I love Molly Ivins's columns; they are thought-provoking, and she always uses a few words that I haven't heard for awhile.

Today she uses risible, saying, "There is something faintly risible about the American habit of thinking we can fix problems through better public relations."

Risible was a Dictionary.com word of the day in 2000, and I found this description interesting: "Risible differs from ludicrous as species from genus; ludicrous expressing that which is playful and sportive; risible, that which may excite laughter. Risible differs from ridiculous, as the latter implies something contemptuous, and risible does not."

Now, perhaps I don't correctly use "ludicrous", but I don't think of it as "sportive or playful". I think of it as more like "ridiculous", almost contemptible at times.

How do you use these words?

I use them as follows:

risible: a critical word describing something that is bad (and it would arouse laughter).

ridiculous: a word with neither negative nor positive connotations describing something that is stupid (and would result in people taking the piss out of it).

ludicrous: often a critical word to decribe something that is more stupid than a ridiculous thing (implying the person responsible is mental).

I have no idea whether I am right or wrong.

Graham, that sounds similar to my thoughts, though sometimes when I say ridiculous, it is negative, e.g., "that's ridiculous!"

Since "ludicrous" comes from the Latin word for "play," the above definition makes sense to me.

I don't recall the etymology of "risable," and, as usual, am waaaaay too lazy to look it up, but it bears a resemblance to the French word, "rire," to laugh.

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.... the French word rire "to laugh."

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... and the Spanish verb reir, "to laugh," and the nouns risa "laugh" and risada "a burst of laughter."

.. and the Spanish verb reir, "to laugh
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Now I'm wondering whether the expression, "to get a rise out of someone" might have come from this same Latin root, "ridere."

Interesting question, Asa. A web note offers the view, "This was originally a fly fisherman's term describing the way fish rise to bait cast upon the surface of the water. Used figuratively, it means getting anyone to 'rise to the bait.'"

I don't know whether this is accurate, but AHD gives one meaning of "rise" as "the emergence of a fish seeking food or bait at the water's surface".

Can anyone give further info?

One of my two "Webster" dictionaries gives the fish definition - among about fifty others. Now I'm assuming that "rise to the bait" is analogous to "troll" in computerese. Would you all agree?

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I'm assuming that "rise to the bait" is analogous to "troll" in computerese.

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Not quite. Trolls post contentious messages on purpose in an attempt to "get a rise" out of readers. They are not the ones who actually respond to trolls.

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Originally posted by Asa Lovejoy:
the French word, "rire," to laugh.

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riant: Cheerful; mirthful.

I hadn't known that "risible" rhymes with "visible." I'd thought the first i was a long sound, as in "advisable."

Reviving a thread....
I just read an interesting article about the word "ridiculous." "Ridiculous" was a word for anything that would make people giggle, though this author (Nicholas Bagnall) says that the Romans knew the difference between a laugh and a sneer. Yet, in English we have taken "ridiculous" further, from conveying mockery or scorn to meaning a "sort of defensive anger," as in, "Don't be ridiculous!" As Bagnall says, the laughter part has disappeared.

He also points out that it is odd that "risible" is only used for things that are small, while "ridiculous" can apply to any size. He goes on to say that "derisory", which emphasizes the sneer, also implies littleness, while you can "deride" things of any size. Now, this last bit, I think, is pushing the envelope!

Risible and ridiculous are related: Latin rideo, ridere, risi, risum 'to laugh at, ridicule, or smile'. From PIE root *wrizd- whence also Skt vridate 'to be embzrassed, ashamed', and OE wræstan 'to bend, turn, twist' (today wrest, cf. wrestle), a form of the root *wre- 'to turn, twist'. See A-H.

Yes, jheem, ridiculous and risible share the same source. What the author who wrote the article questioned was something we have asked at various times here: Why has risible never quite caught on, when ridiculous is so common? Further, how in the world has risible come to be used about small things, while ridiculous can apply to extreme sizes? As the author says, "What ghostly academy decides to allot those meanings?" I don't get it, either.

I'm not so sure about size being the determining factor in the meaning of the two words. The online dictionaries (M-W and A-H) give risible three meanings, bound to upset word people to no end: 1. causing laughter; 2. capable of laughter; 3. related to laughter. Ludicrous is only something that arouses or deserves laughter. (Shades of nauseous.) To me ridiculous is more absurd than risible. A quick googling of the web for risible shows the first couple of pages are mainly dictionary entries. It's just a rarer word than ridiculous.

'Risible' and 'ridiculous' came into English at about the same time, c. 1550, but with quite different meanings: 'risible' was 'capable of laughter'. This was why it was relatively obscure: there's not so much call for that meaning. It acquired the sense 'ridiculous' only much later: OED gives it a 1727 citation.

While we're on dates, the noun and verb 'ridicule' are also later than the adjective, around 1670-1700.

I'm not so sure about size being the determining factor in the meaning of the two words
I didn't think so, either, jheem. However, I don't use "risible" that much, and therefore I bowed to the wisdom of the UK columnist. I probably do that too much!

aput makes a good point about the meaning, "capable of laughter," not really being called for. It is so interesting how these little nuances can define the use of a word for centuries.

K., the first ten, non-dictionary googlehits for risible are: risible 45-minute claim, risible absurdities, truly risible man, risible force, darkness risible, risible clerics, risible pun, risible amour (but in English), some politics more risible than others, and risible courtroom antics.

Good point, jheem. It surely doesn't support the columnist's (risible?) claim.

And, to balance your post, the first ten, non-dictionary google hits for ridiculous are:
ridiculous infomercial, ridiculous English spelling (sounds intriguing; that's the problem with Googling!), ridiculous entertainment, ridiculous book store, mister ridiculous, ridiculous world records, ridiculous obsession, ridiculous thoughts, ridiculous lawsuits (again, sounds fun!), and ridiculous man.

I surely don't see a difference between big and little. I am not sure what the author meant.