laughter English · revision 7808

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 897|origins=gem-pro *hlahtraz}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈlæf.tɚ/; /ˈlɑːf.tə/ ''(UK)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English, [[inh|ang|hleahtor|t=laughter, jubilation, derision]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998) from Proto-Germanic *hlahtraz,^(Etymonline) source also of Old Norse hlátr, Danish latter and German [[m|de|Gelächter]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(Collins 2023) from the root of hliehhan, to [[laugh]].^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The action of laughing: about 897.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Etymonline glosses the late Middle English senses as mirth, merriment, joy, pleasure.^(Etymonline) A single laugh is from 971 and now rare.^(OED 1989) A subject or matter for laughter is from 1596.^(OED 1989) An alleged name for a company of ostlers is recorded in 1486.^(OED 1989) ''Laughterful'' and ''laughterless'' are from 1825.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 897 – laughing.^(OED 1989)

+ * 971 – a laugh (rare).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1486 – a company of ostlers.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1596 – a subject for laughter.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The act or sound of [[laugh|alt=laughing]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The feeling or expression of [[mirth]], amusement or scorn.^(Collins 2023)

+ # A cause or subject for laughing.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==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.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}