Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Smiling |
SmilingAdjective1. Smiling with happiness or optimism; "Come to my arms, my beamish boy!"- Lewis Carroll; "a room of smiling faces"; "a round red twinkly Santa Claus". Noun1. A facial expression characterized by turning up the corners of the mouth; usually shows pleasure or amusement. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "smiling" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1050. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Health | A facial expression which may denote feelings of pleasure, affection, amusement, etc. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Laughter is the biological reaction of humans to moments or occasions of humor: an outward expression of amusement. Laughter is subcategorised into various groupings depending upon the extent and pitch of the laughter: giggles, chortles, chuckles, hoots, cackles, sniggers and guffaws are all types of laughter. Smiling is a mild silent form of laughing. Some studies indicate that laughter differs depending upon the gender of the laughing person: women tend to laugh in a more "sing-song" way, while men more often grunt or snort. Babies start to laugh at about 4 months of age. Philosopher John Morreall theorises that human laughter may have its biological origins as a kind of shared expression of relief at the passing of danger. The relaxation of tension we feel after laughing may help inhibit the fight-or-flight response, making laughter a behavioral sign of trust in one's companions.
Laughter is a part of human behavior regulated by the brain. It helps humans clarify their intentions in social interaction and provides an emotional context to our conversations. Laughter is used as a signal for being part of a group -it signals acceptance and positive interactions.
On the other hand laughing at somebody is ridiculing him or her.
Certain medical theories attribute improved health and well-being to laughter, because laughter triggers the release of endorphins. A study demonstrated neuroendocrine and stress-related hormones decreased during episodes of laughter, which provides support for the claim that humor can relieve stress.
Research has shown that parts of the limbic system are involved in laughter. The limbic system is a primitive part of the brain that is involved in emotions and helps us with basic functions necessary for survival. Two structures in the limbic system are involved in producing laughter: the amygdala and the hippocampus.
Researchers frequently learn about how the brain functions by studying what happens when something goes wrong. People with certain types of brain damage produce abnormal laughter. This is found most often in people with pseudobulbar palsy, gelastic epilepsy, and to a lesser degree, with multiple sclerosis, ALS, and some brain tumors.
In most people, laughter can be induced by tickling, a phenomenon in itself. Laughing gas is sometimes used as a painkiller.
The December 7, 1984 Journal of the American Medical Association describes the neurological causes of laughter as follow:
Laughter is not confined to humans. Chimpanzees show laughter-like behavior in response to physical contact, such as wrestling, chasing, or tickling, and rat pups emit short, high frequency, ultrasonic vocalizations during rough and tumble play, and when tickled. Rat pups "laugh" far more than older rats.
- "Although there is no known `laugh center' in the brain, its neural mechanism has been the subject of much, albeit inconclusive, speculation. It is evident that its expression depends on neural paths arising in close association with the telencephalic and diencephalic centers concerned with respiration. Wilson considered the mechanism to be in the region of the mesial thalamus, hypothalamus, and subthalamus. Kelly and co-workers, in turn, postulated that the tegmentum near the periaqueductal gray contains the integrating mechanism for emotional expression. Thus, supranuclear pathways, including those from the limbic system that Papez hypothesized to mediate emotional expressions such as laughter, probably come into synaptic relation in the reticular core of the brain stem. So while purely emotional responses such as laughter are mediated by subcortical structures, especially the hypothalamus, and are stereotyped, the cerebral cortex can modulate or suppress them."
See also: tickling, comedy, humour, joke, satire
Other References
- Goel, V. & Dolan, R. J. The functional anatomy of humor: segregating cognitive and affective components. Nature Neuroscience 4, 237 - 238 (2001).
- Bachorowski, J.-A., Smoski, M.J., & Owren, M.J. The acoustic features of human laughter. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 110 (1581) 2001
- Fried, I., Wilson, C.L., MacDonald, K.A., and Behnke EJ. Electric current stimulates laughter. Nature, 391:650, 1998.
External Links
- Humour therapy for cancer patients
- Advantages in Smiling
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Laughter."
