Word for Wednesday: Merry

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Our Word for Wednesday theme for December is words you only hear at Christmas. 

So far, we’ve looked at the words carol and tidings. Today’s word is merry. 

The word merry is used to describe something that is cheerful, fun, and lively. 

Like the word tidings in last week’s blog post, merry pops ups in Christmas songs and greetings but seems to hide away for the rest of the year.

The word comes from the Old English ‘myrge’ meaning ‘pleasing’ or ‘sweet’. ‘Myrge’ comes from the Proto-Germanic ‘murgijaz’ which likely meant ‘short-lasting’ and comes from the PIE root ‘mregh-u’ meaning ‘short’. 

The connection between ‘short’ and ‘pleasing’ probably comes from the idea of time flying by when you’re having a nice time. 


21 Dec 2022
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