misogelast

English

Etymology

From miso- + Ancient Greek γελαστής (gelastḗs, “laughter”).

Noun

misogelast (plural misogelasts)

(literary, rare) One who hates laughter.
- 1903 March, “Views and Reviews”, in The Catholic World, volume LXXVI, number 456, New York, N.Y.: The Paulist Fathers, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 839:
  The phenomena presented by the misogelast, or laughter-hater; the agelast, or non-laugher; the gelast, who is the laugher himself, and the hypergelast, who is the laugher gone intemperate, are looked into, and as far as possible accounted for, by Dr. Sully.
- 2005, Michael Billig, “Superiority Theories: Hobbes and Other Misogelasts”, in Laughter and Ridicule: Towards a Social Critique of Laughter, London […]: SAGE Publications, →ISBN, page 14:
  Analysts of humour no longer have to justify their endeavours by claiming to be battling against recognizable figures who refuse to laugh or who disdain the comic. No-one today wishes to be thought a misogelast, and certainly not to acquire one as a partner.
- 2007, Sammy Basu, “"A Little Discourse Pro & Con": Levelling Laughter and Its Puritan Criticism'”, in International Review of Social History, volume 52 (supplement 15), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire […]: Cambridge University Press, →DOI, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 105:
  Why were the Puritans such misogelasts? Why did they not only enjoin mourning but entreat the suppression of laughter?
- 2009 Summer, Sandra Swart, “"The Terrible Laughter of the Afrikaner"—Towards a Social History of Humor”, in Journal of Social History, Fairfax, V.A.: George Mason University, →ISSN, →OCLC, pages 890–891:
  Laughter is celebrated as the "best medicine", as both socially positive and personally liberatory. Yet the laughter sceptics or the "misogelasts" (haters of laughter) contend that there might be something ugly behind the smile.

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