joli

French

Etymology

From Middle French joly (“considerable, ingenious, agreeable, pretty”), from Old French joli, jolif (“pretty, smart, joyful, merry”), possibly from Old Norse jól (midwinter festival), from Proto-Germanic *jehwlą, *jeulō (“Yule, Yule month, December”) (more at yule); alternatively from Vulgar Latin *gaudivus (from Latin gaudeō, more at joy).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʒɔ.li/

• audio:

  (file)

Adjective

joli (feminine jolie, masculine plural jolis, feminine plural jolies)

1. pretty; cute
2. (Louisiana) jolly, nice, pleasant, agreeable

   Synonym: agréable

Synonyms

• mignon

Derived terms

• joliment

Related terms

• enjoliver

See also

• beau

Further reading

• “joli”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

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Lower Sorbian

Alternative forms

• jolic

Etymology

jo +‎ -li

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈjɔli/, [ˈjɔlʲi]

Conjunction

joli

1. if

Usage notes

May optionally be followed by the conjunction až (“that”).

Synonyms

• -li
• gaž
• gaby

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Norman

Etymology

From , from Old French joli, jolif (“pretty, smart, joyful, merry”), possibly from Old Norse jól (midwinter festival), from Proto-Germanic *jehwlą, *jeulō (“Yule, Yule month, December”) (more at yule); alternatively from Vulgar Latin *gaudivus (from Latin gaudeō, more at joy).

Adjective

joli m

1. (Jersey) pretty

Derived terms

• jolîment (“prettily”)

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Old French

Etymology

From an earlier jolif

Adjective

joli m (oblique and nominative feminine singular jolie)

1. pretty; cute