Homeric laughter

noun

Boisterous laughter, prolonged belly laughing; long or uncontrollable laughing.

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Meanings

nounHomeric laughter (uncountable)
  1. uncountableBoisterous laughter, prolonged belly laughing; long or uncontrollable laughing.

    But the Professor! He ought to have exploded in a burst of Homeric laughter, or else to have shaken his head at her and warned her where little girls go to who do this sort of thing.

    1916, Jerome K. Jerome, chapter III, in Malvina of Brittany
    1 more example

    The words were scarcely out of her mouth, when they were greeted with a roar of Homeric laughter that literally shook the room, and this time not at the expense of the innocent speaker.

    1873, Charles Reade, chapter VI, in A Simpleton: A Story of the Day […], volume I, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, page 193

Origin

With reference to a scene in the Iliad: c. 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 1.599–600: ἄσβεστος δ’ ἄρ’ ἐνῶρτο γέλως μακάρεσσι θεοῖσιν ὡς ἴδον Ἥφαιστον διὰ δώματα ποιπνύοντα. ásbestos d’ ár’ enôrto gélōs makáressi theoîsin hōs ídon Hḗphaiston dià dṓmata poipnúonta. Translation by Augustus Taber Murray And unquenchable laughter arose among the blessed gods, as they saw Hephaestus puffing through the palace.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Dutch homerisch gelach, homerische lach
  • homerisch gelachboisterous laughter
  • homerische lachboisterous laughter
French rire homérique
  • rire homériqueboisterous laughter
German homerisches Gelächter
  • homerisches Gelächterboisterous laughter
Polish homerycki śmiech
  • homerycki śmiechboisterous laughter
Romanian râs homeric
  • râs homericboisterous laughter
Russian гомери́ческий хо́хот
  • гомери́ческий хо́хот (gomeríčeskij xóxot)boisterous laughter
Cite this entry
APA

Homeric laughter. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Homeric%20laughter

MLA

“Homeric laughter.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Homeric%20laughter. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Homeric laughter,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Homeric%20laughter.

Source: Homeric laughter on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.