laughen

laughen

1. obsolete past participle of laugh.

• Hangeul, han-geul, hangeul

• (Early ME) lahhȝhenn, lihȝen, lehȝen, lahhen, lauhwen
• laughe, laghe, laghen, lawen, leigh, leygh, leiȝe, leyȝe, lauȝe, lauȝhe, lawȝe, lyȝhe, lauȝen, lauȝwhen, leighȝen, lawhyn

From Old English hlæhhan, alternative form of hlehhan, hliehhan, from Proto-Germanic *hlahjaną.

• (primarily Early ME) IPA^(key): /ˈlaxən/, /ˈlɛxən/
• IPA^(key): /ˈlau̯xən/, /ˈlɛi̯xən/, /ˈlixən/

laughen

1. To laugh; to break out in laughter or laughing.

   • a. 1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Knight's Tale”, in The Canterbury Tales, line 961-963:

     But right anon the worthy Knyght bigan / whan that he saugh that al the peple lough: / "Namoore of this, for it is right ynough!

     But right away the worthy Knight started / when he saw that all the people laughed: / "No more of this, because that's enough!

2. To express glee or joyfulness; to show happiness.

   • a. 1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Merchant's Tale”, in The Canterbury Tales, line 1723-1724:

     And Venus laugheth upon every wight / For Januarie was bicome hir knyght

     And Venus laughs about every person / As January has become her knight

3. (usually with a preposition) To reminisce about; to remember with affection.
4. (rare) To laugh about an incident or thing.

• laughter
• lawghynge

• English: laugh
• Scots: lauch
• Yola: leeigh

• “laughen (v.)” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-07-19.