guffaw

English

WOTD – 17 May 2006

Etymology

Early 18th century, originally Scots, probably onomatopoeic.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɡəˈfɔː/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ɡəˈfɔ/
• (General Australian, New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ɡəˈfoː/

• Audio (US)

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• Audio (AU)

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• Rhymes: -ɔː

Noun

guffaw (plural guffaws)

1. A boisterous laugh.

   Synonym: belly laugh

   • 1847 December, Ellis Bell [pseudonym; Emily Brontë], Wuthering Heights: […], volume II, London: Thomas Cautley Newby, […], →OCLC:

     On opening the little door, two hairy monsters flew at my throat, bearing me down, and extinguishing the light; while a mingled guffaw from Heathcliff and Hareton put the copestone on my rage and humiliation.

   • 1905–1906, Arthur Conan Doyle, chapter XX, in Sir Nigel, London: Smith, Elder & Co., […], published January 1906, →OCLC:

     He walked to the edge and they heard his hoarse guffaw of laughter as the arrows clanged and clattered against his impenetrable mail.

   • 1936, Robert E. Howard, chapter 15, in The Hour of the Dragon:

     He heaved up with a sulfurous curse, braced his legs and glared about him, with a burst of coarse guffaws in his ears and the reek of unwashed bodies in his nostrils.

   • 2005 April 19, Eric Boehlert, “Time hearts Ann Coulter”, in Salon‎^[1], archived from the original on 2006-05-17:

     When Time magazine named Ann Coulter among its 100 "most influential people" last week, alongside such heavyweights as Ariel Sharon, Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela, Kim Jong Il and the Dalai Lama, the choice produced guffaws online.

Translations

a boisterous laugh

• Basque: algara
• Bikol Central: ngarakngak
• Bulgarian: кикот (bg) m (kikot)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 哄笑 (zh) (hōngxiào)

• Czech: řehot m
• Dutch: schaterlach (nl)
• Finnish: hohotus (fi), röhönauru (fi), hörönauru (fi), räkänauru
• French: gros éclat de rire, esclaffer (fr)
• Galician: gargallada f, rinchada f, risada f
• Georgian: ხარხარი (xarxari)
• German: schallendes Gelächter
• Hungarian: hahota (hu)
• Italian: risata fragorosa
• Japanese: 哄笑 (ja) (こうしょう, kōshō)
• Kapampangan: sagakgak
• Latin: cachinno
• Latvian: tirpt
• Malayalam: പൊട്ടിച്ചിരി (ml) (poṭṭicciri)
• Portuguese: gargalhada (pt) f
• Russian: хо́хот (ru) m (xóxot), го́гот (ru) m (gógot), ржа́ние (ru) n (ržánije) (colloquial)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: гро̏хо̄т m

  Roman: grȍhōt (sh) m

• Spanish: carcajada (es) f, risotada (es)
• Tagalog: halakhak
• Ukrainian: ре́гіт m (réhit)
• Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can
• Walloon: xhaxhlêye (wa) f
• Welsh: cwerthiniad bras m

Verb

guffaw (third-person singular simple present guffaws, present participle guffawing, simple past and past participle guffawed)

1. (intransitive) To laugh boisterously.
   • 1891, Oscar Wilde, chapter 15, in The Picture of Dorian Gray:

     He guffawed at his adversaries.

   • 1900, Stephen Crane, The Knife:

     Peter, on the contrary, threw back his head and guffawed thunderously.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:laugh

Translations

To laugh boisterously

• Bikol Central: ngarakngak
• Bulgarian: кикотя се (kikotja se)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 哄笑 (zh) (hōngxiào)

• Czech: řehtat se
• Dutch: schaterlachen (nl)
• Esperanto: ridegi
• Finnish: hekottaa (fi), hekotella (fi), hohottaa (fi), höröttää (fi), röhöttää (fi), nauraa räkäisesti
• French: s’esclaffer (fr)
• Galician: gargallar
• German: schallend lachen
• Japanese: げらげら笑う (geragera warau), 哄笑する (ja) (こうしょうする, kōshō suru)
• Polish: rechotać (pl), rżeć (pl)
• Portuguese: gargalhar (pt)
• Russian: хохота́ть (ru) impf (xoxotátʹ), гогота́ть (ru) impf (gogotátʹ), ржать (ru) impf (ržatʹ) (colloquial)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: грохо̀тати

  Roman: grohòtati (sh)

• Sicilian: ammazzàrisi dî risati, scassàrisi dî risati, aviri a liscìa
• Tagalog: humalakhak (past), humahalakhak (present)
• Ukrainian: регота́ти (rehotáty), іржа́ти (iržáty) (colloquial)
• Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can
• Walloon: xhaxhler (wa)
• Welsh: crechwenu (cy)