adverb
[en-adv]
1. [en] very , extremely
2. * [en]
*** Verb
[en-verb]
1. [en] To amuse or divert .
2. [en] To praise or talk up .
3. * {{ quote-journal | en | year=1898 | journal=Marketing/Communications | volume=23 | page=52
|passage=I do not believe in 'JOLLYING' and 'soft soaping' a man when his work
is really bad.}}
**** Derived terms
[en]
**** Translations
[To amuse or divert]
- Bulgarian: [bg]
- Czech: [cs] , [cs] , [cs]
[trans-bottom]
*** References
References:
[1]. Etymology (see http://machaut.uchicago.edu/?action=search&word=jolly&resource=Webster%27s&quicksearch=on)
[2]. Etymology (see http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jolly)
- Jolly (see https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Jolly) in the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica, vol. 15, p. 495.
[en] [en]
** Italian
*** Etymology
[it], an older name for the [en] card in a deck of cards.
*** Pronunciation
[giòlly]
*** Noun
[m]
1. [it] joker
2. wild card
*** See also
[table:playing cards/it]