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

  1. Jolly and full of high spirits; Festive and full...

Ancestry of “merry”, step by step

merry traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via French merise

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchmerisewild cherry
2Middle Frenchamerise—
3Frenchamerbitter; sour
4Old Frenchamerto love; to like; bitter
5Latinamārebitterly, spitefully; with bitterness

via Middle English mery

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishmeryHappy, joyful, pleased; in a good mood or state...
2Old Englishmyriġemerry; pleasant
3Proto-Germanicmurguzshort; brief; slow; leisurely
4Proto-Indo-Europeanmréǵʰusshort; brief
5Proto-Indo-Europeanmreǵʰ-short

Words derived from “merry”

Every word from Latin amāre →