humour
/ˈhjuːmɚ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.83 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A mood, especially a bad mood; a temporary state of mind or disposition brought upon by an event; an abrupt illogical inclination or whim.
British usage; Uncountable
noun
Any of the fluids in an animal body, especially the four "cardinal humours" of blood, yellow bile, black bile and phlegm that were believed to control the health and mood of the human body.
British usage; Archaic; Uncountable
noun
Either of the two regions of liquid within the eyeball, the aqueous humour and vitreous humour.
British usage; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "She has a great sense of humour, and I always laugh a lot whenever we get together."
- "The sensitive subject was treated with humour, but in such way that no one was offended."
- ""I gathered that you might not be altogether sorry to see me. So"—with a reassuring laugh—"here I am." A mild amusement at the possible humours of the situation characterised his manner."
- "Merry VVhitefoord, farevvel! for thy ſake I admit / That a Scot may have humour, I had almoſt ſaid vvit: […]"
- "A great deal of excellent humour was expended on the perplexities of mine host."
- "They stayed together during three dances, went out on to the terrace, explored wherever they were permitted to explore, paid two visits to the buffet, and enjoyed themselves much in the same way as if they had been school-children surreptitiously breaking loose from an assembly of grown-ups. The boy became volubly friendly and bubbling over with unexpected humour and high spirits."
Etymology
From Middle English humour, from Old French humor, humour, from Latin hūmor, correctly ūmor (“liquid”), from hūmeō, correctly ūmeō (“to be moist”). The h in these words, which was silent in late Classical Latin, is folk etymological, due to the erroneous association with the word humus (“soil”). The shift in meaning "liquid" > "mood" is attributed to the classical system of physiology, where human behaviour is regulated by four bodily humours (fluids). The sense "mood" gave rise to the verb sense "to give in to someone's mood or whim" and, by narrowing of meaning, the sense "wit".
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈhjuːmɚ/
- British English: /ˈhjuː.mə(ɹ)/
Usage
- British usage
- Uncountable
- Archaic
- Obsolete
- Transitive verb