laugh

• n. 笑う；人を笑わせる物または人。
• vi. 笑う
• vt.笑って見せる；...を笑わせる

PIE*kleg、笑い、擬音語から。

laugh

laugh: [OE] The word laugh is ultimately onomatopoeic, imitative of the sound of laughter. It goes back to Indo-European *klak-, *klōk-, which also produced Greek klóssein, a verb denoting the clucking of hens, and Latin clangere ‘sound’ (source of English clangor [16]). Its Germanic descendants were *khlakh-, *khlōkh-, from which come German and Dutch lachen, Swedish and Danish le, and English laugh.
=> clangor

laugh (v.)

late 14c., from Old English (Anglian) hl?hhan, earlier hlihhan, from Proto-Germanic *klakhjan (cognates: Old Norse hl?ja, Danish le, Old Frisian hlakkia, Old Saxon hlahhian, Middle Dutch and Dutch lachen, Old High German hlahhan, German lachen, Gothic hlahjan), from PIE *kleg-, of imitative origin (compare Latin cachinnare "to laugh aloud," Sanskrit kakhati "laughs," Old Church Slavonic chochotati "laugh," Lithuanian klageti "to cackle," Greek kakhazein). Originally with a "hard" -gh- sound, as in Scottish loch; the spelling remained after the pronunciation shifted to "-f."

If I coveted nowe to avenge the injuries that you have done me, I myght laughe in my slyve. [John Daus, "Sleidanes Commentaries," 1560]

Related: Laughed; laughing.

laugh (n.)

1680s, from laugh (v.). Meaning "a cause of laughter" is from 1895; ironic use (as in that's a laugh) attested from 1930. Laugh track "canned laughter on a TV program" is from 1961.

1. For what do we live，but to make sport for our neighbours，and laugh at them in our turn？

私たちが生きているのは何のためですか。隣人を笑い者にして、逆に笑うことではない。

2.Do not hesitate to laugh at anything you find amusing.

笑えると思ったら笑ってください。

3.He was falsely jovial,with his booming,mirthless laugh .

彼は低い声で苦笑し、楽しそうにした。

4.They laugh so hard they double up with laughter.

彼らは腹を抱えて大笑いし、立ち上がらなかった。

5.The blunt comment made Richard laugh in spite of himself.

という率直な言葉にリチャードは思わず大笑いした。