different between zany vs laugh
zany
English
Etymology
From Middle French zani, zanni, from Italian zanni (“a kind of masked clown character”), from Zanni, a dialectal form of Giovanni.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?ze?ni/
- Rhymes: -e?ni
- Hyphenation: za?ny
Adjective
zany (comparative zanier, superlative zaniest)
- Unusual and awkward in a funny, comical manner; outlandish; clownish.
- Ludicrously or incongruously comical.
Synonyms
- wacky
Derived terms
- zaniness
Translations
Noun
zany (plural zanies)
- (obsolete) A fool or clown, especially one whose business on the stage is to imitate foolishly the actions of the principal clown.
- a. 1631, John Donne, Epistle to Mr. I. W.
- Then write that I may follow, and so be / Thy echo, thy debtor, thy foil, thy zany.
- 1898, J. Meade Falkner, Moonfleet Chapter 4
- So there he caught me lying like a zany on the ground. You may guess I stood at attention soon enough, but told him I was looking at the founds to see if they wanted underpinning from the floods.
- a. 1631, John Donne, Epistle to Mr. I. W.
Verb
zany (third-person singular simple present zanies, present participle zanying, simple past and past participle zanied)
- (obsolete) To mimic foolishly.
References
- John Dover Wilson, comp. (1911) Life in Shakespeare's England: A Book of Elizabethan Prose, Cambridge: At the University Press, OCLC 2938084.
Anagrams
- Zayn, zayn
zany From the web:
- what zany means
- what does zany mean in spanish
- what zanyah mean
- zany what does it means
- what does zany face emoji mean
- what does zany mean
- xanax bars
- what is zany face
laugh
English
Alternative forms
- laff (eye dialect)
- laughe (archaic)
- larf (Cockney eye dialect)
Etymology
From Middle English laughen, laghen, from (Anglian) Old English hlæhhan, hlehhan, (West Saxon) hliehhan, from Proto-West Germanic *hlahhjan, from Proto-Germanic *hlahjan?.
Pronunciation
- (General Australian) IPA(key): /la?f/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /l??f/
- (General American) enPR: l?f, IPA(key): /læf/
- Rhymes: -??f, -æf
Noun
laugh (plural laughs)
- An expression of mirth particular to the human species; the sound heard in laughing; laughter.
- 1803, Oliver Goldsmith, The Poetical Works of Oliver Goldsmith, M.B.: With an Account of His Life, page 45:
- And the loud laugh that spoke the vacant mind.
- 1869, F. W. Robertson, Lectures and Addresses on Literary and Social Topics, page 87:
- That man is a bad man who has not within him the power of a hearty laugh.
- 1803, Oliver Goldsmith, The Poetical Works of Oliver Goldsmith, M.B.: With an Account of His Life, page 45:
- Something that provokes mirth or scorn.
- 1921, Ring Lardner, The Big Town: How I and the Mrs. Go to New York to See Life and Get Katie a Husband, The Bobbs-Merrill Company, page 73:
- “And this rug,” he says, stomping on an old rag carpet. “How much do you suppose that cost?” ¶ It was my first guess, so I said fifty dollars. ¶ “That’s a laugh,” he said. “I paid two thousand for that rug.”
- 1979, Monty Python, Always Look on the Bright Side of Life
- Life's a piece of shit / When you look at it / Life's a laugh and death's a joke, it's true.
- 1921, Ring Lardner, The Big Town: How I and the Mrs. Go to New York to See Life and Get Katie a Husband, The Bobbs-Merrill Company, page 73:
- (Britain, New Zealand) A fun person.
- 2010, The Times, March 14, 2010, Tamzin Outhwaite, the unlikely musical star
- Outhwaite is a good laugh, yes, she knows how to smile: but deep down, she really is strong and stern.
- 2010, The Times, March 14, 2010, Tamzin Outhwaite, the unlikely musical star
Synonyms
- (expression of mirth): cackle, chortle, chuckle, giggle, guffaw, snicker, snigger, titter, cachinnation
- (something that provokes mirth or scorn): joke, laughing stock
Derived terms
Translations
Verb
laugh (third-person singular simple present laughs, present participle laughing, simple past and past participle laughed)
- (intransitive) 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.
- 1899, Stephen Crane, Twelve O’Clock:
- The roars of laughter which greeted his proclamation were of two qualities; some men laughing because they knew all about cuckoo-clocks, and other men laughing because they had concluded that the eccentric Jake had been victimised by some wise child of civilisation.
- 1979, Monty Python, Always Look on the Bright Side of Life:
- If life seems jolly rotten / There's something you've forgotten / And that's to laugh and smile and dance and sing.
- 1899, Stephen Crane, Twelve O’Clock:
- (intransitive, figuratively, obsolete) To be or appear cheerful, pleasant, mirthful, lively, or brilliant; to sparkle; to sport.
- (intransitive, followed by "at") To make an object of laughter or ridicule; to make fun of; to deride; to mock.
- 1967, The Beatles, Penny Lane:
- On the corner is a banker with a motorcar / The little children laugh at him behind his back
- 1967, The Beatles, Penny Lane:
- (transitive) To affect or influence by means of laughter or ridicule.
- (transitive) To express by, or utter with, laughter.
- 1866, Louisa May Alcott, chapter 8, in Behind a Mask, or A Woman’s Power:
- Fairfax addressed her as "my lady," she laughed her musical laugh, and glanced up at a picture of Gerald with eyes full of exultation.
- 1906, Jack London, Moon-Face:
- "You refuse to take me seriously," Lute said, when she had laughed her appreciation. "How can I take that Planchette rigmarole seriously?"
- 1866, Louisa May Alcott, chapter 8, in Behind a Mask, or A Woman’s Power:
Conjugation
Usage notes
The simple past tense forms laught, laugh'd and low and the past participles laught, laugh'd and laughen also exist, but are obsolete.
Synonyms
- (show mirth by peculiar movement of the muscles of the face): cackle, chortle, chuckle, giggle, guffaw, snicker, snigger, titter
- See also Thesaurus:laugh
Antonyms
- (show mirth by peculiar movement of the muscles of the face): cry, weep
Coordinate terms
- (show mirth by peculiar movement of the muscles of the face): cry, frown, scowl, smile
Derived terms
Related terms
- laughster
- laughter
Translations
Note: the following were in a translation table for "be or appear gay", which, given the modern meanings, is misleading; the title of this table has now been changed to "be or appear cheerful". The translations therefore need to be checked.
- Slovene: (please verify) nasmejan (biti)
See also
- comedy
- gelotology
- funny
- ha ha
- tee hee, tee hee hee
Anagrams
- Aghul
Middle English
Noun
laugh
- Alternative form of lawe
laugh From the web:
- what laughing gas
- what laughing does to your body
- what laughs in minecraft
- what laughter means
- what laughter does to the brain
- what laughs a lot
- what laughing gas feels like
- what laughing gif
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