humour
nounverbcommon in dialogue
- United Kingdom//ˈhjuː.mə(ɹ)//
- United States//ˈhjuːmɚ//
- United States//ˈjuːmɚ//
The quality of being amusing, comical, funny.
noun
- 1
The quality of being amusing, comical, funny.
She has a great sense of humour, and I always laugh a lot whenever we get together.
The sensitive subject was treated with humour, but in such way that no one was offended.
"I gathered that you might not be altogether sorry to see me. So"—with a reassuring laugh—"here I am." A mild amusement at the possible humours of the situation characterised his manner.
Merry VVhitefoord, farevvel! for thy ſake I admit / That a Scot may have humour, I had almoſt ſaid vvit: […]
- 2
A mood, especially a bad mood; a temporary state of mind or disposition brought upon by an event; an abrupt illogical inclination or whim.
He was in a particularly vile humour that afternoon.
I like not the humour of lying.
King James, as he was a Prince of great Judgment, ſo he was a Prince of a marvellous pleaſant humour; […]
Examine how your humour is inclined, / And which the ruling passion of your mind.
- 3
archaicAny of the fluids in an animal body, especially the four "cardinal humours" of blood, yellow bile, black bile and phlegm that were believed to control the health and mood of the human body.
A humour is a liquid or fluent part of the body, comprehended in it, for the preservation of it; and is either innate or born with us, or adventitious and acquisite.
The cause is a temperate conglutination ; for both bodies are clammy and viscous , and do bridle the deflux of humours to the hurts , without penning them in too much
For some days a fistula lacrymalis had come into my left eye, which discharged an humour, when pressed, that portended danger.
- 4
Either of the two regions of liquid within the eyeball, the aqueous humour and vitreous humour.
- 5
obsoleteMoist vapour, moisture.
Etymology
From Middle English humour, from Old French humor, humour, from Latin hūmor, correctly ūmor (“liquid”), from hūmeō, correctly ūmeō (“to be moist”). The h in these words, which was silent in late Classical Latin, is folk etymological, due to the erroneous association with the word humus (“soil”). The shift in meaning "liquid" > "mood" is attributed to the classical system of physiology, where human behaviour is regulated by four bodily humours (fluids). The sense "mood" gave rise to the verb sense "to give in to someone's mood or whim" and, by narrowing of meaning, the sense "wit".
verb
- 1
To pacify by indulging.
I know you don't believe my story, but humour me for a minute and imagine it to be true.
Forms
- plural
- humours
- past tense
- humoured
- past participle
- humoured
- present participle
- humouring
- third person singular
- humours
humour · The quality of being amusing, comical, funny.
hump · A mound of earth.Hump · A diminutive of the male given names Humphrey or Humphry.Humphrey · A male given name from the Germanic languages.