Guffawer

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person who laughs in a loud, boisterous, unrestrained way, often with a hearty burst of noise
2. Someone given to coarse, booming laughter that can be heard from across the room
3. A individual whose laughter is loud and explosive, bursting out freely in open merriment

Etymology: "Guffaw" entered English in the early 1700s as a name for a loud, boisterous burst of laughter. Its origin is probably imitative: the sound of the word mimics the noise of a hearty, unrestrained laugh, and English has many similar sound-based words. The exact source is uncertain, and there is no clear earlier word behind it. "Guffawer" is simply the base noun with the agent suffix "-er," meaning "one who does the action." A guffawer is a person who guffaws, though the form is rare and mostly found in dictionaries and in writing that wants a single word for someone who laughs this way. Because the suffix is ordinary and productive, the noun shows nothing unusual beyond the imitative origin of its base.

Synonyms: laugher