chortle English · revision 2076

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈt͡ʃɔɹtəl/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It was coined by Lewis Carroll in ''Through the Looking-Glass'' (1871),^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(RHWU)^(AHD) probably as a blend of [[chuckle]] and [[snort]].^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To chuckle or sing exultantly, in Carroll's line “He chortled in his joy” (1872).^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)^(AHD)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Carroll called such words portmanteaus, with two meanings packed into one.^(AHD) ''Chortle'' was taken up jocularly by other writers^(OED 1989) and became an ordinary word for a gleeful, snorting laugh.^(AHD)^(RHWU) The noun appears in 1903.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1871 – coined in ''Through the Looking-Glass''.^(Etymonline)^(RHWU)

+ * 1872 – first quotations.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1903 – as a noun.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To laugh or chuckle gleefully, especially in satisfaction.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To say or express with a gleeful chuckle.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A gleeful, snorting chuckle.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[chortler]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[chuckle]]

+ * [[snort]]

+ * [[galumph]]

+ * [[portmanteau]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}