Synonyms: SmilingSynonyms: beamish (adj), smiling(a) (adj), twinkly (adj), grin (n), grinning (n), smile (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Cheerfulness | Adjective: cheerful; happy; cheery, cheerly; of good cheer, smiling; blithe; in spirits, in good spirits; breezy, bully, chipper; in high spirits, in high feather; happy as the day is long, happy as a king; gay as a lark; allegro; debonair; light, lightsome, light hearted; buoyant, debonnaire, bright, free and easy, airy; janty, jaunty, canty; hedonic; riant; sprightly, sprightful; spry; spirited, spiritful; lively, animated, vivacious; brisk as a bee; sparkling, sportive; full of play, full of spirit; all alive. |
Excitability | Adverb: "like patience on a monument smiling at grief"; aequo animo, in cold blood; more in sorrow than in anger. |
Ostentation | Put a good face upon, put a smiling face upon; clean the outside of the platter; (disguise). |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Smiling |
| English words defined with "smiling": beamish ♦ dimple ♦ greeter ♦ saluter, smilingly, Smilingness ♦ To straighten one's face, twinkly ♦ unsmiling, unsmilingly ♦ vapidly ♦ wanly, welcomer. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "smiling": Abbess, Aim-crier, Aunt ♦ Carmelite ♦ INAUSPICIOUSLY ♦ Mountain. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | That way we'll miss out on Monday and come up smiling Tuesday morning (Withnail and I; writing credit: Bruce Robinson.) Winter, slumbering in the open air, wears on its smiling face a dream of spring (Groundhog Day; writing credit: Guy Ritchie) Draw people smiling, dogs running, rainbows (The Sixth Sense; writing credit: M. Night Shyamalan) even smiling makes my face ache (The Rocky Horror Picture Show; writing credit: Richard O'Brien, Jim Sharman) Homer Simpson, smiling politely (The Simpsons; writing credit: Artur Brauner; Paul Hengge) | |
Lyrics | That I saw your smiling face (I'll Never Break Your Heart; performing artist: Backstreet Boys) Oh I've been smiling lately, dreaming about the world as one (Peace Train; performing artist: Cat Stevens) People talking, really smiling (Saturday In The Park; performing artist: Chicago) Where you're smiling high (The Space Between; performing artist: Dave Matthews Band) I turn around to see you smiling there (Babylon; performing artist: David Gray) | |
Movie/TV Titles | The Case of the Smiling Widow (1957) When You're Smiling (1950) Irish Eyes Are Smiling (1944) The Smiling Ghost (1941) Keep Smiling (1939) | |
Song Titles | Smiling Faces Sometimes (performing artist: The Undisputed Truth) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Theater & Movies | |
Music |
|
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Pictured is a Mormon grandmother and granddaughter outside and smiling. The grandmother is carrying the child "piggy-back" and is holding some leaves. The Mormons are presently being studied for their low cancer death rate. Credit: Linda Bartlett (photographer). |  | Shown is a white adult woman lying in a hospital bed, covered with a sheet. She is having blood drawn by a doctor with a nurse is in attendance. The patient is looking at the doctor and smiling. Credit: Linda Bartlett (photographer). |
 | A smiling eight-year old displays the red drum that she caught at the Florida Power Plant discharge. Credit: Fisheries. |  | Caption: Portrait of Edison Smiling, Hand Raised to His Ear; August 2, 1916; {14.915/61} (jpg). |
 | Great Britain, British Red Cross Society Voluntary Aid Detachment Hospital, Newton-Abbot, England. : Smiling patient and companion. Credit: National Library of Medicine. |  | [Woman in bed smiling down on infant held in her arms] Georg Jones. Credit: National Library of Medicine. |
 | African American girl, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing front, smiling. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Smiling Mickey. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | He stood smiling out on the moon-scattered darkness. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Man in peruke smiling and beginning a story, while three men listen at table. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
 |  |
