Word of the Day: Jolly

jolly

jol-ly / jŏl-ē

adjective

1.  merry; full of good spirits

The main reason Santa is so jolly is because he knows where all the bad girls live.

George Carlin, 1937 – 2008

2. exhibiting or causing a feeling of good cheer; festive

Have a holly, jolly Christmas;

And when you walk down the street

Say Hello to friends you know

and everyone you meet

Lyrics from “A Holly Jolly Christmas” by Johnny Marks, 1909 – 1985

3. very enjoyable

I believe that God put us in this jolly world to be happy and enjoy life. 

Robert Baden-Powell, 1857 – 1941

adverb

1. (primarily British) very; extremely

Oh, for a nook and a story-book,

With tales both new and old;

For a jolly good book whereon to look

Is better to me than gold.

“A Jolly Good Book” poem, unknown

noun

1. (primarily British) a celebration; a good time

Bragging about skiving off work to go on a jolly or making a joke out of being late for work for the third time in a week doesn’t really scream star employee! 

Sophie Deering, “The 10 Worst Things to Post on Social Media as a Job Seeker”, ‘Undercover Recruiter’, www.theundercoverrecruiter.com/worst-job-seeker-social-media, accessed December 10, 2021

2. jollies, (slang) a feeling of enjoyment and excitement

We all get our jollies one way or another.

“The Man with the Golden Gun Quotes.” Quotes.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2021. Web. 9 Dec. 2021.

verb

1. to keep someone cheerful and in good spirits, often for one’s own purposes

We must be careful that our worship doesn’t become about jollying us up, or making us feel better – that isn’t real, and misses the point of who it’s for.

www.thesanctuarycentre.org/resources/about-still-i-come.pdf

2. to tease or banter in a good-natured way

Now. stop Jollying us and tell us what you did really see—please,” he begged.

Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.), 04 Feb. 1908. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83009653/1908-02-04/ed-1/seq-1/

etymology

From the Old French adjective jolif (festive, merry, pretty), which may be related to the Old Norse noun jol (winter feast), or it might come from the same root , gau, as the semi-deponent Latin verb gaudeo. gaudere, gauisus sum (rejoice, be glad, be pleased, delight, please).

Thank you to Allen Ward for the etymology of jolly.