"L" Word Origins

lightbulb

Origin

A straightforward compound of light + bulb, describing the bulb-shaped glass housing that produces light.

lighten

Middle English

From Middle English lightnen, formed from light + the verb-forming suffix -en.

lightening

Origin

The noun form of the verb lighten, formed with the -ing suffix.

lighter

Origin

The device sense comes from light ("to ignite") + -er; the boat sense comes from a separate root meaning "to unload" or lighten a ship's cargo.

lightfoot

Middle English

From Middle English light-fot, formed from light (adjective) + foot.

lightheadedness

Origin

From light-headed (adjective) (any sense) + -ness (suffix forming nouns).

lighthearted

Origin

From Middle English lyght hertyd, liȝt-hertid, from light (adjective) + herted, hertid (“having a disposition”, adjective) (equivalent to light + hearted), from the noun herte. See more at light, heart, -ed.

lightheartedly

Origin

From lighthearted (adjective) (any sense) + -ly (suffix forming adverbs).

lighthouse

Origin

A transparent compound of light + house, naming a structure built to house a warning light.

lightie

Origin

From light + -ie.

lighting

Origin

Formed from light + -ing, describing both the act of lighting and the equipment that provides it.

lightless

Origin

From Middle English lightles, from Old English lēohtlēas, from Proto-West Germanic *leuhtalaus; equivalent to light (noun) + -less (“lacking, without”). Cognate with West Frisian ljochtleas, Dutch lichtloos, German lichtlos.

lightlessness

Origin

From lightless (adjective) + -ness (suffix forming nouns).

lightly

Old English

From Old English leohtlice, formed from light + the adverbial suffix -ly.

lightman

Origin

Formed from light + man, naming the person in charge of lighting.

lightness

Old English

From Old English lihtnes, formed from light + the noun suffix -ness.

lightning

Origin

From lighten + -ing; a doublet of "lightening," though the two words diverged in spelling and meaning.

lightsaber

Origin · 1977

Coined by filmmaker George Lucas for the original 1977 Star Wars film, combining light + saber.

lightskirt

Origin

From light + skirt.

lightsomeness

Origin

From Middle English lightsomnesse, equivalent to lightsome (“bright, radiant”) + -ness.

lightweight

Origin

From light (not heavy) plus weight.

likable

Origin

From like plus the suffix -able ("able to be").

like

Old English

The verb comes from Old English līcian ("to please, be pleasing"), related to Old English/Germanic roots meaning "similar" — hence the overlap with the "similar to" senses.

likelihood

Middle English

From Middle English liklihode, built from likely plus -hood.

likeliness

Origin

From Middle English liklinesse, lyklinesse; equivalent to likely + -ness.

likely

Old English

From Middle English likely, from Old English ġelīclīċ ("suitable") and a related Old Norse word — ultimately built from like plus the adjective ending -ly.

liken

Origin

From Middle English liknen (“to be comparable; to compare (often disparagingly); to make (someone) equal to another person; to regard (something) as equal to another thing; to regard (something) as likely; to resemble; to take (something) as a substitute; to apply, be adapted or suitable; to tend (to sin)”) [and other forms], from liken (“to be comparable; to compare; to be appropriate; to form”), from lik (“alike, analogous, similar; appropriate, suitable; equal; homogeneous; identical, the same; indicative; likely (to be or do something), probable; possible; simultaneous; more or most like (?)”) + -en (suffix forming infinitives of verbs). Lik is derived from Old English ġelīċ (“like, similar”), from Proto-Germanic *galīkaz (“like, similar; equal”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *leyg- (“like, similar; even, level”). The English word is analysable as like (adjective) + -en (suffix forming verbs with the sense ‘to make [adjective]’).

likeness

Old English

From Old English līcness, built from like plus the noun suffix -ness.

likewise

Middle English

From Middle English, a shortened form of "in lik wise" ("in like manner") — built from like plus -wise.

liking

Old English

From Old English līcung, built from like plus -ing.

lil

Origin

A clipped, informal version of Lilian or Lillian.

lila

Sanskrit

From Sanskrit लीला (līlā), meaning "play" or "sport," referring to divine creative activity.

lilac

French

Via French from Arabic līlak, ultimately traced back through Persian to a Sanskrit word for "dark blue."

Lilah

Origin

A shortened form of Delilah, also used as a spelling variant of Leila.

lilia

Origin

Borrowed from Latin lilia, plural of lilium (“lily”), or a Latinization of the English Lily.

Lilian

Late Latin · 1500

In use since the 1500s; widely thought to come from Late Latin lilium ("lily"), though it may once have been a pet form of Elizabeth.

Lilith

Hebrew

Borrowed from Hebrew לִילִית (lîlîṯ), tracing back to older Mesopotamian demon-lore.

lill

German

As a surname, borrowed from the German surname Lill.

Lille

Latin

From Old French l'Isle ("the island"), from Latin insula ("island") — the same root as "isle."

Lillian

Late Latin · 1500

In use since the 1500s; usually traced to Late Latin lilium ("lily").

lilo

Origin · 1940

From "Li-Lo," the trademark of a company that made rubberized-canvas air mattresses from the 1940s to the 1970s — itself a playful respelling of "lie low."

lilt

Origin

From Middle English lilten, lulten.

lily

Latin

From Old English lilie, from Latin līlium, from Greek leírion.

Lim

Chinese

From Korean 임/림 (Im/Rim) or from the Chinese character 林, meaning "forest," as pronounced in southern Chinese dialects.

lima

Origin

The bean's name is a shortening of "Lima bean," named after the Peruvian capital, a major early export point for the crop.

liman

Origin

From Russian лима́н (limán) or Ukrainian лима́н (lymán), from Turkic, compare Turkish liman (“port, harbor”). Ultimately from Ancient Greek λιμήν (limḗn, “harbor”).

limb

Old English · 1500

From Old English lim ("limb, branch"); the silent "b" was added in spelling around the late 1500s, similar to the "b" in crumb.

limber

Origin

Origin uncertain — possibly related to limb or limp, formed with the -er ending as in slipper or clever.