Knismesis and gargalesis

Look up knismesis or gargalesis in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Knismesis and gargalesis are the scientific terms, coined in 1897 by psychologists G. Stanley Hall and Arthur Allin,[1] used to describe the two types of tickling. Knismesis refers to the light, feather-like type of tickling. This type of tickling generally does not induce laughter and is often accompanied by an itching sensation.[2] Gargalesis refers to harder, laughter-inducing tickling, and involves the repeated application of high pressure to sensitive areas.[2]

While the two terms are used in academic papers, they do not appear in many dictionaries and their origin is rarely declared. The term knismesis comes from the Ancient Greek κνισμός (knismós) meaning 'itching'.[3] The term gargalesis stems from the Ancient Greek γαργαλίζω (gargalízō) meaning 'to tickle'.[4] The suffix -esis is used to form nouns of action or process.[5]

  1. ^ Hall, G. Stanley; Allin, Arthur (October 1897). "The psychology of tickling, laughing and the comic". The American Journal of Psychology. 9 (1): 1–42. doi:10.2307/1411471. JSTOR 1411471.
  2. ^ a b Harris, Christine R. (1999), "The mystery of ticklish laughter", American Scientist, 87 (4): 344(8), Bibcode:1999AmSci..87..344H, doi:10.1511/1999.4.344, S2CID 221586788
  3. ^ "Definition of knismós in Liddell & Scott". Greek Word Study Tool. Perseus Digital Library.
  4. ^ "Definition of gargalizein in Liddell & Scott". Greek Word Study Tool. Perseus Digital Library.
  5. ^ "Tickling A Cat's Tummy: Invite For Cuddles Or Lacerated Hands?". Star2.com. Star Media Group. 2018-04-09.