Where does “laughingly” come from?
Laughingly derives from Middle English laughing plus the adverbial suffix -ly, with laughing from Old English -ing and -ung suffixes attached to a root from Proto-Indo-European klek- and ḱóm.
laughingly (English): With laughter or merriment; With derision
Definitions
- With laughter or merriment; With derision
Ancestry of “laughingly”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | laughing | The action of the verb to laugh; present... |
| 2 | Middle English | laughynge | Laughing; the making of laughs |
| 3 | Middle English | laughen | To laugh; to break out in laughter or laughing;... |
| 4 | Old English | hlæhhan | — |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | hlahhjan | to laugh |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | hlahjaną | to laugh |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | klek- | to laugh, cackle |