*merry*

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 ]