Learn English – “Jolly good” meaning “extremely good” in British English

american-englishbritish-englishdifferencesetymology

Like the intensifier bloody, I assumed that jolly as an adverb and intensifier is not broadly used in the U.S. meaning very or extremely.

According to Oxford Online Dictionary, jolly as an adverb means as submodifier (British informal):

Very; extremely: that’s a jolly good idea.

According to Online Etymology Dictionary, the word was used first as an adjective:

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

Questions:

  1. When did it start to be used as an adverb and intensifier in BrE?

  2. What's the difference between jolly good and bloody good in BrE?

Edit: I am posting the deleted question again as it is relevant.

  1. Is the word never used in the U.S. as an adverb and intensifier? What would be the best counterpart of the word in AmE?

Best Answer

  1. The word jolly has fourteen OED adjectival senses plus some sub-senses. Adverbially, it is sense 2a which you are discussing here:

2a. Qualifying an adj. or adv.; orig. appreciatively, then ironically, with intensive force: Extremely, very. Now colloq.

Examples of this sense were present from the 16th century:

1549 Coverdale et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. II. Phil. iii. f. viiv, I thought my selfe a iolye fortunate man [L. pulchre mihi videbar felix], aswell for the nobylitie of my kyndred..as also for my strayte obseruyng of ye law.

  1. The essential difference between this way of using jolly and bloody is that the latter, a much stronger intensifier, is a swear-word, and considered offensive in some circles.

  2. The word is never used that way in AmE. It is rarely used at all in AmE even as an adjective except in collocations with respect to Santa Claus and related Christmas things. (point 3 contributed by @Mitch, by way of edit)