n. (Bot.) A kind of wild red cherry. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Compar. Merrier superl. Merriest. ] [ OE. merie, mirie, murie, merry, pleasant, AS. merge, myrige, pleasant; cf. murge, adv.; prob. akin to OHG. murg, short, Goth. gamaúrgjan to shorten; cf. L. murcus a coward, who cuts off his thumb to escape military service; the Anglo-Saxon and English meanings coming from the idea of making the time seem short. Cf. Mirth. ] 1. Laughingly gay; overflowing with good humor and good spirits; jovial; inclined to laughter or play; sportive. [ 1913 Webster ]

They drank, and were merry with him. Gen. xliii. 34. [ 1913 Webster ]

I am never merry when I hear sweet music. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Cheerful; joyous; not sad; happy. [ 1913 Webster ]

Is any merry? let him sing psalms. Jas. v. 13. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Causing laughter, mirth, gladness, or delight; as, a merry jest. “Merry wind and weather.” Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

Merry dancers. See under Dancer. --
Merry men, followers; retainers. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ] His merie men commanded he
To make him bothe game and glee. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ] --
To make merry, to be jovial; to indulge in hilarity; to feast with mirth. Judg. ix. 27. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Cheerful; blithe; lively; sprightly; vivacious; gleeful; joyous; mirthful; jocund; sportive; hilarious. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One whose business is to make sport for others; a buffoon; a zany; especially, one who attends a mountebank or quack doctor. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ This term is said to have originated from one Andrew Borde, an English physician of the 16th century, who gained patients by facetious speeches to the multitude. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Any revolving contrivance for affording amusement; esp., a group of seats in the shape of hobbyhorses or other fanciful animals, arranged in a circle on a platform that is rotated by a mechanical drive, often to the accompaniment of music; the seats often move up and down in synchrony with the rotation; -- called also carousel. It is employed primarily for the amusement of children, and is typically found at an amusement park. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Mirth; frolic; a meeting for mirth; a festival. [ Written also merrimake. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To make merry; to be jolly; to feast. [ Written also merrimake. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who makes merriment or indulges in conviviality; a jovial comrade. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Making or producing mirth; convivial; jolly. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act of making merry; conviviality; merriment; jollity. Wordsworth. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A meeting for mirth. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The forked bone of a fowl's breast; -- called also wishbone. See Furculum. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ It is a sportive custom for two persons to break this bone by pulling the ends apart to see who will get the longer piece, the securing of which is regarded as a lucky omen, signifying that the person holding it will obtain the gratification of some secret wish. [ 1913 Webster ]

See high.
See honorable.
See hopeful.
See hostile.
See hurt.
See hhurtful.
See hygienic.
See ideal.
See idle.
See illusory.
See imaginable.
See imaginative.
See immortal.
See implicit.
See important.
See impressible. See >Unimpressible.
See impressionable.
See improvable.
See impugnable.
See incidental.
See increasable.
See indifferent.
See indulgent.
See industrious.
See inflammable.
See influential.
See ingenious.
See ingenuous.
See inhabitable.
See injurious.
See inquisitive.
See instructive.
See intelligent.
See intelligible.
See intentional.
See interesting.
See interpretable.
See inventive.
See investigable.
See jealous.
See joyful.
See joyous.
See justifiable.
See kingly.
See knightly.
See knotty.
See knowable.
See laborious.
See ladylike.
See level.
See libidinous.
See lightsome.
See limber.
See lineal.
See logical.
See lordly.
See losable.
See lovable.
See lucent.
See luminous.
See lustrous.
See lusty.
See maidenly.
See makable.
See malleable.
See manageable.
See manful.
See manlike.
See manly.
See marketable.
See marriable.
See marriageable.
See marvelous.
See masculine.
See matchable.
See matronlike.
See meek.
See meet.
See melodious.
See mendable.
See mentionable.
See mercenary.
See merciable.
See meritable.
See merry.
See metaphorical.
See mighty.
See mild.
See military.
See mindful.
See mingleable.
See miraculous.
See miry.
See mitigable.
See modifiable.
See modish.
See moist.
See monkish.
See motherly.
See muscular.
See musical.
See mysterious.
See namable.
See native.
See navigable.
See needful.
See negotiable.
See niggard.
See noble.
See objectionable.
[ 1913 Webster ]

[ 1913 Webster ]