The story
- Proto-Indo-European · derived from*klek-
- Proto-Germanic · inherited from*hlahtraz“laughter”
- Old English · inherited fromhleahtor“laughter, jubilation, derision”
- Middle English · inherited fromlaughter
- English todaylaughter
From Middle English laughter, laghter, laȝter, from Old English hleahtor (“laughter, jubilation, derision”), from Proto-Germanic *hlahtraz (“laughter”), from Proto-Indo-European *klek-, *kleg- (“to shout”). Cognate with German Gelächter (“laughter, hilarity, merriment”), Danish and Norwegian latter (“laughter”), Icelandic hlátur (“laughter”). More at laugh.
Words from the same roots
Proto-Indo-European*klek- all →
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Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.