"L" Word Origins

limbic

Latin

From French limbique, from Latin limbus ("border, edge") — the limbic system forms a border around the brainstem.

limbo

Latin

From Latin limbus ("border, edge"), via the phrase in limbo. The dance sense is unrelated in origin, from Trinidad and Tobago.

lime

French

From Old English līm ("glue, mortar"), related to Germanic words for "glue"; the citrus-fruit sense entered English separately via French and ultimately Arabic/Persian.

Limehouse

Origin · 1909

The place name comes from lime kilns once operated there; the verb sense recalls a fiery 1909 speech given in the district by Chancellor David Lloyd George.

limelight

Origin

From lime (the mineral, heated to produce light) plus light — the old stage-lighting technology gave us the modern figurative meaning.

limerence

English

Coined by the psychologist Dorothy Tennov to name a state she distinguished from both love and ordinary attraction.

limerick

Origin

Named after Limerick, a city and county in Ireland, though the exact link to the poetic form is unclear.

limes

Latin

From Latin līmes ("boundary, frontier"); a doublet of the English word limit.

limescale

Origin

From lime + scale.

limestone

Origin

From lime plus stone.

limey

Origin

Shortened from "lime-juicer," a reference to the citrus juice British Royal Navy sailors were issued to prevent scurvy.

limeyland

Origin

From limey + -land.

limit

Latin

From Old French limite, from Latin līmes ("boundary, border").

limitation

Latin

From Latin limitatio, built on limit plus -ation.

limitless

Origin

Built from limit plus the suffix -less ("without").

limn

Origin

From Middle English limnen, limyne, lymm, lymn, lymne (“to illuminate (a manuscript)”), a variant of luminen (“to illuminate (a manuscript)”), short form of enluminen (“to shed light on, illuminate; to enlighten; to make bright or clear; to give colour to; to illuminate (a manuscript); to depict, describe; to adorn or embellish with figures of speech or poetry; to make famous, glorious, or illustrious”), from Old French enluminer (“to brighten, light up; to give colour to; to illuminate (a manuscript)”), from Latin illūminō (“to brighten, light up; to adorn; to make conspicuous”), from il- (a variant of in- (prefix meaning ‘in, inside’)) + lūminō (“to brighten, illuminate; to reveal”) (from lūmen (“light; (poetic) brightness”) (from Proto-Indo-European *lewk- (“bright; to shine; to see”)) + -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs)).

limned

Origin

From limn + -ed.

Limoges

Latin

From Latin Lemovices, the name of a Gaulish tribe, likely referencing their skill with elm-wood bows and spears.

Limos

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek λῑμός (līmós), meaning "hunger, famine."

limousin

Origin

Borrowed from French Limousin, from Latin Lemovicinus, adjective form of Lemovices, name of a Gaulish tribe in central France, most likely a reference to their elm bows and spears, of same ultimate origin as elm.

limousine

French

From French limousine, originally referring to the Limousin region of France; the coachman's hooded cloak from that region resembled the driver's covered compartment on early cars of this type.

limp

Old English

From Old English limpan ("to hang down"), related to a Germanic root meaning "to hang loosely" — the same idea behind something going soft or floppy.

limpet

Origin

From Middle English lempet, from Old English lempedu (“lamprey”), borrowed from Medieval Latin lampreda, alteration of Late Latin lampetra (“lamprey”), whose further origin is unknown, though is traditionally thought to derive from lambō (“to lick, lap”) + petra (“stone, rock”). Doublet of lamprey, which came through Old French.

limpidity

Origin

From French limpidité, from Latin limpiditas.

lin

Old English

From Old English linnan ("to cease, desist"), a word that has mostly fallen out of everyday use.

Lina

Origin

A shortened form of names like Angelina, Carolina, or Evelina.

Linc

Origin

A clipped, informal shortening of Lincoln.

linchpin

Old English · 1900

From Old English lynis ("axle pin") combined with pin; the figurative sense of "essential connecting piece" developed in the 20th century.

Lincoln

Origin

The car brand and the informal name for the five-dollar bill both derive from US President Abraham Lincoln, whose portrait appears on the note.

Lincolnshire

Old English

From Old English Lincolnesċīr, meaning the "shire" (administrative county) built around the city of Lincoln.

lind

Old English

From Old English lind, going back to a Germanic root for the linden tree.

Linda

Latin

A Latinised short form of old Germanic names ending in -lind/-linde ("tender, soft"), later mistakenly linked to the unrelated Spanish word linda ("pretty"). The programming language was named after Linda Lovelace, echoing how the language Ada was named after Ada Lovelace.

Lindberg

Swedish

Borrowed from the Swedish surname Lindberg, roughly meaning "linden-tree hill."

Linde

German

As a German/Dutch surname, from Linde ("linden tree"); as a Spanish surname, from linde ("boundary, edge").

linden

Old English

From Old English linden, an adjective built from lind ("linden tree"); over time English speakers began using it directly as the tree's name.

Lindley

Old English

From Old English elements meaning either "flax clearing" or "lime-tree clearing," depending on the specific place.

Lindo

Spanish

As an English surname, from Lindow; unrelated to the Spanish/Portuguese word lindo ("pretty").

Lindsay

Origin

From Lindsey in Lincolnshire, itself named after the "Isle of Lincoln," a stretch of land historically surrounded by fenland.

Lindsey

Old English

From Old English Lindesege, ultimately referring to an "island" of land near Lincoln surrounded by marsh.

Lindstrom

Swedish

Borrowed from the Swedish surname Lindström, combining "linden tree" and "stream."

lindy

Origin · 1927

Believed to be named after aviator Charles Lindbergh, whose 1927 transatlantic flight ("hop") was in the news around the time the dance took off.

line

Old English

From Old English line ("rope, row, series"), itself from a Germanic root connected to flax and linen — the oldest sense was literally "cord" or "thread", from which "row" and "mark" later developed.

lineage

Latin

From Old French linage, ultimately from Latin linea ("line") — the idea of a family "line" running through generations.

lineal

Origin

From Old French lineal, from Latin līneālis, from līnea (“a line”) + -ālis (adjective-forming suffix). By surface analysis, line + -al. Doublet of linear.

lineament

Origin

From Middle French linéament, from Latin lineamentum, from linea (“line”).

linear

Latin

From Latin linearis, from linea ("line"); a doublet of lineal.

linebacker

Origin

From line (the defensive line) plus backer — a player who backs up the line.

linelike

Origin

From line + -like.