Hypertext Webster Gateway: "laughter"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Laughter \Laugh"ter\, n. [AS. hleahtor; akin to OHG. hlahtar, G.
gel["a]chter, Icel. hl[=a]tr, Dan. latter. See {Laugh}, v. i.
]
A movement (usually involuntary) of the muscles of the face,
particularly of the lips, with a peculiar expression of the
eyes, indicating merriment, satisfaction, or derision, and
usually attended by a sonorous and interrupted expulsion of
air from the lungs. See {Laugh}, v. i.
The act of laughter, which is a sweet contraction of
the muscles of the face, and a pleasant agitation of
the vocal organs, is not merely, or totally within the
jurisdiction of ourselves. --Sir T.
Browne.
Archly the maiden smiled, and with eyes overrunning
with laughter. --Longfellow.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
laughter
n 1: the sound of laughing [syn: {laugh}]
2: the act of laughing; the manifestation of joy or mirth of
scorn; "he enjoyed the laughter of the crowd"
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