Laughed

Laughed is the simple past tense and past participle of the verb laugh. It denotes the act of producing laughter in response to something humorous or amusing.

Origin and cognates: The verb laugh comes from Old English and has cognates in other Germanic languages, such as Dutch lachen and German lachen. The spelling 'laughed' reflects regular English past-tense formation, while pronunciation varies by dialect.

Pronunciation and grammar: In many dialects the -ed ending is pronounced as a voiceless 't' sound, giving 'laughed' a 'laft' pronunciation. Laughed functions as both the simple past tense and the past participle, used with has/have or had to form perfect tenses (has laughed, had laughed). The phrasal verb 'laugh at' expresses mocking or ridicule (they laughed at him).

Usage: Laughed appears in narrative and descriptive writing to convey past amusement, joy, or derision. It can describe spontaneous laughter or a response to a specific event or joke.