gladh-

verb. to laugh, to laugh [at a joke], *guffaw

This word is not compatible with the name Lalaith “Laughter” attested in The Silmarillion. The most likely explanation of this name is that it is the unattested verb ✱lala- “laugh” with the abstract noun suffix -th seen in tirith “watch(ing)” and sirith “flowing”. This indicates a primitive form ✶lala- instead of ✶glada- (both primitives produce Quenya lala-). If you were to accept gladh- as the Sindarin word for “laugh”, then the word for “laughter” would perhaps be the equivalent abstract noun ✱gladhath, and the name Lalaith might be a mix of Quenya and Sindarin. @@@ Neo-Sindarin uses

Cognates

• Q. lala- “to laugh” ✧ PM/359

Derivations

• ✶glada- “laugh” ✧ PM/359

Element in

• ᴺS. gladhweg “cheerful, (lit.) apt to laugh”
• S. Gladhwen “Laughing Maiden” ✧ PM/359

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶g-lada- > glað-	[glad-] > [glað-]	✧ PM/359

Variations

• glað- ✧ PM/359

lala-

verb. to laugh

Cognates

• Q. lala- “to laugh”

Derivations

• √LAL “laugh”

Element in

• S. lalaith “laughter”
• ᴺS. lalweg “cheerful”