HUMOUR

Meaning

The quality of being amusing, comical, funny.

Etymology

Origin: Middle English

From Middle English humour, from Old French humor, humour, from Latin hūmor, correctly ūmor (“liquid”), from hūmeō, correctly ūmeō (“to be moist”). The h in these words, which was silent in late Classical Latin, is folk etymological, due to the erroneous association with the word humus (“soil”). The shift in meaning "liquid" > "mood" is attributed to the classical system of physiology, where human behaviour is regulated by four bodily humours (fluids). The sense "mood" gave rise to the verb sense "to give in to someone's mood or whim" and, by narrowing of meaning, the sense "wit".

Synonyms & Antonyms

NYT Puzzle Appearances

No published puzzle dates on file for this word yet. It is part of the official NYT Spelling Bee word list for 2026.