Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Ludicrous \Lu"di*crous\, a. [L. ludicrus, or ludicer, from ludus
   play, sport, fr. ludere to play.]
   Adapted to excite laughter, without scorn or contempt;
   sportive. --Broome.

         A chapter upon German rhetoric would be in the same
         ludicrous predicament as Van Troil's chapter on the
         snakes of Iceland, which delivers its business in one
         summary sentence, announcing, that snakes in Iceland --
         there are none.                          --De Quincey.

   Syn: Laughable; sportive; burlesque; comic; droll;
        ridiculous.

   Usage: {Ludicrous}, {Laughable}, {Ridiculous}. We speak of a
          thing as ludicrous when it tends to produce laughter;
          as laughable when the impression is somewhat stronger;
          as ridiculous when more or less contempt is mingled
          with the merriment created. -- {Lu"di*crous*ly}, adv.
          -- {Lu"di*crous*ness}, n.