laughter

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈlæf.tɚ/; /ˈlɑːf.tə/ (UK)^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English, inherited from Old English hleahtor (“laughter, jubilation, derision”),^[2][3][4] from Proto-Germanic *hlahtraz,^[2] source also of Old Norse hlátr, Danish latter and German Gelächter,^[2][3][5] from the root of hliehhan, to laugh.^[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The action of laughing: about 897.^[6]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline glosses the late Middle English senses as mirth, merriment, joy, pleasure.^[2] A single laugh is from 971 and now rare.^[6] A subject or matter for laughter is from 1596.^[6] An alleged name for a company of ostlers is recorded in 1486.^[6] Laughterful and laughterless are from 1825.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 897 – laughing.^[6]
• 971 – a laugh (rare).^[6]
• 1486 – a company of ostlers.^[6]
• 1596 – a subject for laughter.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The act or sound of laughing.
2. The feeling or expression of mirth, amusement or scorn.
3. A cause or subject for laughing.

Word family

• laughterless
• Homeric laughter

Related words

• laugh
• laughable
• laughing

Usage notes

A separate dialect laughter or lafter, a clutch of eggs, is of Scandinavian origin, related to Old Norse látr, a place where animals lay their young.^[3]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press