humour

humour
(US humor)
noun
1》 the quality of being amusing, especially as expressed in literature or speech.
    ↘the ability to appreciate or express humour.
2》 a state of mind: her good humour vanished.
    ↘archaic an inclination or whim.
3》 (also cardinal humour) historical each of four fluids of the body (blood, phlegm, yellow bile or choler, and black bile or melancholy), formerly thought to determine a person's physical and mental qualities.
verb comply with the wishes or whims of.
Phrases
out of humour in a bad mood.
Derivatives
humourless adjective
humourlessly adverb
humourlessness noun
Word History
The word humour entered English from Old French in the 14th century. Ultimately it comes from Latin humor 'moisture', from humere 'be moist' (humid is from the same root). The original sense in English was 'bodily fluid', surviving today in the medical terms aqueous humour and vitreous humour, fluids present in the eyeball. In the Middle Ages it was believed that the relative proportions of the four bodily fluids known as the cardinal humours, namely blood, phlegm, choler, and melancholy, affected a person's general physical and mental health. This idea led, in the 16th century, to the use of humour in the senses 'mood' and 'whim', with the current primary sense becoming established by the end of that century.

English new terms dictionary. 2014.

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  • HUMOUR — Le concept d’humour, dont le champ d’application s’est considérablement élargi depuis son utilisation dans la littérature anglaise des XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles, n’a pas pour autant subi de multiples variations sémantiques ni cessé de se rattacher… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • humour — (US humor) ► NOUN 1) the quality of being amusing or comic. 2) a state of mind: her good humour vanished. 3) (also cardinal humour) historical each of four fluids of the body (blood, phlegm, yellow bile or choler, and black bile or melancholy),… …   English terms dictionary

  • humour — chiefly Brit var of HUMOR * * * n. a body fluid. See aqueous humour, vitreous humour …   Medical dictionary

  • humour — n. same as {humor}. [Chiefly Brit.] [PJC] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • humour — / hju:mə/, it. / jumor/ s. ingl. [voce di origine normanna, propr. umore ], usato in ital. al masch. [capacità di cogliere gli aspetti comici o paradossali della vita: il caratteristico h. degli inglesi ] ▶◀ arguzia, ironia, sagacia, spirito,… …   Enciclopedia Italiana

  • humour — chiefly British English spelling of HUMOR (Cf. humor); see OR (Cf. or). Related: Humourous; humourist …   Etymology dictionary

  • humour — /ˈjumor, ingl. ˈhjuːməu(r)/ [ant. fr. (h)umor, dal lat. (h)umōre(m) «umore»] s. m. inv. senso dell umorismo, spirito □ umorismo, comicità …   Sinonimi e Contrari. Terza edizione

  • humour — is spelt our in BrE and humor in AmE, and the same distinction applies to the derivative humourless / humorless. Humorous and humorist, however, are spelt the same way in both varieties …   Modern English usage

  • humour — [hyo͞o′mər] n., vt. Brit. sp. of HUMOR …   English World dictionary

  • Humour — Sourire peut impliquer un sens d humour et une émotion d amusement, comme le démontre le personnage de Falstaff d Eduard von Grützner. L humour, au sens large, est une forme d esprit railleuse « qui s attache à souligner le caractère …   Wikipédia en Français

  • humour — /hyooh meuhr/, n., v.t., Chiefly Brit. humor. Usage. See or1. * * * I (Latin; fluid ) In early Western physiological theory, one of the four body fluids thought to determine a person s temperament and features. As hypothesized by Galen, the four… …   Universalium

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