Chortler

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An individual who emits a joyful chuckle or snort of laughter may be described as someone who expresses mirth through a particular laughter style
2. A person characterized by their distinct laugh that combines chuckling and snorting exhibits a unique form of amusement
3. Someone who is known for a distinctive type of laughter that is hearty and snort-like, often in response to humor, is called such a person

Etymology: Lewis Carroll coined "chortle" in 1871, blending "chuckle" and "snort" in "Through the Looking-Glass," and the word was a deliberate portmanteau rather than an inherited one. "Chortler" is simply that coinage with the agent suffix "-er" added, so it names whoever does the chortling. The suffix has a long pedigree: it descends from a Latin ending "-arius," which passed through Old French "-ier" and reached English as "-er," the same ending found in words like "baker" and "writer." Because "chortle" was invented in a nonsense-rich children's book, its derivative "chortler" is a comparatively young word built from an invented base. The "-er" ending, by contrast, has been doing this job in English for about a millennium, in Old English "-ere" forms that were later reshaped in Middle English. So the new word rests on an ancient and very productive piece of grammar.

Synonyms: laugher, giggle, snicker, cackler, teehee