From WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003) [wn]:
jolly
adj : full of or showing high-spirited merriment; "when hearts
were young and gay"; "a poet could not but be gay, in
such a jocund company"- Wordsworth; "the jolly crowd at
the reunion"; "jolly old Saint Nick"; "a jovial old
gentleman"; "have a merry Christmas"; "peals of merry
laughter"; "a mirthful laugh" [syn: gay, jocund,
jovial, merry, mirthful]
n 1: a happy party
2: a yawl used by a ship's sailors for general work [syn:
jolly boat]
adv : used as an intensifier (`jolly' is used informally in
Britain); "pretty big"; "pretty bad"; "jolly decent of
him" [syn: pretty]
v : be silly or tease one another; "After we relaxed, we just
kidded around" [syn: kid, chaff, josh, banter]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Jolly \Jol"ly\ (j[o^]l"l[y^]), a. [Compar. Jollier
(-l[i^]*[~e]r); superl. Jolliest.] [OF. joli, jolif,
joyful, merry, F. joli pretty; of Scand. origin, akin to E.
yule; cf. Icel. j[=o]l yule, Christmas feast. See Yule.]
[1913 Webster]
1. Full of life and mirth; jovial; joyous; merry; mirthful.
[1913 Webster]
Like a jolly troop of huntsmen. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
"A jolly place," said he, "in times of old!
But something ails it now: the spot is cursed."
--Wordsworth.
[1913 Webster]
2. Expressing mirth, or inspiring it; exciting mirth and
gayety.
[1913 Webster]
And with his jolly pipe delights the groves.
--Prior.
[1913 Webster]
Their jolly notes they chanted loud and clear.
--Fairfax.
[1913 Webster]
3. Of fine appearance; handsome; excellent; lively;
agreeable; pleasant. "A jolly cool wind." --Sir T. North.
[Now mostly colloq.]
[1913 Webster]
Full jolly knight he seemed, and fair did sit.
--Spenser.
[1913 Webster]
The coachman is swelled into jolly dimensions. --W.
Irving.
[1913 Webster]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Jolly \Jol"ly\ (j[o^]l"l[y^]), v. t.
To cause to be jolly; to make good-natured; to encourage to
feel pleasant or cheerful; -- often implying an insincere or
bantering spirit; hence, to poke fun at. [Colloq.]
We want you to jolly them up a bit. --Brander
Matthews.
At noon we lunched at the tail of the ambulance, and
gently "jollied" the doctor's topography. --F.
Remington.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Jolly \Jol"ly\ (j[o^]l"l[y^]), n.; pl. Jollies
(j[o^]l"l[i^]z). [Prob. fr. Jolly, a.]
A marine in the English navy. [Sailor's Slang]
I'm a Jolly -- 'Er Majesty's Jolly -- soldier an'
sailor too! --Kipling.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]