agelast

English

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ἀγέλαστος (agélastos, “not laughing”), from γελάω (geláō, “to laugh”). Attributed to a French coinage by François Rabelais (ca.1483–1494—1553).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈæd͡ʒəˌlæst/
• IPA^(key): /ˈeɪd͡ʒəˌlæst/
• Hyphenation: age‧last

Noun

agelast (plural agelasts)

1. (rare) One who never laughs (especially at jokes); a mirthless person.

   Antonyms: gelast (rare), laugher, cachinnator, hypergelast

   • 2005, Arkady Kovelman, Between Alexandria and Jerusalem: The Dynamic of Jewish and Hellenistic Culture, Koninklijke Brill, page 50,

     As a real agelast in a comedy, he is beaten. The beating of an agelast is the most important point of the comedy.

   • 2008, Charles Partee, The Theology of John Calvin, Westminster John Knox Press, page 10,

     Declaring with Doumergue that "Rabelais and Calvin (and Olivétan) were the creators of French literary prose,"²⁵ Bakhtin adds "Even the agelast Calvin wrote a pamphlet about relics with a certain comic overtone."²⁶ The single, and unusual word "agelast" summarizes the popular view of John Calvin: a person who does not laugh or smile; someone who cannot enjoy life or the fact that others might be happy.

   • 2016, Mika Hallila, Chapter 7: How the Novel Laughs, Rafał Borysławski, Justyna Jajszczok, Jakub Wolff, Alicja Bemben (editors), Histories of Laughter and Laughter in History, Cambridge Scholars Publishing,

     For Kundera, agelasts represent the opposite of the spirit of the novel; the novel is born from the sense of humor and not from theoretical thinking.

   • 2023, Benjamin Katz, Transcending Creators’ Trilogy in the Era of Growing Global Idiocrasy, Xlibris, unnumbered page,

     Agelasts have a very clear idea that they have patent regarding both the truth and the mission and are so bloody solemn that they just cannot accept other views.

Related terms

• agelastic
• gelastic
• hypergelast
• katagelasticism

Translations

one who never laughs

• French: agelaste m or f, agélaste m or f
• German: please add this translation if you can
• Italian: please add this translation if you can
• Portuguese: agelasta m or f

Further reading

• Peter Novobatzky & Ammon Shea, "Depraved and Insulting English", Harcourt Inc. 2001 →ISBN

Anagrams

• algates, lastage, tag sale