chortle

chortle \CHOR-tl\, transitive and intransitive verb: 1. To utter, or express with, a snorting, exultant laugh or chuckle. noun: 1. A snorting, exultant laugh or chuckle. Benjamin himself chortled now, an odd laugh to which I grew accustomed in years to come. -- Jay Parini, Benjamin's Crossing Even Isaksson's stern wife, who rarely cracked a smile, chortled with glee, and Old Mothstead slapped his thighs and flapped his apron and danced around the couple, who moved in ever larger rings amongst the kegs. -- Kerstin Ekman, Witches' Rings, translated by Linda Schenck A nation that was used to chortling over Charlie Chaplin or rejoicing with the high-stepping Ziegfeld girls found itself drawn to this more refined, decidedly European entertainment. -- Larry Tye, The Father of Spin Chortle a combination of chuckle and snort. It was coined by Lewis Carroll (Charles L. Dodgson), in Through the Looking-Glass, published in 1872.