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Gayety, with laughter; mirth; frolic. "Follies and light merriment." Spenser. Methought it was the sound Of riot and ill-managed merriment. Milton.

Given to laughter; inclined to foolish or incessant merriment.

A festival celebrated with merriment and revelry in Roman Gatholic countries during the week before Lent, esp. at Rome and Naples, during a few days (three to ten) before Lent, ending with Shrove Tuesday. The carnival at Venice is everywhere talked of. Addison.

Disorder; merriment. [Obs.]

To quaff exhilarating or intoxicating liquors, in merriment or feasting; to carouse; to revel; hence, to lake alcoholic liquors to excess; to be intemperate in the Pope. And they drank, and were merry with him. Gem. xliii. 34. Bolingbroke always spoke freely when he had drunk freely. Thackeray. To drink to, to salute i…

xpression, feelings that can not be repressed or concealed; as, to effervesce with joy or merriment.

Sport; merriment; frolicsome amusement. "Oddity, frolic, and fun." Goldsmith. To make fan of, to hold up to, or turn into, ridicule.

Excessive gayety; merriment. [Obs.] The mirth and galliardise of company. Sir. T. Browne.

Excited with merriment; manifesting sportiveness or delight; inspiring delight; livery; merry. Belinda smiled, and all the world was gay. Pope. Gay hope is theirs by fancy fed. Gray.

The state of being gay; merriment; mirth; acts or entertainments prompted by, or inspiring, merry delight; -- used often in the plural; as, the gayeties of the season.

Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; paricularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast. Spenser.

Noisy merriment; as, a high go. [Colloq.]

Boisterous mirth; merriment; jollity. Goldsmith.

To make merriment by words or actions; to joke; to make light of anything. He jests at scars that never felt a wound. Shak.

Jesting; merriment.

Noisy mirth; gayety; merriment; festivity; boisterous enjoyment. Chaucer. All now was turned to jollity and game. Milton. He with a proud jollity commanded him to leave that quarrel only for him, who was only worthy to enter into it. Sir P. Sidney.

Jollity; merriment. [Obs.] Spenser.

The sign or exhibition of joy; gayety; mirth; merriment; festivity. Such joy made Una, when her knight she found. Spenser. The roofs with joy resound. Dryden.

With laughter or merriment.

of the face, particularly of the lips, with a peculiar expression of the eyes, indicating merriment, satisfaction, or derision, and usually attended by a sonorous and interrupted expulsion of air from the lungs. See Laugh, v. i. The act of laughter, which is a sweet contraction of the muscles of the face, and a pleasan…