English edit

Etymology edit

From laugh +‎ smith. Compare Old English hleahtorsmiþ (one who causes laughter, mirth, or joy, literally laughter-smith).

Noun edit

laughsmith (plural laughsmiths)

  1. One who creates laughs; a comic or comedian.
    Synonym: jokester
    • 1917, The Camp Dix News, volume 1, page 8:
      Mr. Harry Mendelson, laughsmith and humorist, now on the Keith circuit and known in vaudeville for ten years as Harry Montgomery, dispensed a number of good laughs and furnished a slight departure from a strictly musical evening.
    • 1954, Bob Hope, This is on Me, page 207:
      It goes without saying that there are all kinds and types of comedians who're giving laughter to the world, just as there are all kinds and types of jokes and audiences. The first laughsmith to earn his cakes with a joke was the court jester, []
    • 2007, Paul Myers, Barenaked Ladies: Public Stunts, Private Stories, page 65:
      Kogen's presence here, and his support for the band, is as good an example of just how seriously the band's comedy is taken by professional laughsmiths as you're likely to get.