different between jolly vs chaff

English

Etymology

From Middle English joli, jolif (“merry, cheerful”), from Old French joli, jolif (“merry, joyful”)It is uncertain whether the Old French word is from Old Norse jól ("a midwinter feast, Yule", hence "fest-ive") , in which case, equivalent to yule +? -ive; or ultimately from Latin gaude? (see etymology at joy). For the loss of final -f compare tardy, hasty, hussy, etc.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?d??li/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?d??li/
• Rhymes: -?li
• Hyphenation: jol?ly

Adjective

jolly (comparative jollier, superlative jolliest)

1. Full of merriment and high spirits; jovial; joyous; merry.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, "The Faerie Queene", Book I, Canot 2, xi-xii:

     "Full jolly Knight he seemed […] full large of limb and every joint / He was, and cared not for God or man a point."

   • 1815, William Wordsworth, "Hart-Leap Well," Part Second:

     "A jolly place," said he, "in times of old! / But something ails it now: the spot is curst. ..."

   • 1819, Washington Irving, The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., "The Stage Coach":

     […] he is swelled into jolly dimensions by frequent potations of malt liquors […]

2. (colloquial, dated) Splendid, excellent, pleasant.
   • 1853, Charles Dickens, Bleak House, ch. 16:

     Jo silently notices how white and small her hand is and what a jolly servant she must be to wear such sparkling rings.

3. (informal) drunk

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

jolly (plural jollies)

1. (Britain, dated) A pleasure trip or excursion.
2. (slang, dated) A marine in the English navy.

   Synonym: joey

   • 1896, Rudyard Kipling, Soldier an' Sailor Too

     I'm a Jolly — 'Er Majesty's Jolly — soldier an' sailor too!

Adverb

jolly (comparative more jolly, superlative most jolly)

1. (Britain, dated) very, extremely
   • 1991, Stephen Fry, The Liar, p. 37:

     Adrian thought it worth while to try out his new slang. ‘I say, you fellows, here's a rum go. Old Biffo was jolly odd this morning. He gave me a lot of pi-jaw about slacking and then invited me to tea. No rotting! He did really.’

Derived terms

• jolly well

Verb

jolly (third-person singular simple present jollies, present participle jollying, simple past and past participle jollied)

1. (transitive) To amuse or divert.

Derived terms

• jolly along

Translations

References

• Jolly in the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica, vol. 15, p. 495.

Italian

Etymology

From English jolly joker, an older name for the joker card in a deck of cards.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?d???l.li/

Noun

jolly m (invariable)

1. (card games) joker
2. wild card

See also

English

Etymology

From Middle English chaf, from Old English ?eaf, from Proto-Germanic *kaf?. Cognate with Scots caff, Saterland Frisian Sääf, West Frisian tsjêf, Dutch kaf, German Low German Kaff, regional German Kaff.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /t?æf/, /t???f/
• (US) IPA^(key): /t?æf/
• Rhymes: -æf

Noun

chaff (usually uncountable, plural chaffs)

1. The inedible parts of a grain-producing plant.

   Coordinate term: bran

   • So take the corn and leave the chaff behind.
2. Straw or hay cut up fine for the food of cattle.
3. (figuratively) Any excess or unwanted material, resource, or person; anything worthless.
4. Light jesting talk; banter; raillery.
5. (military) Loose material, e.g. small strips of aluminum foil dropped from aircraft, intended to interfere with radar detection.

   Synonym: window

Derived terms

Translations

See also

• paleaceous
• paleous

Verb

chaff (third-person singular simple present chaffs, present participle chaffing, simple past and past participle chaffed)

1. (intransitive) To use light, idle language by way of fun or ridicule; to banter.
2. (transitive) To make fun of; to turn into ridicule by addressing in ironical or bantering language; to quiz.

Translations

References

• chaff in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

• Chaff in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

Middle English

Noun

chaff

1. Alternative form of chaf