Etymologically
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laughter

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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

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