Meanings
- uncountablehuman sciencesThe study of humour and laughter, and its effects on the body.First known use 1964
Let's not develop a cult of laughology (though the study of laughter in medicine has already been christened gelotology from the Greek root meaning "laughter.") Humor is an important and documented adjunct in the life of both the well and the unwell, but as a therapy it rarely can stand alone.
1996, Robert R. Cadmus, “Humor and Enhanced Well-being in the Later Years”, in Len Sperry, Harry Prosen, editors, Aging in the Twenty-first Century: A Developmental Perspective (Issues in Aging; 5; Garland Reference Library of Social Science; 1053), New York, N.Y.; London: Garland Publishing, →ISBN, page 1402 more examples
One of the founders of gelotology (gelos is Greek for "laughter"), Stanford University professor William F. Fry, also experimented on himself in the early 1960s. He drew blood samples at regular intervals while watching Laurel and Hardy and other comedic movies and had the samples analyzed. He found that laughter enhanced the activity of certain immune system cells responsible for killing infectious pathogens.
2005 October 1, Charmaine Liebertz, “A Healthy Laugh”, in John Rennie, editor, Scientific American, New York, N.Y.: Springer Nature American, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 19 Sep 2021Gelotology, the study of laughter, was established in the late 1960s in an effort to determine the possible physiological and psychological effects humor and laughter can have. One of the pioneers of Gelotology, William F. Fry, a Professor Emeritus at Stanford University, has done extensive research on the physiological benefits of laughter with very encouraging findings.
2013 November 29, Robert T. Muller, “LOL: How Laughter can Improve Your Health”, in Psychology Today, New York, N.Y.: Sussex Publishers, →ISSN, →OCLC
Origin
- Ancient Greekγέλωτος
- Englishgelotology
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.
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan gelotologia
- gelotologiastudy of humour and laughter, and its effects on the body
Chinese Mandarin 笑理學 /笑理学
- 笑理學 /笑理学 (xiàolǐxué)study of humour and laughter, and its effects on the body
Finnish gelotologia
- gelotologiastudy of humour and laughter, and its effects on the body
French gélotologie
- gélotologiestudy of humour and laughter, and its effects on the body
German Gelotologie
- Gelotologiestudy of humour and laughter, and its effects on the body
Hebrew גלוטולוגיה
- גלוטולוגיהstudy of humour and laughter, and its effects on the body
Italian gelotologia
- gelotologiastudy of humour and laughter, and its effects on the body
Portuguese gelotologia
- gelotologiastudy of humour and laughter, and its effects on the body
Russian смехотерапи́я
- смехотерапи́я (smexoterapíja)study of humour and laughter, and its effects on the body
Spanish gelotología
- gelotologíastudy of humour and laughter, and its effects on the body
Turkish gelotoloji
- gelotolojistudy of humour and laughter, and its effects on the body
Ukrainian сміхотерапія
- сміхотерапія (smixoterapija)study of humour and laughter, and its effects on the body
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with gelotology
Cite this entry
gelotology. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gelotology
“gelotology.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gelotology. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gelotology,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gelotology.
Source: gelotology on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.