cachinnate

verb

cach·​in·​nate ˈka-kə-ˌnāt 

cachinnated; cachinnating

intransitive verb

: to laugh loudly or immoderately

cachinnated till his sides must have ached

—John Burroughs

cachinnation

ˌka-kə-ˈnā-shən 

noun

Did you know?

Cachinnate has been whooping it up in English since the 19th century. The word derives from the Latin verb cachinnare, meaning "to laugh loudly," and cachinnare was probably coined in imitation of a loud laugh. As such, cachinnare is much like the Old English ceahhetan, the Old High German kachazzen, and the Greek kachazein—all words of imitative origin that essentially meant "to laugh loudly." Our words giggle and guffaw are unrelated to those (and to each other) but they too are believed to have been modeled after the sound of laughter.

Word History

Etymology

Latin cachinnatus, past participle of cachinnare, of imitative origin

First Known Use

1824, in the meaning defined above

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