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chor·tle

(chôrtl)

A snorting, joyful laugh or chuckle.

intr. & tr.v. chor·tled, chor·tling, chor·tles

To utter a chortle or express with a chortle.

[Blend of CHUCKLE and SNORT.]

chortler n.

Word History: " 'O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!' He chortled in his joy." Perhaps Lewis Carroll would chortle a bit himself to find that people are still using the word chortle, which he coined in Through the Looking-Glass, published in 1872. In any case, Carroll had constructed his word well, combining the words chuckle and snort. He also provided us means of referring to such hybrids, which are often prosaically called blends. In Through the Looking-Glass Humpty Dumpty uses portmanteau (a suitcase that opens into two hinged compartments) to describe the word slithy, saying, "It's like a portmanteau—there are two meanings packed up into one word" (the meanings being "lithe" and "slimy").

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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