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laughter

noun
/ˈlɑːftə/UK/ˈlæftɚ/US

Etymology

From Middle English laughter, laghter, laȝter, from Old English hleahtor (“laughter, jubilation, derision”), from Proto-Germanic *hlahtraz (“laughter”), from Proto-Indo-European *klek-, *kleg- (“to shout”). Cognate with German Gelächter (“laughter, hilarity, merriment”), Danish and Norwegian latter (“laughter”), Icelandic hlátur (“laughter”). More at laugh.

  1. derived from *klek-✻
  2. inherited from *hlahtraz✻
  3. inherited from hleahtor
  4. inherited from laughter

Definitions

  1. The sound of laughing, produced by air so expelled

    The sound of laughing, produced by air so expelled; any similar sound.

    • Their loud laughter betrayed their presence.
    • There was some laughter, and Roddle was left free to expand his ideas on the periodic visits of cowboys to the town.

  2. A movement (usually involuntary) of the muscles of the laughing face, particularly of the…

    A movement (usually involuntary) of the muscles of the laughing face, particularly of the lips, and of the whole body, with a peculiar expression of the eyes, indicating merriment, satisfaction or derision, and usually attended by a sonorous and interrupted expulsion of air from the lungs.

    • The act of laughter, which is caused by a sweet contraction of the muscles of the face, and a pleasant agitation of the vocal organs, is not merely, or totally within the jurisdiction of ourselves.
    • Archly the maiden smiled, and with eyes overrunning with laughter.

  3. A reason for merriment.

  4. ›+ 1 more definition

    1. A surname.

The neighborhood

Derived

canned laughter, clapter, dying laughter, dying of laughter, evil laughter, Homeric laughter, horselaughter, lack-laughter, laughterful, laughter is the best medicine, laughterless, laughter lines, laughter padding, laughtersome, laughter track, laughter yoga, prelaughter, underlaughter

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at laughter. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01laughter02merriment03playful04recreational05recreation06diverts07divert08amuse

A definitional loop anchored at laughter. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

8 hops · closes at laughter

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA