More happy, cheerful, or full of fun and laughter than before or than someone else.
From Old English 'myrge,' originally meaning 'short-lived' or 'brief,' but by Middle English it meant 'pleasant' or 'entertaining.' The meaning shifted completely over centuries.
The phrase 'the merrier, the better' comes from 1590s English, and 'Merry Old England' was a cultural ideal—but the word originally meant something quick or fleeting, showing how meaning drifts across centuries.
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