Where does “laughlessness” come from?
laughlessness (English) comes from English laughless, from English laugh, from Middle English laughen, from Old English hlæhhan, from Proto-West Germanic hlahhjan, from Proto-Germanic hlahjaną, from Proto-Indo-European klek- — to laugh, cackle.
laughlessness (English): Absence of laughter
Definitions
- Absence of laughter
Ancestry of “laughlessness”, step by step
laughlessness traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English laughless
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | laughless | Devoid of laughs |
| 2 | English | laugh | An expression of mirth particular to the human... |
| 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 |
via English Ness
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Ness | An Ulster princess and the mother of Conchobar mac Nessa and Findchoem in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Daughter of Eochaid Sálbuide. Also the mother of Cormac Cond Longas by incest with Conchobar mac Nessa |
| 2 | Middle English | nesse | — |
| 3 | Old English | næs | not, not at all; not; first/third-person singular... |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | nasją | foothill; headland; cape |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | néh₂s | nose |