From Middle English joli, jolif ("merry, cheerful"), from Old French joli, jolif ("merry, joyful")

It is uncertain whether the Old French word is from Old Norse jól "a midwinter feast, Yule", hence "fest-ive", in which case, equivalent to , compare Dutch jolig, Western Frisian joelich, joalich, Middle High German jœlich; or ultimately from Latin gaudeō (see etymology at joy), which fails to explain the presence of l in jolif.

• (RP) IPA: /ˈd͡ʒɒli/
• (America) IPA: /ˈd͡ʒɑli/

jolly (comparative jollier, superlative jolliest)

1. Full of merriment and high spirits; jovial; joyous; merry.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto II”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC ↗, , stanzas xi-xii:

     "Full jolly Knight he seemed […] full large of limb and every joint / He was, and cared not for God or man a point."

   • 1815, William Wordsworth, Hart-Leap Well, Part Second:

     "A jolly place," said he, "in times of old! / But something ails it now: the spot is curst. ..."

2. (colloquial, dated) Splendid, excellent, pleasant.
   • 1852 March – 1853 September, Charles Dickens, chapter 16, in Bleak House, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1853, →OCLC ↗:

     Jo silently notices how white and small her hand is and what a jolly servant she must be to wear such sparkling rings.

3. (informal) Drunk.

jolly (plural jollies)

1. (UK, dated, often, humorous) A pleasure trip or excursion.
2. (slang, dated) A marine in the English navy.

   Synonyms: joey

   • 1896, Rudyard Kipling, Soldier an' Sailor Too:

     I'm a Jolly — 'Er Majesty's Jolly — soldier an' sailor too!

3. (slang, archaic) A word of praise, or favourable notice.
   • 2021, Jenni Spangler, The Incredible Talking Machine:

     'We just need to chuck him a jolly.'
     'I beg your pardon?' said Faber.
     'Chuck a jolly... you know! Get people on the street talking about how amazing the show is! Tell them the tickets are sold out for the next two weeks.'

jolly

1. (British, dated) very, extremely

   It’s jolly hot in here, isn’t it?

jolly (jollies, present participle jollying; simple past and past participle jollied)

1. (transitive) To amuse or divert.
2. (transitive, informal, archaic) To praise or talk up.

• Cognate to the name Jolie. It derives from the Old French word joli (merriness).
• In Punjab (India) it is a corruption of the word jalli.

1. A female given name
2. Surname.
3. A place name:
   1. An unincorporated community in Pike County, Georgia.
   2. An unincorporated community in Newton County, Missouri.
   3. A minor city in Clay County, Texas.
   4. Alternative spelling of Jouli, Uttar Pradesh, India.