Humorist

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person who writes or performs comedy that provokes laughter through clever observation, satire, or witty commentary on human nature and social situations
2. An individual skilled in creating or delivering comedic content that elicits amusement through insightful criticism and humorous reflections on life and society
3. A practitioner of humor who engages audiences by crafting jokes or narratives that explore the absurdities of everyday experiences and cultural norms

Etymology: "Humorist" is formed from "humor" plus the suffix "-ist", which marks a person who practices or follows something. The suffix itself travelled a long road: it descends from Ancient Greek "-istēs", used to form agent nouns, and reached English through Latin "-ista" and Old French "-iste" before settling into Middle English as "-ist". So the word is a product of two separate borrowings, one for the stem and one for the ending. The stem "humor" has a different story. Its original sense was bodily fluid, and the medieval idea of the four humours (blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile) held that a person's temperament depended on the balance among them. A person with an unusual mix was thought to behave oddly, which is why "humor" came to mean a whim or mood before it meant amusement. The sense of comedy arrived later, so the "-ist" added to it denotes someone who makes people laugh rather than someone governed by bodily fluids.

Synonyms: comedian, satirist, jester, wit, funny person

Antonyms: sourpuss, killjoy, gloomy person