"L" Word Origins

ladybug

Origin

From "lady" plus "bug", following the same pattern as "ladybird" — the "lady" again refers to the Virgin Mary.

ladyfinger

Origin

From lady + finger.

ladyish

Origin

From lady + -ish.

ladylike

Origin

From "lady" plus the suffix "-like".

ladylove

Origin

From lady + love.

ladyship

Middle English

From Middle English ladyschipe, built from lady plus the suffix -ship (as in "lordship" and "friendship").

Laertes

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek Λαέρτης (Laértēs).

Laetitia

Latin

From Latin laetitia, meaning "happiness."

Lafayette

French

From an Occitan-derived French surname meaning roughly "the little beech tree"; the many American towns named Lafayette honor the Marquis directly.

Lafferty

Irish

Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Laithbhearthaig. Compare Flaherty.

Lafite

French

Named directly after the French Château Lafite Rothschild estate.

Lafitte

French

Borrowed from French Lafitte.

Lafleur

French

Borrowed from French Lafleur.

lag

Germanic

Origin uncertain, possibly from an old North Germanic word meaning "slow" or "late".

lager

German

From German Lagerbier, "beer made for storing", from Lager ("storehouse") — because this style of beer is aged in cold storage before drinking.

laggard

Origin

From lag + -ard.

lagging

Origin

From "lag" plus the "-ing" ending.

lagoon

Latin

From French lagune, from Italian laguna, from Latin lacuna ("pool, gap") — the same root that gives English "lacuna".

Lagos

Portuguese

From Portuguese Lagos, literally "lakes."

Laguardia

Spanish

From Romance languages * From Spanish Laguardia, from guardia (“guard”) * From Italian Laguardia, from Sicilian La Guardia (“the guard”).

Laguna

Spanish

Borrowed from the Spanish word laguna, meaning "lake" or "lagoon" — the tribe's pueblo sits near a lake formed by damming a local river.

lagune

Origin

Borrowed from French lagune, from Venetan laguna, from Latin lacūna.

lah

Cantonese

Borrowed from Malay lah and reinforced by similar particles in Hokkien and Cantonese, all used to add emphasis or soften a statement.

Lahey

Origin

Variant spelling of Leahy.

Lahore

Urdu

From Urdu لاہَور (lāhaur); the ultimate origin of the name is disputed, with several competing legends.

lai

Old French

From Old French lai ("song, poem"), ultimately from a Germanic word meaning "play" or "melody" — related to "lake" in its old sense of "to play".

laic

Origin

From French laïque, from Latin lāicus (“common people”), from Ancient Greek λαός (laós). Doublet of lay.

laicist

Origin

From laic + -ist.

Laila

Arabic

A variant of Leila and Layla, from Arabic لَيْلَى (laylā), related to layla ("night").

lain

Old English

From Middle English, ultimately from Old English licgan ("to lie down").

lair

Old English

From Old English leger, meaning "bed" or "couch", related to the verb "lie" (to recline).

laird

Middle English

A Scots form of the word "lord", from Middle English laverd.

laissez-faire

French

From French laissez faire, "let (them) do" — from a longer phrase urging governments to leave commerce alone.

lait

Old Norse

From Old Norse leita ("to seek, search"), surviving mainly in northern English and Scots dialect.

laity

Origin

From Anglo-Norman laite, from Latin laitas, from Ancient Greek λαός (laós, “people”).

lake

Latin

From Old English lacu ("stream, pool"), blended over time with the unrelated Old French lac (from Latin lacus, "lake, basin") — two separate old words that merged into one modern spelling.

laker

Origin

From "lake" plus the agent suffix "-er".

lakeshore

Origin

A compound of "lake" and "shore".

lakeside

Origin

A compound of "lake" and "side".

Lakewood

Origin

A compound of "lake" and "wood".

lakh

Sanskrit

From Hindi/Urdu लाख / لاکھ (lākh), from Sanskrit lakṣa.

Lakota

Origin

From Lakota Lakȟóta, meaning "alliance of friends".

Lally

Irish

Two main origins: * Reduced form of Mullally, a surname of Irish origin. * Borrowed from French L'Ally or a variant of Laly.

lam

Old English · 1900

From Middle English lamen/lemen, going back to Old English and Old Norse roots meaning "to make lame" — the "beat" sense came first, and "flee" grew out of underworld slang in the early 1900s.

lama

Origin

Borrowed from Tibetan bla ma, meaning "superior" or "master."

Lamar

Old French

From Old French la mare, meaning "the pool."

Lamaze

French · 1940

Named after the French obstetrician Dr Ferdinand Lamaze, who developed the technique in the 1940s.

lamb

Old English

From Old English lamb, an ancient Germanic word shared across most northern European languages.