outlaughv.
/ˌaʊtˈlɑːf/, /ˌaʊtˈlaf/, U.S. /ˌaʊtˈlæf/ 1. transitive. To laugh down, deride, ridicule. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > derision, ridicule, or mockery > deride, ridicule, or mock [verb (transitive)] > laugh to scorn
laugheOE
laughOE
bilauhOE
to laugh to scorn (also bismer, hething, hoker)OE
to laugh or take to scorninga1400
deride1530
outlaugh1605
smile1608
arride1612
fleer1622
irride1637
haw-haw1862
1605 W. Camden Remaines ii. 29 The same Lucian bringeth in Diogenes laughing and outlaughing King Mausolus for that he was so pitifully pressed and crushed with an huge heape of stones vnder his stately monument Mausoleum.
1657 Lusts Dominion v. vi Well villain I onely laugh to see, that we shal live to out-laugh him and thee.
a1790 B. Franklin in Webster's Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang. (1864) His apprehensions of being outlaughed will force him to continue in a restless obscurity.
1891 G. Meredith One of our Conquerors I. i. 10 The Daniel Lambert of Cities: the Female Annuitant of Nations:—and such like, wretched stuff, proper to Colney Durance, easily dispersed and out-laughed when we have our vigour.
1985 Time Mag. (Nexis) 5 Aug. 16 He is going to outlaugh death if it is humanly possible.
ΚΠ
?a1626 N. Breton Mad World my Masters (1635) sig. A6 I met with a foole in a pyed coate, who looking upon mee, after he had out-laughed [1603 ouerlaughed] himselfe, told me: Sir, you are mistaken, this is a Banqueting-house.
3. transitive. To surpass or outdo in laughing. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > laugh [verb (transitive)] > surpass in laughing
outlaugh1672
1672 J. Dryden Arviragus & Philicia Prol. 17 Each lady striving to out-laugh the rest; To make it seem they understood the jest.
1852 H. Hubbard Ixion ii. 11 The steadfast soul can never be a slave, But in its chainless palace may outlaugh High Jove himself.
1908 A. C. Swinburne Duke of Gandia i. 32 Her..Whose eyes outlaugh the splendour of the sea.
1993 Nation (Nexis) 31 May 750 Benedick, almost brutal in his railery, outlaughs the bystanders at his own jokes.
4. intransitive. poetic. To laugh loudly.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > laugh [verb (intransitive)] > laugh aloud
ha ha1606
outlaugh1844
1844 E. B. Browning Brown Rosary iii. ix Then outlaughed the bridegroom, and outlaughed withal Both maidens and youths by the old chapel-wall.
1851 E. B. Lytton Not so Bad as we Seem iv. iii. 95 ‘Yes, but the Murillo is genuine,—pray what are the friends?’ Out laughed Sir Robert.
1858 Golden Era 12 Dec. 1/4 Out laughed the bailie with muckle glee, For a blithesome mon was he.
a1918 W. Owen Ballad of Many Thorns in Compl. Poems (1983) I. 121 Out laughed a man of folly, Much wine had made him thick: ‘The jolly, festive Holly Deals oft a nasty prick.’
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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