laugh : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: laugh	by the DICT Development Group
5 results for laugh
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
laugh n the sound of laughing Synonym(s): laugh, laughter a facial expression characteristic of a person laughing; "his face wrinkled in a silent laugh of derision" a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter; "he told a very funny joke"; "he knows a million gags"; "thanks for the laugh"; "he laughed unpleasantly at his own jest"; "even a schoolboy's jape is supposed to have some ascertainable point" Synonym(s): joke, gag, laugh, jest, jape v produce laughter [syn: laugh, express joy, {express mirth}] Antonym(s): cry, weep
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Laugh \Laugh\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Laughed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Laughing}.] [OE. laughen, laghen, lauhen, AS. hlehhan, hlihhan, hlyhhan, hliehhan; akin to OS. hlahan, D. & G. lachen, OHG. hlahhan, lahhan, lahh[?]n, Icel. hl[91]ja. Dan. lee, Sw. le, Goth. hlahjan; perh. of imitative origin.] 1. 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. Queen Hecuba laughed that her eyes ran o'er. --Shak. He laugheth that winneth. --Heywood's Prov. 2. Fig.: To be or appear gay, cheerful, pleasant, mirthful, lively, or brilliant; to sparkle; to sport. 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. No wit to flatter left of all his store, No fool to laugh at, which he valued more. --Pope. {To laugh in the sleeve}
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Laugh \Laugh\, v. t. 1. To affect or influence by means of laughter or ridicule. Will you laugh me asleep, for I am very heavy? --Shak. I shall laugh myself to death. --Shak. 2. To express by, or utter with, laughter; -- with out. From his deep chest laughs out a loud applause. --Shak. {To laugh away}. (a) To drive away by laughter; as, to laugh away regret. (b) To waste in hilarity. [bd]Pompey doth this day laugh away his fortune.[b8] --Shak. {To laugh down}. (a) To cause to cease or desist by laughter; as, to laugh down a speaker. (b) 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.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Laugh \Laugh\, n. An expression of mirth peculiar to the human species; the sound heard in laughing; laughter. See {Laugh}, v. i. 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.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Sardonic \Sardon"ic\, a. [F. sardonique, L. sardonius, Gr. [?], [?], perhaps fr. [?] to grin like a dog, or from a certain plant of Sardinia, Gr. [?], which was said to screw up the face of the eater.] Forced; unnatural; insincere; hence, derisive, mocking, malignant, or bitterly sarcastic; -- applied only to a laugh, smile, or some facial semblance of gayety. Where strained, sardonic smiles are glozing still, And grief is forced to laugh* against her will. --Sir H. Wotton. The scornful, ferocious, sardonic grin of a bloody ruffian. --Burke. {Sardonic grin} [or] {laugh}, an old medical term for a spasmodic affection of the muscles of the face, giving it an appearance of laughter.