You know what's been bugging me the lst week?
What's the difference between CHUCKLE and CHORTLE.
Merriam Webster Online defines it as follows...CHUCKLE
Main Entry: chuck·le
Pronunciation: \ˈchə-kəl\
Function: intransitive verb
Inflected Form(s): chuck·led; chuck·ling
Etymology: probably frequentative of chuck
Date: circa 1770
1 : to laugh inwardly or quietly
2 : to make a continuous gentle sound resembling suppressed mirth
— chuckle noun
— chuck·le·some \-səm\ adjective
— chuck·ling·ly \-iŋ-lē\ adverb
CHORTLE
Main Entry: chor·tle
Pronunciation: \ˈchȯr-təl\
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): chor·tled; chor·tling \ˈchȯrt-liŋ, ˈchȯr-təl-iŋ\
Etymology: probably blend of chuckle and snort
Date: 1872
1 : to sing or chant exultantly
2 : to laugh or chuckle especially in satisfaction or exultation
transitive verb
: to say or sing with a chortling intonation
— chortle noun
— chor·tler \ˈchȯrt-lər, ˈchȯr-təl-ər\ noun
Ok, I can read the words and understand them. But does anyone use chortle these days? What does it SOUND like? Have any of your chortled in recent times? I had no clue it was meant to be exultantly.
And how about chuckle? This one, I am sure, we all do often not realising it... but... what da heck does "frequentative of chuck " mean??
Damn.... now that I've blogged this, I'll be thinking about this seriously....
Natural introvert, learned extrovert.
About Me
- Fiona Kathleen Hogan
- Testy, cynical and Eurasian. I won't play well with you if you have no bloody common sense. All comments & emails sent me become fodder for my blog.
My radio stations!
Special mentions
My alter ego
Kitty Greatness
My Betters
Information that won't save my life
More stuff that won't save my life.
Go on - explore!
Blog Archive
Powered by Blogger.
8:30 am
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
The word "chortle" was invented by the Reverend Charles Dodgson, AKA Lewis Carroll, and appeared in his book Through The Looking Glass, embedded in the poem "Jabberwocky."
He explains that the word means a combination of "chuckle" and "snort."
I guess I've chuckled, snorted, and chortled at various times...
And then there's the chorkle, which is a combination that is more chortle then chuckle.
Post a Comment