Online Etymology Dictionary

merry: O.E. myrige "pleasing, agreeable," from P.Gmc. *murgijaz, which probably originally meant "short-lasting" (cf. O.H.G. murg "short," Goth. gamaurgjan "to shorten"). Connection to "pleasure" is likely via notion of "making time fly" (cf. Ger. Kurzweil "pastime," lit. "a short time;" O.N. skemta "to amuse," from skamt, neut. of skammr "short"). The only exact cognate for meaning outside Eng. was in M.Du. (cf. M.Du. mergelijc "joyful"). For vowel evolution, see bury.
"Bot vchon enle we wolde were fyf, þe mo þe myryer." [c.1300]
The word had much wider senses in M.E., e.g. "pleasant-sounding" (of animal voices), "fine" (of weather), "handsome" (of dress), "pleasant-tasting" (of herbs). Merry-making is attested from 1714; merry-man "companion or follower of a knight, outlaw, etc." is attested from c.1386. The first record of merry-go-round is from 1729. 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 16c. term for "the Monday before Shrove Tuesday" (Mardi Gras).
merry-andrew: "a buffoon; a zany; a jack-pudding" [Johnson], originally "mountebank's assistant," 1673, from merry + masc. proper name Andrew, but there is no certain identification with an individual.
Merry Widow: 1907, from the Eng. title of Franz Lehar's operetta "Die Lustige Witwe" (1905). "The Lusty Widow" would have been more literal, but would have given the wrong impression in Eng. Meaning "a type of wide-brimmed hat" (popularized in the play) is attested from 1908.
revel (n.): c.1300, "riotous merry-making," from O.Fr. revel, from reveler "be disorderly, make merry," from L. rebellare "to rebel" (see rebel). The verb meaning "to feast in a noisy manner" is first recorded early 14c. The meaning "take great pleasure in" first recorded 1754.
jolly: c.1300, from O.Fr. jolif "festive, merry, amorous, pretty" of uncertain origin (cf. It. giulivo "merry, pleasant"), perhaps a Gmc. loan-word from a source akin to O.N. jol "a winter feast" (see yule), or from L. gaudere "to rejoice." Jollification "merrymaking" is from 1809; shortened form jolly led to phrase get (one's) jollies "have fun" (1957). A jolly boat (1727) is probably from Dan. jolle (17c.) or Du. jol (1680s), both related to yawl (q.v.); or it may be from M.E. jolywat (late 15c.) "a ship's small boat," of unknown origin.
rest (1): "sleep," O.E. ræste, reste "rest, bed, intermission of labor, mental peace," from P.Gmc. *rastjo, *rasto. Original sense seems to be a measure of distance (cf. O.H.G. rasta "league of miles," O.N. rost "league, distance after which one rests," Gothic rasta "mile, stage of a journey"), perhaps a word from the nomadic period. The meaning "support, thing upon which something rests" is attested from 1590. The verb is O.E. ræstan, restan "to rest." At rest "dead" is from 1338. Rest room first attested 1899; rest stop is from 1973. Rested "refreshed by sleep" is attested from c.1400. Phrase rest you merry is from 1548 (God rest you merry, gentlemen, often is mis-punctuated). Colloquial expression to give (something) a rest "to stop talking about it" is first recorded 1927, Amer.Eng.
gallant (adj.): c.1420, from O.Fr. galant "courteous," earlier "spirited, dashing," prp. of galer "make merry," from gala (q.v.). Sense of "politely attentive to women" was adopted from Fr. 17c. The noun, "man of fashion and pleasure," is from 1388.
mirth: O.E. myrgð "joy, pleasure," from P.Gmc. *murgitha, noun of quality from *murgjo- (see merry). Mirthquake "entertainment that excites convulsive laughter" first attested 1928, in ref. to Harold Lloyd movies.
jai alai: 1910, from Basque, from jai "celebration" + alai "merry."
fence (v.): "fight with swords," 1598, first recorded in "Merry Wives of Windsor"; from the noun in this sense (1533), see fence (n.). Fencing is from 1581. In spite of the re-enactment in 1285 of the Assize of Arms of 1181, fencing was regarded as unlawful in England. The keeping of fencing schools was forbidden in the City of London, "as fools who delight in mischief do learn to fence with buckler, and thereby are encouraged in their follies."
gallimaufry: "a medley," 1551, from Fr. galimafrée "hash, ragout," from O.Fr. calimafree "sauce made of mustard, ginger, and vinegar; a stew of carp;" origin unknown, perhaps from O.Fr. galer "to make merry, live well" + O.N.Fr. mafrer "to eat much," from M.Du. maffelen. Others see the proper name Maufré.
