chortle

Perhaps a blend of chuckle +‎ snort. Coined by Lewis Carroll in his poem Jabberwocky, completed in 1855 but only introduced to the public in his 1871 novel Through the Looking-Glass.

• (General American) enPR: chôr'təl, IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃɔɹtəl/, [ˈt͡ʃɔɹɾɫ̩]

• Audio (US)

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• Audio (AU)

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  Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)təl

chortle (plural chortles)

1. A joyful, somewhat muffled laugh, rather like a snorting chuckle.

   He frequently interrupted himself with chortles while he told us his favorite joke.

2. A similar sounding vocalisation of various birds.

• chuckle

chortle (third-person singular simple present chortles, present participle chortling, simple past and past participle chortled)

1. (intransitive) To laugh with a chortle or chortles.

   The old fellow chortled as he recalled his youthful adventures.

   • 1871, Lewis Carroll, Jabberwocky:

     'O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!' He chortled in his joy.

• chuckle
• See also Thesaurus:laugh