titter means A nervous or somewhat repressed giggle.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, titter ranks #2,309 of 14,431 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #2,350 of 14,448 for Most Incisive Words, #2,382 of 14,414 for Most Elegant Words, #2,580 of 14,456 for The Improbable.
titter is pronounced /ˈtɪtə(ɹ)/.
Why “titter” is a great word
To laugh in a restrained, nervous, or partly suppressed manner; also, such a laugh. First attested in the 1610s. Probably from Middle English *titeren, *titren (related to titering, "hesitation, vacillation"), a frequentative of Middle English titten ("to waver"), akin to Old Norse titra ("to shake, shiver, quiver") and dialectal Swedish tittra ("to snicker"). Unlike a "giggle," which bursts from childlike delight, or a "snicker," which is laced with sly derision, a titter is the sound of social anxiety made audible. It is the quick, breathy flutter that escapes a hushed room at a poorly-timed joke, the collective tremor of an audience unsure if it is permitted to laugh, or the faint, porcelain rattle of a teacup in a hand trying not to tremble—a confession of unease that pretends to be amusement.
Etymology
First attested in the 1610s. Probably from Middle English *titeren, *titren (attested in Middle English titering (“hesitation, vacillation”)), probably a frequentative of Middle English titten (“to waver”), related to Old Norse titra (“to shake, shiver, quiver”), dialectal Swedish tittra (“to snicker”).
noun
- A nervous or somewhat repressed giggle.“April 21, 1811, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Table Talk
There was a titter of […] delight on his countenance.”
- A woman's breast.“Flesh Gordon 2 - I remember that this one was chock full of big titters. Many of them looked like the natural variety, as well.”
- A girl or young woman.“David […] was a man peculiarly after God's own heart, had plenty of wives, and, when he got old and shaky, and there were doubts about his virility, the prophet of the Lord told him to go and get a young "titter" — a capable young woman — to test him, and see if the fires of his passion had gone out, and to keep him warm if they had. There is the Bible for you.”
verb
- To laugh or giggle in a somewhat subdued or restrained way, as from nervousness or poorly-suppressed amusement.“1863, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Tales of a Wayside Inn Part First: The Sicilian's Tale - King Robert of Sicily
A group of tittering pages ran before.”
- To teeter; to seesaw.
Words closest in meaning
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