LAUGHTER  , the visible and audible expression of mirth, See also:

• PLEASURE (through Fr. plaisir from Lat. placere, to please; Gr. rlbovii)

pleasure or the sense of the ridiculous by movements of the facial muscles and inarticulate sounds (see See also:

• COMEDY

COMEDY, See also:

• PLAY

PLAY and See also:

• HUMOUR (Latin humor)

HuMouR) . The O . Eng. hleahtor is formed from hleahhan, to laugh, a See also:

• COMMON

common See also:

• TEUTONIC
• TEUTONIC (GERMANIC) LANGUAGES

Teutonic word; cf . Ger. lachen, Goth. hlahjan, Icel. hlaeja, &c . These are in origin echoic or imitative words, to be referred to a See also:

• TENT

Tent. See also:

• BASE

base hlah-, Indo-Eur. kark-, to make a See also:

• NOISE (a word of doubtful origin; O. Fr. nogse or nose; Prov. nausa, which points to Lat. nausea, sickness, as the origin; others take Lat. noxia, harm, as the source)

noise; See also:

• SKEAT, WALTER WILLIAM (1835– )

Skeat (Etym . Dict., 1898) connects ultimately Gr. xX roew, to cluck like a See also:

• HEN

hen, Kp4eLv, to croak, &c . A See also:

• GENTLE (through the Fr. gentil, from Lat. gentilis, belonging to the same gens, or family)

gentle and inaudible See also:

• FORM (Lat. forma)

form of laughter expressed by a See also:

• MOVEMENT

movement of the lips and by the eyes is a " smile." This is a comparatively See also:

• LATE

late word in See also:

• ENGLISH

English, and is due to Scandinavian See also:

• INFLUENCE (Late Lat. influentia, from influere, to flow in)

influence; cf . Swed. smila; it is ultimately connected with See also:

• LAT

Lat. mirari, to wonder, and probably with Gr . µeTos .