laughter

Definition

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

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.

Example Sentences

• "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."
• "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."

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