regale: 1656, from Fr. régaler "to entertain or feast," from O.Fr. rigale, from gale "merriment," from galer "make merry" (see gallant). Influenced in O.Fr. by se rigoler "amuse oneself, rejoice," of unknown origin. It. regalo is from Fr.
frolic: 1538, as an adj., from M.Du. vrolyc (adj.) "happy," from vro- "merry, glad," + lyc "like." Cognate of Ger. fröhlich "happy." The verb is first attested 1583.
solace (n.): "comfort, consolation," late 13c., from O.Fr. solas, from L. solacium, from solatus, pp. of solari "to console, soothe," from PIE base *sel- "of good mood, to favor" (cf. Gk. hilaros "merry," O.E. gesælig "happy;" see silly). The verb is recorded from c.1300.
droll: 1623, from Fr. drole "odd, comical, funny" (1584), in M.Fr. a noun meaning "a merry fellow," possibly from M.Du. drol "fat little fellow, goblin," or M.H.G. trolle "clown," ult. from O.N. troll "giant, troll" (see troll (n.))
aurora borealis: 1620s, "Northern Lights," lit. "northern dawn," said to have been coined by Fr. philosopher Petrus Gassendus (1592–1655) after a spectacular display seen in France Sept. 2, 1621; see aurora + boreal. In northern Scotland and among sailors, sometimes called the dancers or the merry dancers.
feast (n.): c.1200, from O.Fr. feste "festival, feast," from V.L. *festa (fem. sing.), from L. festa "holidays, feasts," from neut. pl. of festus "festive, joyful, merry," related to feriæ "holiday" and fanum "temple." The spelling -ea- was used in M.E. to represent the sound we mis-call "long e." The verb first attested c.1300.
jovial: 1590, from Fr., from It. joviale, lit. "pertaining to Jupiter," from L. Jovialis "of Jupiter," from Jovius (used as gen. of Juppiter) "Jupiter," Roman god of the sky. The meaning "good-humored, merry," is from astrological belief that those born under the sign of the planet Jupiter are of such dispositions. In classical L., the compound Juppiter replaced Old L. Jovis as the god's name. Jovian, in ref. to the planet Jupiter, is from 1794.
gaudy: 1529, from M.E. gaud "deception, trick," also "ornamental bead, rosary" (c.1300), possibly from Anglo-Fr. gaudir "be merry, scoff," from L. gaudere "rejoice." Alternative (less likely) etymology is from M.E. gaudy-green "yellowish-green," originally "green dye" obtained from a plant formerly known as weld, from a Gmc. source (see weld (n.)), which became gaude in O.Fr. The Eng. term supposedly shifted sense from "weld-dye" to "bright."
oyster: 1357, from O.Fr. oistre (Fr. huître), from L. ostrea, pl. or fem. of ostreum "oyster," from Gk. ostreon, from PIE *ost- "bone" (see osseous). Related to Gk. ostrakon "hard shell" and to osteon "bone."
"Why then the world's mine Oyster, which I, with sword will open." [Shakespeare, "The Merry Wives of Windsor," II.ii.2]
carousel: "merry-go-round," 1673, earlier "playful tournament of knights in chariots or on horseback" (1650), from Fr. carrousel "a tilting match," from It. carusiello, possibly from carro "chariot," from L. carrus (see car).
"A new and rare invencon knowne by the name of the royalle carousell or tournament being framed and contrived with such engines as will not only afford great pleasure to us and our nobility in the sight thereof, but sufficient instruction to all such ingenious young gentlemen as desire to learne the art of perfect horsemanshipp." [letter of 1673]
gamble (v.): 1726 (implied in gambling), from a dialectal survival of M.E. gammlen, variant of gamenen "to play, jest, be merry," from O.E. gamenian "to play," from gamen (see game). Or possibly gamble is from a derivative of gamel "to play games" (1594), itself likely a frequentative from game. Originally regarded as a slang word. The intrusive -b- may be from confusion with gambol.
bury: O.E. byrgan, akin to beorgan "to shelter," from P.Gmc. *burzjanan "protection, shelter" (cf. O.N. bjarga, Sw. berga, Ger. bergen, Goth. bairgan), from PIE base *bhergh- "protect, preserve" (cf. O.C.S. brego "I preserve, guard"). The O.E. -y- was a short "oo" sound, like modern Fr. -u-. It normally transformed into Mod.Eng. -i- (cf. bridge, kiss, listen, sister), but in bury and a few other words (merry, knell) it retains a Kentish change to "e" that took place in the late O.E. period. In the West Midlands, meanwhile, the O.E. -y- sound persisted, slightly modified over time, giving the standard modern pronunciation of blush, much, church.
ale: O.E. ealu "ale, beer," from P.Gmc. *aluth- (cf. O.S. alo, O.N. öl), perhaps from PIE root meaning "bitter" (cf. L. alumen "alum"), or from PIE *alu-t "ale," from base *alu-, which has connotations of "sorcery, magic, possession, intoxication." The word was borrowed from Gmc. into Lith. (alus) and O.C.S. (olu). Ale and beer were synonymous until growing of hops began in England early 15c.
"[A]t present 'beer' is in the trade the generic name for all malt liquors, 'ale' being specifically applied to the paler coloured kinds, the malt for which has not been roasted or burnt; but the popular application of the two words varies in different localities." [OED]
Meaning "festival or merry-meeting at which much ale was drunk" was in O.E. (see bridal). An alehouse (O.E. eala-huse) "is distinguished from a tavern, where they sell wine" [Johnson].
lust: O.E. lust "desire, pleasure," from P.Gmc. *lustuz (cf. O.S., O.Fris., Du., Ger. lust, O.N. lyst, Goth. lustus "pleasure, desire, lust"), from PIE *las- "to be eager, wanton, or unruly" (cf. L. lascivus "wanton, playful, lustful;" see lascivious). In M.E., "any source of pleasure or delight," also "an appetite," also "a liking for a person," also "fertility" (of soil). Sense of "sinful sexual desire, degrading animal passion" (now the main meaning) developed in late O.E. from the word's use in Bible translations. In other Gmc. languages, the cognates of lust tend to still mean simply "pleasure." The verb is first attested early 13c., "to please, delight;" sense of "to have a strong sexual desire (for or after)" is first attested 1520s in biblical use. Lusty (early 13c.) mostly has escaped the Christianization of the word; the original usage was "joyful, merry," later "full of healthy vigor" (late 14c.). The sense of "full of desire" is attested from c.1400.
bawd: a complicated word of uncertain history. First attested late 15c., "lewd person" (of either sex; since c.1700 applied only to women), probably from baude-strote "procurer of prostitutes" (mid-14c.), which may be from M.E. bawde (adj.) "merry, joyous," from O.Fr. baud "gay, licentious" (from Frankish bald "bold"). It would not be the first time a word meaning "joyous" had taken on a sexual sense. The sense evolution shading from "bold" to "lewd" is not difficult; cf. O.Fr. baudise "ardor, joy, elation, act of boldness, presumption;" baudie "elation, high spirits," fole baudie "bawdry, shamelessness." The O.Fr. word also is the source of Fr. baudet "donkey," in Picardy dialect "loose woman." The second element in baude-strote would be trot "one who runs errands," or Germanic *strutt (see strut). But OED doubts all this. There was an O.Fr. baudestrote, baudetrot of the same meaning (13c.), and this may be the direct source of M.E. baude-strote. The obsolete word bronstrops "procuress," frequently found in Middleton's comedies, probably is an alt. of baude-strote.
gay: 1178, "full of joy or mirth," from O.Fr. gai "gay, merry" (12c.); cf. O.Sp. gayo, Port. gaio, It. gajo. Ultimate origin disputed; perhaps from Frank. *gahi (cf. O.H.G. wahi "pretty"), though not all etymologists accept this. Meaning "brilliant, showy" is from c.1300. OED gives 1951 as earliest date for slang meaning "homosexual" (adj.), but this is certainly too late; gey cat "homosexual boy" is attested in N. Erskine's 1933 dictionary of "Underworld & Prison Slang;" the term gey cat (gey is a Scot. variant of gay) was used as far back as 1893 in Amer.Eng. for "young hobo," one who is new on the road and usually in the company of an older tramp, with catamite connotations. But Josiah Flynt ["Tramping With Tramps," 1905] defines gay cat as, "An amateur tramp who works when his begging courage fails him." Gey cats also were said to be tramps who offered sexual services to women. The "Dictionary of American Slang" reports that gay (adj.) was used by homosexuals, among themselves, in this sense since at least 1920. Rawson ["Wicked Words"] notes a male prostitute using gay in reference to male homosexuals (but also to female prostitutes) in London's notorious Cleveland Street Scandal of 1889. Ayto ["20th Century Words"] calls attention to the ambiguous use of the word in the 1868 song "The Gay Young Clerk in the Dry Goods Store," by U.S. female impersonator Will S. Hays. The word gay in the 1890s had an overall tinge of promiscuity -- a gay house was a brothel. The suggestion of immorality in the word can be traced back to 1637. Gay as a noun meaning "a (usually male) homosexual" is attested from 1971.