# laugh

> English word · Noun · IPA /lɐːf/ · frequency rank #2,214

## Definitions
1. An expression of mirth particular to the human species; the sound heard in laughing; laughter.
2. Something that provokes mirth or scorn.
3. A fun person.

## Etymology
From Middle English laughen, laghen, from (Anglian) Old English hlæhhan, hlehhan, (West Saxon) hliehhan, from Proto-West Germanic *hlahhjan, from Proto-Germanic *hlahjaną.
Cognates
Germanic: Scots lauch (“to laugh”), Yola leeigh, leigh (“to laugh”), North Frisian laache, lachi, laake, loache, lååke (“to laugh”), Saterland Frisian laachje (“to laugh”), West Frisian laitsje (“to laugh”), Alemannic German lache (“to laugh”), Cimbrian lachan (“to laugh”), Dutch, German, and Low German lachen (“to laugh”), Luxembourgish laachen (“to laugh”), Yiddish לאַכן (lakhn, “to laugh”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, and Swedish le (“to laugh”), Elfdalian läa (“to laugh”), Faroese læa (“to laugh”), Icelandic hlæja (“to laugh”), Norwegian Nynorsk le, læ, læja (“to laugh”), Crimean Gothic lachen (“to laugh”), Gothic 𐌷𐌻𐌰𐌷𐌾𐌰𐌽 (hlahjan, “to laugh”).
Indo-European: Breton kloc'h (“bell”), Irish clog (“bell; clock”), Manx and Scottish Gaelic clag (“bell”), Welsh cloch (“bell”), Russian клекота́ть (klekotátʹ), клокота́ть (klokotátʹ), клохта́ть (kloxtátʹ, “to cluck, cackle”).

## Easily confused with
- **lug** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/laugh-vs-lug)
- **lush** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/laugh-vs-lush)
- **luge** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/laugh-vs-luge)
- **Lugo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/laugh-vs-lugo)
- **Laura** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/laugh-vs-laura)
- **leigh** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/laugh-vs-leigh)
- **lough** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/laugh-vs-lough)
- **launch** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/laugh-vs-launch)
- **laughed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/laugh-vs-laughed)
- **lag** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lag-vs-laugh)
- **Lau** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lau-vs-laugh)
- **lah** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lah-vs-laugh)
- **lang** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lang-vs-laugh)
- **lash** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lash-vs-laugh)
- **lakh** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lakh-vs-laugh)
- **lagi** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lagi-vs-laugh)
- **laud** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/laud-vs-laugh)
- **large** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/large-vs-laugh)
- **latch** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/latch-vs-laugh)
- **Laude** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/laude-vs-laugh)

## Common misspellings (7)
`alugh`, `laguh`, `lauggh`, `laughh`, `lauhg`, `llaugh`, `luagh`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/laugh