English
merry
Merry comes from Old English myrġe ‘pleasing, agreeable’, from Proto-West Germanic *murgī ‘short, slow, leisurely’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mreǵʰ-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mreǵʰ-‘short’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*mréǵʰus‘short’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*murguz‘short, slow’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*murgī‘short, slow, leisurely’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150myrġe‘pleasing, agreeable’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500myrie
- Englishearliest quotation 1590merry
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mreǵʰ-‘short’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*mréǵʰus‘short’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*murguz‘short, slow’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*murgī‘short, slow, leisurely’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150myrġe‘pleasing, agreeable’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500myrie
- Englishearliest quotation 1590merry
Earliest quotation: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book I, Canto XII: “There eke my feeble barke a while may ſtay,…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *mreǵʰ- ‘short’
briefly, embrace, bracelet, brassard, 32 more
through Proto-Indo-European *mréǵʰus ‘short’
brief, brass, bra, brace, pretzel, brevity, brachial, abbreviate, 33 more
Another origin of merry
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600aymeras amer‘sour, bitter’
- Middle French, derivedc. 1400–1600*amerisereconstructed
- Frenchc. 1600–presentmerise‘wild cherry (fruit)’
- Englishtodaymerry
Today it means
adj Jolly and full of high spirits; happy.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *mreǵʰ- / merry