laughen
Middle English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Old English hlæhhan, alternative form of hlehhan, hliehhan, from Proto-Germanic *hlahjaną.
Pronunciation
Verb
laughen
- 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!
-
- 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
-
- (usually with a preposition) To reminisce about; to remember with affection.
- (rare) To laugh about an incident or thing.
Conjugation
Conjugation of laughen (strong class 6/weak)
| infinitive | (to) laughen | |
|---|---|---|
| indicative | present | past |
| 1st person singular | laughe | lough, lowȝ, laughed |
| 2nd person singular | laughest | lough, lowȝ, laughed, *loughst |
| 3rd person singular | laugheþ, laugheth | lough, lowȝ, laughed |
| plural | laughen | lough(en), laughed(en) |
| subjunctive | present | past |
| singular | laughe | lough, lowȝ, laughed |
| plural | laughen | lough(en), laughed(en) |
| imperative | present | |
| singular | laughe | |
| plural | laugheþ, laugheth | |
| participle | present | past |
| laughende, laughinge | laughe(n), laughed | |
References
- “laughen (v.)” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-07-19.
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.