mirth
noun

- gladness and merriment, especially when expressed by laughter

Farlex Dictionary

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ORIGIN

As far as words go, MIRTH is an old one. It began to appear around the same time that the Tang dynasty (A.D. 618-907) was on the decline in China. It was first recorded in English texts around 888 in a translation of a Latin book by King Alfred the Great. It's also found in English translations of the Bible.

In Ecclesiastes 7:4 for instance, Christians are encouraged to stay away from pleasurable activities: "The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of MIRTH."

MIRTH is a formal expression used more often in literary texts. You normally would not tell someone that you had "a lot of mirth" at their party. You would say it was "enjoyable" or that you had "a lot of fun."

Still, you can feel free to impress your friends in certain situations by saying something like "His presentation created considerable MIRTH during the meeting."

But if you really want to be funny and impress your friends, tell them the party was a "mirthquake" (an abuse of the word earthquake to describe an event or entertainment that makes you shake with laughter).

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SYNONYMS

amusement, cheer, entertainment, frivolity, fun, gaiety, gladness, happiness, jocularity, joviality, merriment, pleasure, revelry, whoopee

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Practice OWAD in a conversation:

"I always liked school teachers who created a bit of MIRTH in the classroom."