titter

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɪtɚ/

• Audio (AU):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪtə(r)

Etymology 1

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”).

Verb

titter (third-person singular simple present titters, present participle tittering, simple past and past participle tittered)

1. To laugh or giggle in a somewhat subdued or restrained way, as from nervousness or poorly-suppressed amusement.
   • Longfellow

     A group of tittering pages ran before.

2. (obsolete) To teeter; to seesaw.

Synonyms

• snicker; see also Thesaurus:laugh

Derived terms

• tittersome

Translations

to laugh or giggle in a somewhat subdued manner

• Finnish: hihittää (fi), tirskua
• French: ricaner (fr)
• Greek:

  Ancient Greek: κιχλίζω (kikhlízō)

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Polish: chichotać
• Russian: хихи́кать (ru) (xixíkatʹ)
• Swedish: fnittra (sv), fnissa (sv)
• Westrobothnian: ,

Noun

titter (plural titters)

1. A nervous or somewhat repressed giggle.
   • Coleridge

     There was a titter of […] delight on his countenance.

Translations

nervous or repressed giggle

• Finnish: hihitys (fi), tirskunta
• French: ricanement (fr)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Polish: chichot (pl)
• Russian: смешо́к (ru) m (smešók)

Etymology 2

Probably related to tit, titty.

Noun

titter (plural titters)

1. (slang, vulgar, chiefly in the plural) A woman's breast.
   • 1995 February 21, Agent_69 [username], “big breast video list”, in alt.sex.breast‎^[1] (Usenet):

     Flesh Gordon 2 - I remember that this one was chock full of big titters. Many of them looked like the natural variety, as well.

   • 1999 March 13, MrMalo [username], “Re: State Capitals”, in alt.jokes.limericks‎^[2] (Usenet):

     there was an old lady from raleigh
     who was so doggone nasty by golly
     just squeezin her titters
     you'd pick up some critters
     and bathe twice in one month for your folly

   • 2013, Dorothy St. James, Oak and Dagger, Berkley Prime Crime (2013), →ISBN, unnumbered page:

     “The poor dear, even her titters are weighted down with melancholy,” Pearle said to Mable.

     “I don't know what you're talking about. Her titters look perky enough to me,” Mable replied.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:titter.

Synonyms

• (a woman's breast): See also Thesaurus:breasts.