Where does “merry” come from?
Merry derives from Old English myriġe, from French merise, ultimately tracing through Latin amare and Proto-Indo-European roots h₃em-, h₂eh₃-, and am-a-.
merry (English): Jolly and full of high spirits; Festive and full...
Definitions
- Jolly and full of high spirits; Festive and full...
Ancestry of “merry”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | merise | wild cherry |
| 2 | Middle French | amerise | — |
| 3 | French | amer | bitter; sour |
| 4 | Old French | amer | to love; to like; bitter |
| 5 | Latin | amāre | — |
Words derived from “merry”