English[edit]

a series of guffaws

Etymology[edit]

Early 18th century, originally Scots, probably onomatopoeic.

Pronunciation[edit]

• (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[edit]

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[edit]

Verb[edit]

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[edit]

• See also Thesaurus:laugh

Translations[edit]