Chortle is a verb that means to laugh in a breathy, gleeful way.

Our word of the day is one of many words that come to us from the 19th century author Lewis Carroll. He first used chortle — a combination of chuckle and snort — in the novel Through the Looking Glass.

I plead guilty to having been a nerd in high school. On top of my ill-fitting wardrobe and coke-bottle glasses, I also had this dorky chortle I’d deliver at the slightest provocation. Take my word for it, having a weird laugh is never the key to popularity.