different between jolly vs sprightly

English

Etymology

From Middle English joli, jolif (“merry, cheerful”), from Old French joli, jolif (“merry, joyful”)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; or ultimately from Latin gaude? (see etymology at joy). For the loss of final -f compare tardy, hasty, hussy, etc.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?d??li/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?d??li/
• Rhymes: -?li
• Hyphenation: jol?ly

Adjective

jolly (comparative jollier, superlative jolliest)

1. Full of merriment and high spirits; jovial; joyous; merry.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, "The Faerie Queene", Book I, Canot 2, 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 Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., "The Stage Coach":

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

2. (colloquial, dated) Splendid, excellent, pleasant.
   • 1853, Charles Dickens, Bleak House, ch. 16:

     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

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

jolly (plural jollies)

1. (Britain, dated) 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!

Adverb

jolly (comparative more jolly, superlative most jolly)

1. (Britain, dated) very, extremely
   • 1991, Stephen Fry, The Liar, p. 37:

     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.’

Derived terms

• jolly well

Verb

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

1. (transitive) To amuse or divert.

Derived terms

• jolly along

Translations

References

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

Italian

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?d???l.li/

Noun

jolly m (invariable)

1. (card games) joker
2. wild card

See also

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /?sp?a?tli/
• Hyphenation: spright?ly

Etymology 1

From spright +? -ly (suffix forming adjectives with the sense ‘behaving like, having the nature of’). Spright is an obsolete variant of sprite (“a shade, spirit; elf, fairy, goblin; apparition, ghost”), from Middle English sprit (“principle of life; soul, especially at the point of death; immaterial being (angel, demon, apparition, ghost, etc.); divine inspiration; Holy Spirit; the mind, intellect, reason; mental faculties, senses; power of prophecy; character, disposition; courage, resolution; mood, state of mind; human will; breath; (alchemy) volatile substance”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman esprite, esprit and Middle French esprit, variants of Anglo-Norman, Middle French, Old French espirit, esperit (“spirit”), from Latin sp?ritus (“air; breath; breathing; ghost, spirit”), from sp?r? (“to breathe; to breathe out, exhale”) (from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peys- (“to blow; to breathe”)) + -tus (“suffix forming action nouns from verbs”).

Adjective

sprightly (comparative sprightlier, superlative sprightliest)

1. Animated, gay, or vivacious; lively, spirited.

   Synonyms: energetic, high-spirited, (chiefly Australia, US) spright

   Antonym: melancholy
2. Of a person: full of life and vigour, especially with a light and springy step.

   Synonyms: active, dynamic, mettlesome, vivacious

   1. Especially of an older person: energetic and in good health; spry.
3. (obsolete, rare) Of or relating to a sprite; ghostly, spectral.

Alternative forms

• sprightlie (obsolete)
• spritely

Derived terms

• spright (adjective) (chiefly Australia, US)
• sprightle (English Midlands, Northern Ireland, rare)
• sprightlily
• sprightliness

Related terms

• sprightful
• sprightless (rare)
• sprightness (rare)

Translations

Etymology 2

From spright +? -ly (suffix forming adverbs from adjectives).; see further at etymology 1.

Adverb

sprightly (comparative sprightlier, superlative sprightliest)

1. In a lively and vigorous way; sprightlily.

Derived terms

• sprightlily

Translations

References

Anagrams

• triglyphs