| "Taylan Smiling" by Taylan . Commentary: "Taylan is smiling." | "Smiling Goat" by Jens Kressler Commentary: "Goat, Crete (Lassithi) June 2003." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. | |
| Author | Quotation |
Anon | Come then, affliction, if my Father wills, and be my frowning friend. A friend that frowns is better than a smiling enemy. |
Robert Louis Stevenson | Some people swallow the universe like a pill; they travel on through the world, like smiling images pushed from behind. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Title | Author | Quote |
Emma | Austen, Jane | He paused a moment, again smiling, with his eyes fixed on her face |
Scarlet Letter | Hawthorne, Nathaniel | The victory accomplished, Pearl returned quietly to her mother, and looked up, smiling, into her face |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | All night, I saw figures in white, smiling on me. |
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man | Joyce, James | Mr Casey leaned his head to one side and, smiling, tapped the gland of his neck with his fingers |
Grapes of Wrath | Steinbeck, John | Around the floor the old folks sat, smiling slightly, holding the children back from the floor |
Gulliver's Travels | Swift, Jonathan | I could not forbear shaking my head and smiling a little at his ignorance |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | CARMELITE, n. A mendicant friar of the order of Mount Carmel. As Death was a-rising out one day, Across Mount Camel he took his way, Where he met a mendicant monk, Some three or four quarters drunk, With a holy leer and a pious grin, Ragged and fat and as saucy as sin, Who held out his hands and cried: "Give, give in Charity's name, I pray. Give in the name of the Church. O give, Give that her holy sons may live!" And Death replied, Smiling long and wide: "I'll give, holy father, I'll give thee -- a ride." With a rattle and bang Of his bones, he sprang From his famous Pale Horse, with his spear; By the neck and the foot Seized the fellow, and put Him astride with his face to the rear. The Monarch laughed loud with a sound that fell Like clods on the coffin's sounding shell: "Ho, ho! A beggar on horseback, they say, Will ride to the devil!" -- and thump Fell the flat of his dart on the rump Of the charger, which galloped away. Faster and faster and faster it flew, Till the rocks and the flocks and the trees that grew By the road were dim and blended and blue To the wild, wild eyes Of the rider -- in size Resembling a couple of blackberry pies. Death laughed again, as a tomb might laugh At a burial service spoiled, And the mourners' intentions foiled By the body erecting Its head and objecting To further proceedings in its behalf. Many a year and many a day Have passed since these events away. The monk has long been a dusty corse, And Death has never recovered his horse. For the friar got hold of its tail, And steered it within the pale Of the monastery gray, Where the beast was stabled and fed With barley and oil and bread Till fatter it grew than the fattest friar, And so in due course was appointed Prior. G.J. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
Bill Clinton | 1993-2001 | Tonight he's smiling down on us for the first time from the Lord's Gallery. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Smiling" is generally used as a lexical verb (-ing form) -- approximately 92.12% of the time. "Smiling" is used about 2,370 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Lexical Verb (-ing form) | 92.12% | 2,184 | 4,014 |
| Adjective (general or positive) | 4.38% | 104 | 31,955 |
| Noun (proper) | 3.03% | 72 | 39,377 |
| Noun (singular) | 0.46% | 11 | 106,044 |
| Total | 100.00% | 2,370 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| The following table summarizes the usage of "smiling" based on a population census conducted in the United States. Ranks and frequencies are based on all names reported and classified. |
| Name | Usage/Gender | Usage per 100 million Persons | Rank in USA |
| Smiling | Last name | 100 | 78,006 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits. | |||
| The following table summarizes names derived from the word "smiling". | |||
| Name | Gender | Language | Meaning |
| Aharah | N/A | Biblical | A smiling brother |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references.
