different between cackle vs grin

English

Etymology

From Middle English caclen, cakelen. Compare Dutch kakelen (“to cackle”), German Low German kakeln (“to cackle”), German kakeln (“to blather”), Danish kagle (“to cackle”), Swedish kackla (“to cackle”). Compare also Old English cahhetan, ?eahhettan (“to laugh loudly; cackle”), German gackern (“to cackle”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?kæk?l/
• Rhymes: -æk?l

Noun

cackle (countable and uncountable, plural cackles)

1. The cry of a hen or goose, especially when laying an egg.
2. A laugh resembling the cry of a hen or goose.
3. Futile or excessively noisy talk.
   • 1930, Frank Richards, The Magnet, All Quiet on the Greyfriars Front

     There's no time to waste on silly cackle.

4. A group of hyenas.

Translations

Verb

cackle (third-person singular simple present cackles, present participle cackling, simple past and past participle cackled)

1. (intransitive) To make a sharp, broken noise or cry, as a hen or goose does.
2. (intransitive) To laugh with a broken sound similar to a hen's cry.

3. (intransitive) To talk in a silly manner; to prattle.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Johnson to this entry?)

4. (transitive, gambling, slang) To pretend to rattle (dice) in one's hand while gripping them so that they maintain their orientation.
   • 1941, Mignon Good Eberhart, The Third Mystery Book: Six Short Mysteries (page 120)

     Danny cackled the dice furiously in his cupped hand, then rolled them so they stopped inches from Slattery's hands. The result was the same as before - a seven.

   • 2015, Jack Engelhard, The Prince of Dice (page 11)

     […] they spun all right, or so it seemed, and hit the wall all right, or so it seemed, but bottom line was this: The stirring of the dice was merely cackling, the cubes artfully framed so that the spots in the kid's fists showed 4?4 up?right and weren't really rattled but rather, held in control by the pinky, forefinger and thumb; […]

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:laugh

Translations

See also

• cluck

English

Pronunciation

• (US) enPR: gr?n, IPA^(key): /???n/
• Rhymes: -?n

Etymology 1

Before 1000 CE - From Middle English grinnen, from Old English grennian, of Germanic origin and probably related to groan. Compare to Old High German grennan (“to mutter”)

Alternative forms

• gren (obsolete)

Noun

grin (plural grins)

1. A smile in which the lips are parted to reveal the teeth.
   • 1997, Linda Howard, Son of the Morning, Simon & Schuster, pages 364:

     When the ceremony was finished a wide grin broke across his face, and it was that grin she saw, relieved and happy all at once.

   • 2003, Yoko Ogawa, The Housekeeper and the Professor:

     When my son appeared at the door the next day with his schoolbag on his back, the Professor broke into a wide grin and opened his arms to embrace him.

Translations

Verb

grin (third-person singular simple present grins, present participle grinning, simple past and past participle grinned)

1. (intransitive) To smile, parting the lips so as to show the teeth.
2. (transitive) To express by grinning.
   • "Mid-Lent, and the Enemy grins," remarked Selwyn as he started for church with Nina and the children. Austin, knee-deep in a dozen Sunday supplements, refused to stir; poor little Eileen was now convalescent from grippe, but still unsteady on her legs; her maid had taken the grippe, and now moaned all day: "Mon dieu! Mon dieu! Che fais mourir!"

3. (intransitive, dated) To show the teeth, like a snarling dog.
4. (transitive) To grin as part of producing a particular facial expression, such as a smile or sneer.

Derived terms

Translations

See also

• grimace
• smile

Etymology 2

From Old English grin

Noun

grin (plural grins)

1. (obsolete) A snare; a gin.
   • c. 14th century, unknown author (originally attributed to Geoffrey Chaucer}}, Remedy of Love

     Like a bridde that hasteth to the grynne.

References

• Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.

Anagrams

• NGRI, Ring, girn, ring

Bislama

Etymology

From English green.

Adjective

grin

1. green

Danish

Etymology

See grine (“to laugh”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?ri?n/, [???i??n]

Noun

grin n (singular definite grinet, plural indefinite grin)

1. laugh
2. grin
3. fun

Declension

Verb

grin

1. imperative of grine

References

• “grin” in Den Danske Ordbog

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From the verb grine

Noun

grin n (definite singular grinet, indefinite plural grin, definite plural grina or grinene)

1. a grimace
2. a sneer

References

• “grin” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “grin_2” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

From the verb grine, grina

Noun

grin n (definite singular grinet, indefinite plural grin, definite plural grina)

1. a grimace
2. a sneer

Etymology 2

Verb

grin

1. inflection of grina:
   1. present
   2. imperative

References

• “grin” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old English

Etymology

Unknown.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?rin/

Noun

grin m

1. snare
2. noose

Declension

Descendants

• English: grin

Tok Pisin

Etymology

From English green.

Adjective

grin

1. green

Vilamovian

Etymology

From Middle High German grüene, from Old High German gruoni.

Pronunciation

Adjective

gr?n

1. green