agelast

noun

ag·​e·​last Ë?a-jÉ™-ËŒlast How to pronounce agelast (audio)
plural agelasts
: a person who never laughs
And in the Essay on Comedy he did at least remind us that in scholarship and in literature, or indeed in any of the circumstances of our mortal careers, the final word should not be with the agelast, the one who never laughs.—Richard Franko Goldman, American Scholar, Winter 1966–67

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Middle French agelaste (Rabelais), borrowed from Greek agélastos "not laughing, grave, gloomy," from a- a- entry 2 + gelastós, verbal adjective of gelân "to laugh"

First Known Use

1877, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of agelast was in 1877

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Dictionary Entries Near agelast

Agelaius

agelast

ageless

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Agelast.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/agelast. Accessed 24 Nov. 2024.

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