The difference between Gay and Merry

When used as nouns, gay means a homosexual, especially a male homosexual, whereas merry means an english wild cherry.

When used as adjectives, gay means happy, joyful, and lively, whereas merry means jolly and full of high spirits.

Gay is also verb with the meaning: to make happy or cheerful.

check bellow for the other definitions of Gay and Merry

  1. Gay as an adjective (dated, possibly, archaic):

    Happy, joyful, and lively.

    Examples:

    "The Gay Science"

  2. Gay as an adjective (dated, possibly, archaic):

    Festive, bright, or colourful.

    Examples:

    "Pennsylvania Dutch include the plain folk and the gay folk."

  3. Gay as an adjective (obsolete):

    Sexually promiscuous (of any gender).

  4. Gay as an adjective (of a person or animal):

    Homosexual: Possessing sexual and/or emotional attraction towards members of the same gender or non-anti-gender area. Being between two or more people of the same gender or the same gender-area, especially between two men. Intended for gay people, especially gay men. In accordance with stereotypes of homosexual people: # Being in accordance with stereotypes of gay people, especially gay men. # Exhibiting appearance or behavior that accords with stereotypes of gay people, especially gay men. #* Jason Christopher Hartley, “October 23, 2004: This Is My Weapon, This Is My Gerber”, in Just Another Soldier: A Year on the Ground in Iraq, HarperCollins (2005), , [http://books.google.com/books?id=tYh-5LEb6IQC&pg=PA25&dq=gay page 25]: #*:

    Examples:

    "'Gay marriage, though legal here, is still very controversial."

    "'gay sex"

    "'gay acts"

    "Although the number of gay weddings has increased significantly, many gay and lesbian couples — like many straight couples — are not interested in getting married."

    "She professes an undying love for gay bars and gay movies, and even admits to having watched gay porn."

  5. Gay as an adjective (slang, pejorative, dated):

    Effeminate or flamboyant in behavior. : lame, uncool, stupid.

    Examples:

    "synonyms: ghey"

    "This game is gay; let’s play a different one."

  6. Gay as an adjective (of a dog's tail):

    Upright or curved over the back.

  1. Gay as a noun (chiefly, in plural or attributive):

    A homosexual, especially a male homosexual; see also lesbian.

  2. Gay as a noun (obsolete):

    An ornament.

    Examples:

    "rfquotek L'Estrange"

  1. Gay as a verb (transitive, dated, uncommon):

    To make happy or cheerful.

  2. Gay as a verb (transitive, uncommon):

    To cause (something, e.g. AIDS) to be associated with homosexual people.

  1. Gay as a noun:

    The letter —, which stands for the sound , in Pitman shorthand.

  1. Merry as an adjective:

    Jolly and full of high spirits.

    Examples:

    "We had a very merry Christmas."

  2. Merry as an adjective:

    Festive and full of fun and laughter.

    Examples:

    "Everyone was merry at the party."

  3. Merry as an adjective:

    Brisk

    Examples:

    "The play moved along at a merry pace."

  4. Merry as an adjective:

    Causing laughter, mirth, gladness, or delight.

    Examples:

    "a merry jest"

  5. Merry as an adjective (euphemistic):

    drunk; tipsy

    Examples:

    "Some of us got a little merry at the office Christmas party."

  1. Merry as a noun:

    An English wild cherry.

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