laff

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English

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Noun

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laff (plural laffs)

  1. (chiefly humorous) Alternative spelling of laugh

Verb

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laff (third-person singular simple present laffs, present participle laffing, simple past and past participle laffed)

  1. (chiefly humorous) Alternative spelling of laugh

German

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Low German laff, which is either inherited from Middle Low German *laf (seemingly not attested) or borrowed from Middle Dutch laf (early 15th century), all probably from Proto-Germanic *laba-, from Proto-Indo-European *leb- (to hang loosely).[1] Compare modern Dutch laf (cowardly).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /laf/
  • Audio:(file)

Adjective

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laff (strong nominative masculine singular laffer, comparative laffer, superlative am laffsten)

  1. (regional, chiefly northern and central Germany) lethargic, weak, slack
    Synonyms: schlapp, lasch
  2. (regional, chiefly northern and central Germany) tasteless, insipid
    Synonym: fade

Declension

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References

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  1. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013) “laben”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 321