different between verry vs merry

English

Adjective

verry (not comparable)

1. Obsolete spelling of very

Adverb

verry (not comparable)

1. Obsolete spelling of very
   • 1819, Nancy Collin, Letter to her parents, 2007, Terrance Keenan, If Our Lives Be Spared: A Saga of the Collin Family Settlers in Early New York State, page 62,

     I have enjoyed a verry poor state of health since I wrote to you last ...

   • 1862, Solomon York, Letter to his future wife, 2004, Wallace E. Jarrell, The Randolph Hornets in the Civil War, page 168,

     I have nothing verry interesting to write.

   • 1913, Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine, Volumes 43-45, page 626,

     When we first came to this place our men were verry feeble […] .

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?m??i/
• (General American) enPR: m?r??, IPA^(key): /?m??i/, /?me??i/
• (Mary–marry–merry distinction)
• (Mary–marry–merry merger)
• Rhymes: -??i
• Hyphenation: mer?ry

Etymology 1

From Middle English mery, merie, mirie, myrie, murie, mur?e, from Old English meri?e, miri?e, myri?e, myre?e, myr?e (“pleasing, agreeable; pleasant, sweet, delightful; melodious”), from Proto-Germanic *murguz (“short, slow”), from Proto-Indo-European *mré??us (“short”). Cognate with Scots mery, mirry (“merry”), Middle Dutch mergelijc (“pleasant, agreeable, joyful”), Norwegian dialectal myrjel (“small object, figurine”), Latin brevis (“short, small, narrow, shallow”), Ancient Greek ?????? (brakhús, “short”). Doublet of brief.

Alternative forms

• merie, merrie, mery (obsolete)

Adjective

merry (comparative merrier, superlative merriest)

1. Jolly and full of high spirits; happy.
2. Festive and full of fun and laughter.
   • 1883, Howard Pyle, The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood Chapter V

     If I have the chance, I will make our worshipful Sheriff pay right well for that which he hath done to me. Maybe I may bring him some time into Sherwood Forest and have him to a right merry feast with us.

3. Brisk

4. Causing laughter, mirth, gladness, or delight.
5. (euphemistic) drunk; tipsy

Synonyms

• (jolly): cheerful, content, ecstatic, exultant, gay, happy, jovial, joyful, pleased; see also Thesaurus:happy
• (festive): convivial, gay, jovial
• (brisk): energetic, lively, spirited; see also Thesaurus:active
• (causing laughter): delightful, gladful
• (drunk): lushy, muzzy, squiffy; see also Thesaurus:drunk

Antonyms

• (jolly): miserable, unhappy

Derived terms

• Merry Christmas

Translations

Derived terms

• merrier
• merrily
• merriment
• merriness

Related terms

• mirth

Etymology 2

French merise

Noun

merry (plural merries)

1. An English wild cherry.

Anagrams

• Rymer