merrily

English

Etymology

From Middle English merily, from Old English myriġlīċe; equivalent to merry +‎ -ly.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɛɹɪli/
• Hyphenation: mer‧ri‧ly

• Audio (US)

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Adverb

merrily (comparative more merrily, superlative most merrily)

1. In a cheerful or merry way.
   • 1593, anonymous author, The Life and Death of Iacke Straw […], Act I:

     So quickly the poore mans ſubſtance is ſpent,
     But merrily with the world it went,
     VVhen men eat berries of the hauthorne tree, […]
     And old men knew not vſurie:
     Now tis come to a wofull paſſe, […]

   • 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i], page 17:

     Ariell:
     Where the Bee ſucks, there ſuck I,
     In a Cowslips bell, I lie,
     There I cowch when Owles doe crie,
     On the Batts backe I doe flie
       after Sommer merrily.
     Merrily, merrily, ſhall I liue now
     Vnder the bloſſom that hangs on the Bow.

   • 1956 [1880], Johanna Spyri, Heidi, translation of original by Eileen Hall, page 50:

     Then Heidi would sit down and chatter merrily away.

Translations

in a cheerful or merry manner

• Bulgarian: весело (bg) (veselo), оживено (bg) (oživeno)
• French: gaiement (fr)
• German: fröhlich (de), lustig (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient: ἱλαρῶς (hilarôs)

• Italian: allegramente (it)
• Polish: wesoło (pl)
• Romanian: voios (ro), cu bucurie, cu veselie
• Russian: ве́село (ru) (véselo)
• Serbo-Croatian: vȅselo (sh), ве̏село
• Turkish: neşeli (tr)