agelast

English

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ἀγέλαστος (agélastos, “not laughing”), from γελάω (geláō, “to laugh”). Attributed to a French coinage by François Rabelais (ca.1483–1494—1553).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈæd͡ʒəˌlæst/
• IPA^(key): /ˈeɪd͡ʒəˌlæst/
• Hyphenation: age‧last

Noun

agelast (plural agelasts)

1. (rare) One who never laughs (especially at jokes); a mirthless person.

   Antonyms: gelast (rare), laugher, cachinnator, hypergelast

   • 2005, Arkady Kovelman, Between Alexandria and Jerusalem: The Dynamic of Jewish and Hellenistic Culture, Koninklijke Brill, page 50:

     As a real agelast in a comedy, he is beaten. The beating of an agelast is the most important point of the comedy.

   • 2008, Charles Partee, The Theology of John Calvin, Westminster John Knox Press, page 10:

     Declaring with Doumergue that "Rabelais and Calvin (and Olivétan) were the creators of French literary prose,"²⁵ Bakhtin adds "Even the agelast Calvin wrote a pamphlet about relics with a certain comic overtone."²⁶ The single, and unusual word "agelast" summarizes the popular view of John Calvin: a person who does not laugh or smile; someone who cannot enjoy life or the fact that others might be happy.

   • 2016, Mika Hallila, “Chapter 7: How the Novel Laughs”, in Rafał Borysławski, Justyna Jajszczok, Jakub Wolff, Alicja Bemben, editors, Histories of Laughter and Laughter in History, Cambridge Scholars Publishing:

     For Kundera, agelasts represent the opposite of the spirit of the novel; the novel is born from the sense of humor and not from theoretical thinking.

   • 2023, Benjamin Katz, Transcending Creators’ Trilogy in the Era of Growing Global Idiocrasy, Xlibris, unnumbered page:

     Agelasts have a very clear idea that they have patent regarding both the truth and the mission and are so bloody solemn that they just cannot accept other views.

Related terms

• agelastic
• gelastic
• hypergelast
• katagelasticism

Translations

one who never laughs

• French: agelaste (fr) m or f, agélaste (fr) m or f
• German: please add this translation if you can
• Italian: please add this translation if you can
• Portuguese: agelasta m or f

Further reading

• Peter Novobatzky & Ammon Shea, "Depraved and Insulting English", Harcourt Inc. 2001 →ISBN

Anagrams

• algates, lastage, tag sale