Etymology

gelotology

ge·lo·to·logy
G2E1L1O1T1O1L1O1G2Y4

Today it means: The study of humour and laughter, and its effects on the body. Full definition →

First used 1964Ancient Greek γέλωτος
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The story

  1. Ancient Greek · derived fromγέλωτος
  2. English todaygelotology

From Ancient Greek γέλωτος (gélōtos) (the genitive of γέλως (gélōs, “laughter”)) + English -logy (suffix denoting the study of a particular subject), coined by the anthropologist and linguist Edith Trager with participation from the American psychiatrist William F. Fry, Jr. (1924–2014) in March 1964.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 1964 The study of humour and laughter, and its effects on the body.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.