titter

Verb

1. To laugh or giggle in a somewhat subdued or restrained way, as from nervousness or poorly-suppressed amusement.
2. (obsolete) To teeter; to seesaw.

Noun

A nervous or somewhat repressed giggle.

Noun

A woman's breast.

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈtɪtə(ɹ)/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: *titeren

Cognate with Middle English: titering

Cognate with Old Norse: titra

Cognate with Swedish: tittra

In summary

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”).

Synonyms

giggle

snicker

chuckle

snigger

laugh

😆

chortle

giggling

cackle

crack

be in stitches

guffaw

simper

smirk

😏

sneer

sniggering

whicker

amuse

Translations

ricaner

ricanement

ridacchiare

kichern

chichotać

kıkırdamak

rire étouffé

Gekicher

γελώ ανοητώς

gloussement

Glucksen

pouffer

rialleta

γελώ πνιχτά

χάχανο