Drollest

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Having a unique and often quirky humor that provokes laughter
2. Displaying a humorous quality that is both unconventional and charmingly entertaining
3. Exhibiting the highest degree of dry or amusingly unusual humor that often surprises with its charm

Etymology: "Drollest" is the superlative of "droll," and the adjective traces back to a goblin. In Middle Dutch, "drol" meant a fat little man or goblin, a word that descends from Old Norse "troll," the same creature that populates Scandinavian folklore. The sense then drifted through Old French "drolle," a term for someone who lived luxuriously, and Middle French "drolle," a merry fellow or pleasant rascal. By the time French settled on "drôle" for comical or odd, the goblin had become a jester. English borrowed the adjective from French, so "droll" arrived with its sense of quaint, amusing oddness already formed. The word and the French "drôle" are doublets, two forms from the same source that entered a language by different routes, and "troll" in its monstrous sense stayed on the other branch.

Synonyms: funniest, most amusing, most comical, most entertaining, most humorous

Antonyms: serious, sorrowful, unfunny, dismal, gloomy