The story
Perhaps a blend of chuckle + snort. Coined by Lewis Carroll in his poem Jabberwocky, completed in 1855 but only introduced to the public in his 1871 novel Through the Looking-Glass.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
chortle
Today it means: A joyful, somewhat muffled laugh, rather like a snorting chuckle. Full definition →