|
Laugh
English
Pronunciation
- US: /læf/, /l{f/
- British, Australia: /lA:f/
Etymology
Old English laughen , laghen , lauhen , Anglo Saxon hlehhan , hlihhan , hlyhhan , hliehhan ; akin to Old Saxon hlahan , Dutch and German lachen, Old High Germanhlahhan , lahhan , lahhn , Icelandic hlæja Danish lee, Swedish le, Norwegian le, Gothic hlahjan ; perhaps of imitative origin
Intransitive verb
Imperfect and past participle: Laughed
Present participle: Laughing
- To show mirth, satisfaction, or derision, by peculiar movement of the muscles of the face, particularly of the mouth, causing a lighting up of the face and eyes, and usually accompanied by the emission of explosive or chuckling sounds from the chest and throat; to indulge in laughter.
- Quotations
- Queen Hecuba laughed that her eyes ran o'er. - Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida, I-ii
- He laugheth that winneth. - Heywood's Prov.
- (Figurative): To be or appear gay, cheerful, pleasant, mirthful, lively, or brilliant; to sparkle; to sport.
- Quotations
- Then laughs the childish year, with flowerets crowned. - Dryden
- In Folly's cup still laughs the bubble Joy. - Pope
- To laugh at, to make an object of laughter or ridicule; to make fun of; to deride.
- Quotations
- No wit to flatter left of all his store, No fool to laugh at, which he valued more. - Pope
Related terms
- To laugh in the sleeve— or to laugh up one's sleeve: to laugh secretly, or so as not to be observed, especially while apparently preserving a grave or serious demeanor toward the person or persons laughed at
- To laugh out: to laugh in spite of some restraining influence; to laugh aloud
- To laugh out of the other corner (or side) of the mouth, (Slang): to weep or cry; to feel regret, vexation, or disappointment after hilarity or exaltation
Translations
Transitive verb
- To affect or influence by means of laughter or ridicule.
- Quotations
- Will you laugh me asleep, for I am very heavy? - Shakespeare, Tempest, II-i
- I shall laugh myself to death. - Shakespeare, Tempest, II-ii
- To express by, or utter with, laughter; — with out.
- Quotations
- From his deep chest laughs out a loud applause. - Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida, I-iii
Related terms
- To laugh away
- To drive away by laughter; as, to laugh away regret
- To waste in hilarity
- Quotations
- Pompey doth this day laugh away his fortune." Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra, II-vi
- To laugh down
- To cause to cease or desist by laughter; as, to laugh down a speaker
- To cause to be given up on account of ridicule; as, to laugh down a reform
- To laugh one out of: to cause one by laughter or ridicule to abandon or give up; as, to laugh one out of a plan or purpose
- To laugh to scorn: to deride; to treat with mockery, contempt, and scorn; to despise.
Noun
laugh (laughs )
- An expression of mirth peculiar to the human species; the sound heard in laughing; laughter. (See the intransitive verb above.)
- Something that provokes mirth or scorn.
- Quotations
- And the loud laugh that spoke the vacant mind. - Goldsmith
- That man is a bad man who has not within him the power of a hearty laugh. - F. W. Robertson
Translations
- Irish: gáire
- Vietnamese: tiếng cười
Related terms
- laughter
- the last laugh
- laugh track = recorded laughter mixed in with a performance.
Synonyms
|
|
