lack-laughter en · ADJ
Etymology
From lack + laughter.
Meanings
-
(obsolete) Cheerless; sombre; serious.
[…] many force / Lack-laughter faces to relax / Into the soft lines traced by joy.
1850, “Agamemnon”, in Blackie, John Stuart, transl., The Lyrical Dramas of Æschylus, volume 1, translation of original by Aeschylus, page 48:The lack-laughter sangfroid of the parſon was the conſtant topic of his ridicule, and he complained that whenever I appeared I caſt a gloom over the mirth of his company.
1771, John Horne, The Controversial Letters of John Wilkes, Esq., the Rev. John Horne, and Their Principal Adherents, page 153:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| most lack-laughter | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| more lack-laughter | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |