Loud, hearty laughs or instances of laughing in a boisterous way.
Origin uncertain, but likely from Scottish or Northern English dialect, possibly imitative in nature. Some scholars suggest a connection to Old Norse, but the word appears in English around the 1700s with Scotch and Irish associations.
A 'guffaw' is way different from a regular laugh—it's big, unrestrained, and often kind of crude or uncontrolled, which is probably why it has that bouncy, almost rude-sounding name that feels right when you say it out loud.
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