# chortle

Pronunciation: US say "CHOR-tuhl" /ˈt͡ʃɔɹtəl/; UK/AUS say "CHAW-tuhl" /ˈt͡ʃɔːtəl/

## Verb

1. To laugh joyfully in a somewhat muffled way, with a sound like a snorting chuckle.
   - Simple: To laugh in a happy way that is partly held in, with a small snorting sound.
   - _My uncle chortled as he read the cartoon in the Sunday paper._
   - _She tried not to chortle when the boss's slides came up upside down._

## Noun

2. A gleeful laugh, partly stifled, that resembles a snorting chuckle.
   - Simple: A happy laugh that is partly held in and sounds a bit like a snort.
   - _He read the letter twice and let out a chortle of delight._
   - _The comedian's driest lines drew chortles from the back rows._
3. A sound made by various birds that resembles a muffled, snorting chuckle.
   - Simple: A sound some birds make that is like a soft, chuckling laugh.
   - _A low chortle came from the reeds, where a pair of water birds were feeding._
   - _Throaty chortles drifted over the marsh as the birds settled for the night._

## Origin

Coined by Lewis Carroll in his poem Jabberwocky, begun in 1855 but first made public in his 1871 novel Through the Looking-Glass. It is perhaps a blend of chuckle and snort.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/chortle (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).