Emily Dickinson Lexicon

LU'DI-CROUS, a. [L. ludicer, from ludo, to sport.]

Sportive; burlesque; adapted to raise laughter, without scorn or contempt. Ludicrous differs from ridiculous; the latter implying contempt or derision. Plutarch quotes this instance of Homer's judgment, in closing a ludicrous scene with decency and instruction. – Broome.