merry

• adj.心地よい；ほろ酔い；遊び心
• n. スイートチェリー
• n.(メリー)人の名前；(E.F.S.)陽気な

古英語のmyrge、楽しい、嬉しいから、原語ゲルマン語の*murgijaz、一時的な、PIE *mreghu、一時的なから、語源はbriefと同じ、省略する。briefからjoyfulへの語源は、喜びは常につかの間であるという心理的効果からかもしれない。

merry

merry: [OE] Merry goes back to a prehistoric Germanic *murgjaz, which appears to have been derived from a base meaning ‘short’. By the time it reached Old English, as myrige, it meant ‘pleasant’ – a semantic leap perhaps inspired by the notion of ‘shortening’ time by passing it pleasantly. The modern meaning ‘jolly’ did not emerge until the 14th century. A derivative of *murgjaz was the noun *murgithō, source of English mirth [OE]; Dutch has the related merchte ‘mirth’.
=> mirth

merry (adj.)

Old English myrge "pleasing, agreeable, pleasant, sweet; pleasantly, melodiously," from Proto-Germanic *murgijaz, which probably originally meant "short-lasting," (compare Old High German murg "short," Gothic gamaurgjan "to shorten"), from PIE *mreghu- "short" (see brief (adj.)). The only exact cognate for meaning outside English was Middle Dutch mergelijc "joyful."

Connection to "pleasure" is likely via notion of "making time fly, that which makes the time seem to pass quickly" (compare German Kurzweil "pastime," literally "a short time;" Old Norse skemta "to amuse, entertain, amuse oneself," from skamt, neuter of skammr "short"). There also was a verbal form in Old English, myrgan "be merry, rejoice." For vowel evolution, see bury (v.).

Bot vchon enle we wolde were fyf, te mo te myryer. [c. 1300]

The word had much wider senses in Middle English, such as "pleasant-sounding" (of animal voices), "fine" (of weather), "handsome" (of dress), "pleasant-tasting" (of herbs). Merry-bout "an incident of sexual intercourse" was low slang from 1780. Merry-begot "illegitimate" (adj.), "bastard" (n.) is from 1785. Merrie England (now frequently satirical or ironic) is 14c. meri ingland, originally in a broader sense of "bountiful, prosperous." Merry Monday was a 16c. term for "the Monday before Shrove Tuesday" (Mardi Gras).

1. I just wanted to wish you a merry Christmas.

メリークリスマスを祝福したいだけです。

2.The phantom of the merry -go-round is just a local superstition.

メリーゴーランドの幽霊は地元の迷信説にすぎない。

3.It hasn 't stopped the British Navy proceeding on its merry way.

これは、英国海軍が意気揚々と前進し続けるのを阻止するものではない。

4.Neighbours approached their boundaries from opposite sides and made merry together.

隣人たちが向こうから彼らのところに来て、一緒に楽しんでいます。

5. Merry Christmas,everyone.

メリークリスマス！