Jolly

[jol-ee] /ˈdʒɒl i/

adjective, jollier, jolliest.
1.
in good spirits; gay; merry:
In a moment he was as jolly as ever.
2.
cheerfully festive or convivial:
a jolly party.
3.
joyous; happy:
Christmas is a jolly season.
4.
Chiefly British Informal. delightful; charming.
5.
British.

verb (used with object), jollied, jollying.
6.
Informal. to talk or act agreeably to (a person) in order to keep that person in good humor, especially in the hope of gaining something (usually followed by along):
They jollied him along until the job was done.
verb (used without object), jollied, jollying.
7.
Informal. to jolly a person; josh; kid.
noun, plural jollies.
8.
Informal. the practice or an instance of jollying a person.
9.
Usually, jollies. Informal. pleasurable excitement, especially from or as if from something forbidden or improper; thrills; kicks:
He gets his jollies from watching horror movies.
adverb
10.
British Informal. extremely; very:
He’ll jolly well do as he’s told.
/ˈdʒɒlɪ/
adjective -lier, -liest
1.
full of good humour; jovial
2.
having or provoking gaiety and merrymaking; festive
3.
greatly enjoyable; pleasing
adverb
4.
(Brit) (intensifier): you’re jolly nice
verb (transitive) (informal) -lies, -lying, -lied
5.
often foll by up or along. to try to make or keep (someone) cheerful
6.
to make goodnatured fun of
noun
7.
(informal, mainly Brit) a festivity or celebration
8.
(informal, mainly Brit) a trip, esp one made for pleasure by a public official or committee at public expense
9.
(Brit, slang) a Royal Marine
adj.

c.1300 (late 13c. as a surname), from Old French jolif “festive, merry, amorous, pretty” (12c.) of uncertain origin (cf. Italian giulivo “merry, pleasant”).

Perhaps a Germanic loan-word from a source akin to Old Norse jol “a winter feast” (see yule), or from Latin gaudere “to rejoice,” from PIE *gau- “to rejoice” (see joy). For loss of -f, cf. tardy, hasty. Related: Jollily; jolliness.

verb

To cajole with humor and bonhomie: I was pretty upset, but she jollied me along/ We jollied her into coming along with us (1876+)