"L" Word Origins

lenity

Origin

Borrowed from Middle French lénité, from Latin lēnitās (whence -ity), from lēnis (“soft”).

Lennon

Irish

From Irish Ó Leannáin (“descendant of Lover (Leannán)”) and from Ó Lonáin (“descendant of Blackbird (Lonán)”).

Lennox

Middle English

From Middle English Levenax, from Scottish Gaelic Leamhnach (“inhabitant of Lennox”) + -s. The Gaelic word derives from Leamhain (“Leven”) + -ach.

leno

French

From French linon, itself from lin, "flax" — the plant that gives us linen.

Lenore

Origin

Apheretic form of Eleanor.

lens

Latin

From Latin lēns, "lentil" — glass lenses were named for their lentil-like shape.

Lent

Old English

Shortened form of Lenten, from Old English lencten, from Proto-West Germanic *langatīn (“spring”), as in a season into which days lengthen as it progresses. Cognate with Alemannic German langsé, Langssi (“spring”), Bavarian longas, lòngas, longast (“spring”), Cimbrian langaz, langhes, långez (“spring”), lentz (“March”), Dutch lente (“spring”), German Lenz, Lenze (“spring”), Mòcheno langes (“spring”).

lenticular

Origin

Inherited from Middle English lenticular, lenticuler, borrowed from Medieval Latin lenticulāris (“lentil-shaped”), from Latin lenticula, from lēns + -cula, ultimately from Latin lēns (“lentil”).

lentigo

Origin

Learned borrowing from Latin lentīgo. Earliest attestation as Late Middle English lentigines (plural).

lentil

Latin

From Latin lēns, the same word that gave us "lens" — because a magnifying lens is shaped like a lentil seed.

lento

Origin

Borrowed from Italian lento.

lentous

Origin

From Latin lentus. See lentor.

lentulid

Origin

From translingual Lentulidae, from Latin lentul(us) + -idae, from lentus. By surface analysis, Latin lentus + -ule + -id.

Leo

Latin

From Latin leō ("lion"), the constellation named for its resemblance to a crouching lion.

leodensian

Origin

From Latin Loidēnsis (“of or from Leeds”), *Lādenses + -i- + -an, from Old English Loidis (“Leeds”).

Leon

Latin

Ultimately from Latin Leo and leo (“lion”), from Ancient Greek Λέων (Léōn) and λέων (léōn, “lion”), likely ultimately from a non-Indo-European language. Sometimes via other related languages such as French Léon and sometimes as a diminutive of related names such as Leonard and Leonardo.

Leona

Latin

From Latin leo ("lion"), via the masculine name Leon, feminised as Leona.

Leonard

Old French

From Old French Leonard, name of a 6th century Frankish saint, from Old High German leo (“lion”) or Old High German liut (“person”) and hart (“hard”). As a surname, also used as an anglicisation of Irish Ó Leannáin (Lennon).

Leonardo

German

Borrowed from Italian Leonardo, equivalent to the English name Leonard, ultimately from Old High German roots meaning "lion" and "hard/brave."

leone

Portuguese

Named after the country Sierra Leone, whose own name comes from Portuguese for "lion mountains."

leong

Origin

Borrowed from Cantonese 梁 (loeng⁴).

Leonid

Latin

From Latin Leo (the constellation and word for "lion") plus the suffix "-id," meaning "belonging to" — so, literally, "member of the Leo group."

Leonidas

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek Λεωνίδᾱς (Leōnídās, “son of Leon / lion”).

Leonie

French

From French Léonie, from Latin Leonia, feminine of Leonius, derived from leo (“lion”).

Leonora

Italian

From the Italian short form of Eleonora, cognate to Eleanor.

leopard

Greek

From Greek leopardos, itself a blend of leon, "lion," and pardos, "male panther" — early naturalists believed the leopard was a cross between the two.

Leopold

German

From Old High German liut ("people") + bald ("bold").

leotard

French · 1800

Named after Jules Léotard, a 19th-century French acrobat who popularised the garment while performing on the trapeze.

leper

Greek

From Greek lepra, "scaly disease," describing the flaking skin symptoms of leprosy.

leprechaun

Old Irish

From Irish leipreachán, traced back through Old Irish luchorpán, possibly built from words meaning "small" and "body."

Leroy

French

From French le roi, "the king".

lesbian

Greek

From Lesbos, the Greek island home of the ancient poet Sappho, whose verses about women's love gave the word its meaning.

Lesbos

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek Λέσβος (Lésbos).

lesion

Latin

From Latin laesio, "an injury," from laedere, "to hurt or damage."

Lesley

Scottish Gaelic

From a place name in Aberdeenshire, from Scottish Gaelic lios cuileann ("garden of hollies").

Leslie

Scottish Gaelic

From a place name in Aberdeenshire, from Scottish Gaelic lios cuileann ("garden of hollies").

less

Old English

From Old English laessa, "smaller, fewer," a very old Germanic word unrelated to "little" or "least" in origin.

lessen

Origin

From "less" plus the verb-forming suffix "-en," the same pattern seen in "widen" and "deepen."

lesser

Middle English

A double comparative formed from "less" plus "-er," which developed in Middle English even though "less" is already comparative.

Lessing

German

* As a German surname, borrowed from German Lessing, a variant of Lessig. * As a Lower Sorbian surname, from lesník (“forester”). Compare Lesnik.

lesson

Latin

From Old French leçon, from Latin lectio, "a reading," from legere, "to read."

lessor

Origin

From Middle English lessour, from Anglo-Norman lessour.

lest

Old English

A contraction of Old English forms meaning roughly "whereby less that" — literally "so that it be less the case that."

Lester

Origin

From the English place name Leicester.

let

Old English

From Old English laetan, "to allow, leave, or bequeath," a very old Germanic verb related to German lassen.

letch

Origin

From Middle English leche, for example Sandy's Letch located east of Annitsford in North Tyneside.

lethal

Latin

From Latin letalis, "deadly," from letum, "death."

lethargic

Greek

From Greek lethargikos, from lethargos, "forgetful, drowsy" — built from lethe, "forgetfulness," plus argos, "idle, inactive."