Where does “jolly” come from?
Jolly comes from Middle English joli, from Old French jolif, from Old Norse jól, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European yekə-.
jolly (English): Full of merriment and high spirits; jovial; Full...
Definitions
- Full of merriment and high spirits; jovial; Full...
Ancestry of “jolly”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | joli | — |
| 2 | Old French | joli | pretty; cute |
| 3 | Old French | jolif | pretty; attractive |
| 4 | Old French | -if | -ive |
| 5 | Latin | -īvus | Adjective suffix |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -iHwós | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -wós | Creates adjectives from verb stems |
Words derived from “jolly”