FreeScrabbleDictionary

humour

Valid in Scrabble

Scrabble points
11
Words With Friends
13
Letters
6
Pronunciation
/ˈhjuː.mə(ɹ)/
See all 3 pronunciations
/ˈhjuː.mə(ɹ)/ · /ˈhjuːmɚ/ · /ˈjuːmɚ/

Definition of humour

6 senses · 2 parts of speech · etymology included

noun

  1. (UK, uncountable, usually)The quality of being amusing, comical, funny.
    “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.”
See all 6 definitions

noun

  1. (UK, uncountable, usually)The quality of being amusing, comical, funny.
    “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.”
  2. (UK, uncountable, usually)A mood, especially a bad mood; a temporary state of mind or disposition brought upon by an event; an abrupt illogical inclination or whim.
    “He was in a particularly vile humour that afternoon.”
    “I like not the humour of lying.”
    “King James, as he was a Prince of great Judgment, ſo he was a Prince of a marvellous pleaſant humour; […]”
    “Examine how your humour is inclined, / And which the ruling passion of your mind.”
    “Is my friend all perfection, all virtue and discretion? Has he not humours to be endured?”
  3. (UK, archaic, historical, uncountable, usually)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.
    “A humour is a liquid or fluent part of the body, comprehended in it, for the preservation of it; and is either innate or born with us, or adventitious and acquisite.”
    “The cause is a temperate conglutination ; for both bodies are clammy and viscous , and do bridle the deflux of humours to the hurts , without penning them in too much”
    “For some days a fistula lacrymalis had come into my left eye, which discharged an humour, when pressed, that portended danger.”
  4. (UK, uncountable, usually)Either of the two regions of liquid within the eyeball, the aqueous humour and vitreous humour.
  5. (UK, obsolete, uncountable, usually)Moist vapour, moisture.

verb

  1. (UK, transitive)To pacify by indulging.
    “I know you don't believe my story, but humour me for a minute and imagine it to be true.”

Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

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…

See full 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".

Words you can make from humour

21 playable · top: HUMOR (10 pts)

Best play humor 10 points

5-letter words

1 word

4-letter words

1 word

3-letter words

9 words

2-letter words

9 words

Hooks

1 extension · 1 back

A single letter you can add to humour to make another valid word.

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