Why do I need to know the word Mdr? 

Because laughs make life worth living. 

What does it mean? 

Mdr stands for mort de rire – dying of laughter.

It is the French equivalent of LOL (‘laugh out loud’ in anglophone internet parlance). 

Initially, MDR or Mdr was a very common acronym used in text messages, online forums and gaming. Today though, hipsters like to say the acronym aloud in a sort of post-millennial nod to geeky internet culture. 

It’s pronounced as its initials – em-day-aire.

There have actually been a number of cases of people dying from laughter throughout history. The ancient Greek philosopher, Chrysippus, is thought to have died laughing at his own joke. Upon seeing a donkey munching on some figs, the stoic quipped: “Now give the donkey some wine to wash down the figs.” 

Chrysippus found this so funny that he fell into a fit of laughter and died. 

Use it like this

L’âne a mangé mes figues. Mdr – The donkey ate my figs. Lol. 

In written French, you can add further r’s onto the end of the acronym for emphasis: Mdrrrrrrrr

Synonyms 

There are a number of less common acronyms that have the same meaning as Mdr. 

PTDR (pété de rire) for example means ‘broken with laughter’.

We have complied comprehensive lists of abbreviations and acronyms for social media, text speak and every day life.