Drole

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Causing amusement or laughter because it is odd or unexpected
2. Having a humorous quality that is strange or quirky
3. Provoking a smile or laugh due to its unusual or whimsical nature

Etymology: The word "drole" is an obsolete spelling of "droll," and its story runs through a chain of meanings that moved from a goblin to a clown to a sly joker. Its ultimate source is Old Norse "troll," the mythical creature, which passed into Middle Dutch as "drol," meaning a fat little man or goblin. From there it entered Old French as "drolle," a word for someone who lived luxuriously, and later Middle French "drolle" described a merry fellow or pleasant rascal. French then gave the word its modern shape. "Drôle" came to mean "comical, odd, funny," and a noun form "drôle" meant a buffoon. English borrowed the word from this French source, and "drole" (or "droll") took on the sense of something provoking a smile or laugh through its unusual or whimsical nature. Scholars have suggested that the French word may have a connection to English "troll," though this link is uncertain. The word is a doublet of both "drôle" and "troll," meaning that they all descend from the same Germanic root.

Synonyms: funny, humorous, witty, amusing, entertaining

Antonyms: serious, solemn, grave, sombre, unamusing