| |||
Expressions using "smiling": keep smiling ♦ put a smiling face upon. Additional references. | |
| Hypenated Usage | |
Ending with "smiling": ever-smiling, half-smiling. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "smiling"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | i qeshur (gay, genial, jovial, mirthful). (various references) | |
Arabic | باسم (bright, on behalf of, rosy). (various references) | |
Chinese | 微笑 (Chuckle, smile, Smiled). (various references) | |
Czech | vždy s úsmìvem (keep smiling). (various references) | |
French | souriant. (various references) | |
German | lächelnd (simpering). (various references) | |
Greek | χαμογελαστά. (various references) | |
Hebrew | חיכני, צחקני. (various references) | |
Hungarian | mosolygós, mosolygó. (various references) | |
Italian | sorridente (good natured), ridente (laughing). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | にいにい蝉 (as for, at, grin, in, Nini-zemi, on, regarding, small cicada, smile, with regards to). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | にこやか . (various references) | |
Korean | 미소 (smallness, smile). (various references) | |
Manx | mynghearey (smile), mongey (smile), gearagh. (various references) | |
Pig Latin | ilingsmay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | sorridente. (various references) | |
Romanian | surâzãtor (friendly), zâmbitor, zâmbãreţ. (various references) | |
Russian | улыбаться улыбающийся. (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | nasmejan (riant). (various references) | |
Spanish | sonriente. (various references) | |
Swedish | leende (smile, Smiley, smilingly). (various references) | |
Turkish | tebessüm eden, güleryüzlü (debonair, debonaire, jocund, smooth-faced), gülen (laughing), gülümseyen. (various references) | |
Ukrainian | усмішливий, що посміхається. (various references) | |
Vietnamese | tươi cười, mỉm cười, hớn hở (exultant, sunny, sunshiny). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "smiling": smilingly. (additional references) | |
Words ending with "smiling": besmiling, outsmiling, unsmiling. (additional references) | |
| |
"Smiling" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: seiling, smailing, smarling, smilings, smilling, smolding, snailing. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "smiling" (pronounced smī"ling) |
| 6 | s m ī" l i ng | unsmiling. |
| 4 | -ī" l i ng | beguiling, compiling, filing, piling, styling, wiling. |
| 3 | -l i ng | annealing, appalling, appealing, ailing, ambling, angling, assailing, assembling, babbling, backpedaling, baffling, bailing, baling, balling, bankrolling, barreling, battling, belittling, Belling, bicycling, billing, blackmailing, boggling, boiling, Bolling, bottling, bowling, brawling, bristling, broiling, bubbling, buckling, bugling, bumbling, bundling, bungling, burgling, burling, bustling, cackling, cajoling, calling, canceling, cancelling, Carling, ceiling, channeling, chilling, chortling, chronicling, chuckling, circling, coddling, commingling, compelling, concealing, consoling, controlling, cooling, corralling, counseling, countervailing, coupling, cowling, crackling, cradling, crawling, crippling, crumbling, cuddling, culling, curling, curtailing, cycling, dabbling, dangling, darling, dawdling, dazzling, dealing, decoupling, derailing, detailing, Dialing, disabling, disgruntling, dismantling, dispelling, dissembling, distilling, doling, doubling, dribbling, drilling, drizzling, drooling, duckling, dueling, dulling, dumpling, dwelling, dwindling, earthling, emailing, embezzling, empaneling, enabling, encircling, enrolling, entailing, entangling, entitling, equaling, excelling, expelling, extolling, failing, falling, feeling, felling, fiddling, filling, fizzling, flailing, fledgling, foaling, foiling, fondling, fooling, forestalling, foretelling, fouling, foundling, freewheeling, fueling, fuelling, fulfilling, fumbling, funneling, galling, gambling, giggling, gobbling, grappling, Grayling, grilling, groundling, groveling, growling, grueling, grumbling, gurgling, guzzling, haggling, hailing, handling, hassling, hauling, healing, heckling, helling, hilling, hobbling, holing, howling, huddling, humbling, hurdling, hurling, hurtling, hustling, idling, imperiling, inhaling, initialing, inkling, installing, instilling, intermingling, jailing, jiggling, jostling, juggling, Keeling, killing, kindling, kneeling, labeling, leveling, lolling, Lulling, mailing, mangling, Marling, marshaling, meddling, Melling, middling, milling, mingling, mishandling, mislabeling, misspelling, modeling, mothballing, mottling, muddling, mulling, mumbling, muscling, nailing, needling, nestling, nibbling, nonruling, oiling, outselling, overbilling, overhauling, overkilling, overruling, overselling, paddling, paneling, panhandling, paralleling, parboiling, parceling, paroling, patrolling, pearling, pedaling, peddling, peeling, pickling, piddling, Pilling, Pindling, poling, polling, pooling, prevailing, profiling, propelling, prowling, pulling, pummeling, puzzling, quadrupling, quarreling, quelling, quibbling, quilling, Quisling, railing, rambling, rankling, rappelling, rattling, raveling, rebelling, recalling, reconciling, recycling, redoubling, reeling, refueling, regaling, rekindling, remodeling, repealing, repelling, rescheduling, reselling, resembling, reshuffling, retailing, retelling, retooling, revealing, reveling, ridiculing, Riesling, rifling, rilling, rippling, rivaling, roiling, rolling, rototilling, ruffling, ruling, rumbling, rustling, saddling, sailing, sampling, Sandling, sapling, scaling, scheduling, Schilling, schooling, scowling, scrambling, scribbling, scuttling, sealing, seedling, Seeling, selling, settling, shelling, shilling, shoveling, shriveling, shuffling, shuttling, sibling, signaling, signalling, singling, sizzling, skilling, smelling, smuggling, snarling, Snelling, snowballing, sparkling, Sparling, spelling, spilling, spiraling, spiralling, spoiling, sprawling, sprinkling, squabbling, squealing, stalling, stapling, starling, startling, stealing, stenciling, sterling, stifling, stockpiling, stonewalling, storytelling, straddling, strangling, strickling, stripling, strolling, struggling, stumbling, suckling, surveilling, swashbuckling, swelling, swilling, swindling, swirling, swiveling, tabling, tackling, tailing, tangling, telling, thrilling, throttling, Tilling, tingling, tinkling, toddling, toggling, toiling, tolling, tooling, toppling, totaling, totalling, toweling, trailing, trampling, traveling, travelling, trembling, trickling, trifling, trilling, tripling, trolling, troubling, tumbling, tunneling, twiddling, twinkling, twirling, unappealing, unavailing, unbundling, underling, underselling, unfailing, unfeeling, unfurling, unraveling, unsettling, untangling, unveiling, unwilling, veiling, waffling, waggling, wailing, walling, warbling, weakling, welling, whaling, wheeling, whirling, whistling, whittling, wholesaling, wiggling, willing, wobbling, wrangling, wrestling, wrinkling, yearling, yelling, yodeling. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
Direct Anagrams: sliming. | |
| Words within the letters "g-i-i-l-m-n-s" | |
-1 letter: isling, liming, simlin. | |
-2 letters: glims, limns, lings, minis, sigil, sling. | |
-3 letters: gins, glim, limn, ling, lins, migs, mils, mini, nils, nims, nisi, sign, sing, slim. | |
-4 letters: gin, ins, ism, lin, lis, mig, mil, mis, nil, nim, sim, sin. | |
-5 letters: in, is, li, mi, si. | |
| Words containing the letters "g-i-i-l-m-n-s" | |
+1 letter: mailings, millings, misalign, mislying, slimming. | |
+2 letters: anglicism, besliming, besmiling, glimpsing, immingles, impulsing, middlings, misaligns, misfiling, mislaying, misliking, misliving, misruling, smilingly, subliming, unsmiling. | |
+3 letters: almsgiving, anglicisms, blemishing, dishelming, dislimning, displuming, flemishing, grimalkins, imposingly, melodising, metalising, misaligned, misallying, misbilling, miscalling, misdealing, misdialing, misleading, mislodging, misplacing, misplaying, misrelying, misstyling, mistitling, misvaluing, mobilising, moralising, outsmiling, simulating, swimmingly. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Images: Digital Art | 9. Quotations: Familiar 10. Quotations: Fiction 11. Quotations: Non-fiction 12. Quotations: Speeches | 13. Usage Frequency 14. Names: Frequency 15. Names: Derived from 16. Expressions | 17. Expressions: Internet 18. Translations: Modern 19. Derivations 20. Rhymes | 21. Anagrams 22. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
