giggle

English

Etymology

Unknown. Perhaps a frequentative based on dialectal English gig (“to creak”), from Middle English gigen (“to make a creaking sound”) +‎ -le. Compare Middle English gigge, gige (“a squeaking sound; a creak”), Dutch giechelen, German kichern.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡɪɡl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪɡəl

Verb

giggle (third-person singular simple present giggles, present participle giggling, simple past and past participle giggled)

1. To laugh gently or in a high-pitched voice; to laugh in a silly or giddy way.

   The jokes had them giggling like little girls all evening.

Synonyms

• (laugh in a silly way): titter
• See also Thesaurus:laugh

Derived terms

• giggly

Translations

laugh

• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Basque: please add this translation if you can
• Bulgarian: кикотя се (kikotja se), хихикам (bg) (hihikam)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 傻笑 (zh) (shǎxiào), 痴笑 (zh) (chīxiào), 嘻 (zh) (xī)

• Dutch: giechelen (nl)
• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Estonian: itsitama
• Finnish: kikattaa (fi), tirskua
• French: glousser (fr)
• Galician: rir (gl)
• Georgian: ხითხითებს (xitxitebs)
• German: kichern (de)
• Greek: χαχανίζω (el) (chachanízo)

  Ancient Greek: κιχλίζω (kikhlízō)

• Hungarian: kuncog (hu), vihog (hu)
• Italian: ridacchiare (it)
• Japanese: くすくす笑う (kusukusu-warau), けらけら笑う (kerakera-warau)

• Kannada: vyangya nage (vyangya nage), kisi (kisi), kisiyuvudu (kisiyuvudu)
• Khmer: please add this translation if you can
• Macedonian: (се) кикоти ((se) kíkoti)
• Maori: tīhohe, tīhohehohe
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Norwegian: fnise (no), knise (no)
• Persian: ریسه رفتن‎ (rise raftan)
• Polish: chichotać
• Portuguese: dar risadinhas
• Romanian: chicoti (ro)
• Russian: хихи́кать (ru) impf (xixíkatʹ), хихи́кнуть (ru) pf (xixíknutʹ)
• Spanish: reír (es)
• Swedish: fnittra (sv), fnissa (sv)
• Tagalog: bungisngis
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Turkish: please add this translation if you can
• Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can
• Yiddish: כיכיקען‎ (khikhiken)

Noun

giggle (plural giggles)

1. A high-pitched, silly laugh.
2. (informal) Fun; an amusing episode.

   We put itching powder down his shirt for giggles.

   The women thought it would be quite a giggle to have a strippergram at the bride's hen party.

Synonyms

• (laugh): titter
• (amusement): amusement, fun, a joke, a laugh or laughs

Translations

laugh

• Bulgarian: кикот (bg) m (kikot), хихикане (bg) n (hihikane)
• Dutch: gegiechel (nl) n
• Finnish: kikatus (fi)
• French:
• Galician: risiña f
• Georgian: ხითხითი (xitxiti)
• German: Gekicher n
• Greek: χάχανο (el) n (cháchano)

• Macedonian: кикот m (se kíkot), кикотница f (kikótnica)
• Norwegian: fnising c, knising c
• Persian: ریسه‎ (fa) (rise)
• Polish: chichot (pl) m
• Portuguese: risadinha f
• Russian: хихи́канье (ru) n (xixíkanʹje)
• Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can

informal: amusement