# jolly
## English
### Etymology

From Middle English joli, jolif (“merry, cheerful”), from Old French joli, jolif (“merry, joyful”). For the loss of final -f compare tardy, hasty, hussy, etc.
It is uncertain whether the Old French word is from Old Norse jól ("a midwinter feast, Yule", hence "fest-ive"), 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”). Alternatively, the Old French adjective has been conjectured to derive from a Vulgar Latin *gaudivus (from Latin gaudeō, more at joy), 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

* (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /ˈd͡ʒɒli/
* (General American) IPA: /ˈd͡ʒɑli/
* Audio (General Australian):(file)
* Rhymes: -ɒli
* Hyphenation: jol‧ly

### Adjective

jolly (comparative jollier, superlative jolliest)
* 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 […]
* (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.
* (informal) Drunk.

#### Derived terms

* jolliment
* jolliness
* jollisome

#### Translations
### Noun

jolly (plural jollies)
* (UK, dated, often humorous) A pleasure trip or excursion.
* (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!
* (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.'
* 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.

#### Derived terms

* jollyful

### Adverb

jolly (comparative more jolly, superlative most jolly)
* (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.’

### Verb

jolly (third-person singular simple present jollies, present participle jollying, simple past and past participle jollied)
* (transitive) To amuse or divert.
* (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.

#### Derived terms

* brown jolly
* jollify
* jollily
* jolliness
* jollity
* jolly along
* jolly boat
* jolly boy
* jolly D
* jolly good show
* jolly-hockey-sticks
* Jolly Roger
* jolly well

#### Translations
### References

* ↑ Etymology
* ↑ Etymology
* Jolly in the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica, vol. 15, p. 495.

## Italian
### Etymology

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

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈd͡ʒɔl.li/
* Rhymes: -ɔlli

### Noun

jolly m (invariable)
* (card games) joker
* wild card

### See also

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 |