"L" Word Origins

loiter

Middle English

From Middle Dutch loteren ("to shake, wobble, dawdle"), via Middle English loitren. Related to the English word "lout."

LoJack

Origin

Originally a trademark for a system made by Spireon, it later became a generic term for any such device. The name plays on "hijack," swapping "hi" for its opposite, "lo."

loke

Origin

From Middle English loke, from Old English loca (“a bar, bolt; enclosure, stronghold”), from Proto-Germanic *lukô, *lukǭ (“lock, clasp, shutter, opening”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewg- (“to bend, turn”). Cognate with Icelandic loka (“clasp, latch, lock, bolt”). More at lock.

Loki

Old Norse

From Old Norse Loki, the name of the trickster figure in Norse mythology; its deeper origin is uncertain.

lol

Origin · 1989

An acronym for "laughing out loud," said to have been coined by a Canadian user named Wayne Pearson in the early-to-mid 1980s and first recorded in writing in 1989.

Lola

Spanish

From Spanish Lola, a pet form of the given name Dolores; in Filipino usage the word separately came to mean "grandmother."

loli

Origin

From Japanese ロリ (rori), itself from English lolita or a clipping of lolicon.

Lolita

Spanish · 1955

From the Spanish given name Lolita, a diminutive of Lola, itself short for Dolores. The word entered wider English use through Vladimir Nabokov's 1955 novel "Lolita."

loll

Origin

From Middle English lollen, lullen (“to lounge idly, hang loosely”), of uncertain origin; the Middle English Dictionary suggests a derivation from Middle Dutch lollen, lullen (“to doze; to mumble, talk nonsense”), though the words could merely be cognate. Compare modern Dutch lol (“fun”)), Icelandic lolla (“to act lazily”). See also lull.

lollies

Origin

Shortened form of lollipop pants, which was the standard form in Rhode Island at least through the mid 1980s. It is not known when the shortened form became the standard term.

lollipop

Origin · 1784

Likely formed from "loll" ("to hang loosely," as the tongue does) plus "pop," first recorded in 1784; possibly influenced by "lolly," an old word for the tongue or head.

lollop

Origin

Imitative. Compare loll.

lolly

Origin

A shortening of "lollipop."

lollygag

Origin

By surface analysis, lolly (“fool, tongue”) + gag (“fool around”). Compare lollypoop. Cited in American dialects from 1871 and attested since at least 1859.

lollygagger

Origin

Unknown.

lolo

Origin

See also Tagalog lolo.

Lomax

Middle English

From Northern Middle English Lumhalghes, meaning roughly "pool" + "corners" (of land).

Lombard

Late Latin

From Old French Lombard, ultimately from Late Latin Langobardus, from Germanic elements meaning "long" + "beard" (or possibly "axe").

Lombardi

Italian

From the Italian surname Lombardi.

Lombardo

Latin

From Latin Longobardus, the same root as Lombard.

Lompoc

Origin

From a Purisimeño word meaning "stagnant water."

Lon

Origin

Clipping of London.

Londo

Dutch

From a Dutch habitational surname referring to the Belgian place Longdoz.

London

Old English

From Old English Lunden, ultimately from the Roman name Londinium, whose deeper origin is uncertain but likely Celtic.

londongrad

Origin

From London + Russian град (grad, “town”), after placenames such as Leningrad and Kaliningrad.

lone

Origin

A shortened form of "alone."

loneliness

Origin

Formed from "lonely" plus the suffix "-ness."

lonely

Origin

From "lone" plus "-ly," or possibly a shortened form of "alonely."

loneness

Origin

From lone + -ness.

loner

Origin

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

lonesome

Origin · 1600

From "lone" plus "-some," dating to the mid-17th century.

long

Latin

From Old English long, lang ("long, tall, lasting"), from Proto-Germanic *langaz, ultimately from a very old Indo-European root also behind Latin longus.

longer

Middle English

From Middle English longer, longere, normalisation of Middle English lenger, lengere (“longer”), from Old English lengra (“longer”), from Proto-Germanic *langizô (“longer”), comparative of Proto-Germanic *langaz (“long”), equivalent to long + -er. Cognate with Saterland Frisian laanger (“longer”), West Frisian langer (“longer”), Dutch langer (“longer”), German länger (“longer”), Danish længere (“longer”), Swedish längre (“longer”), Icelandic lengri (“longer”).

longevity

Latin · 1600

A 17th-century learned borrowing from Latin longaevitas, from longaevus ("long-lived"), built from longus ("long") and aevum ("age, lifetime").

longevous

Origin

From Latin longaevus, from longus (“long”) + aevum (“age”).

Longfellow

Origin

From "long" + "fellow" — literally a nickname for a tall man.

longhand

Origin

From long + hand, by analogy with shorthand.

longhouse

Origin

From long + house. The sense of outhouse possibly derives from Whittington's Longhouse, a public toilet in medieval London, but first attested in a translation of a similar French expression.

longing

Old English

From Old English longung, langung ("longing, desire"), related to the verb "long" (to yearn).

longitude

Latin

From Old French longitude, from Latin longitudo ("length"), from longus ("long").

longitudinal

Origin

From Latin longitūdin- + -al, from oblique stem of Latin longitūdō, from longus + -tūdō. By surface analysis, longitude + -al.

longshoreman

Origin

From alongshoreman, from alongshore + -man.

longsome

Origin

From Middle English longsum, from Old English langsum (“long; taking a long time; lasting a long time; long-enduring; long-suffering”), from Proto-West Germanic *langasam (“lengthy; long-lasting; vast; extensive”), equivalent to long + -some.

longtime

Origin

A compound of "long" and "time."

longwave

Origin

From long + wave.

Longworth

Old English

From Old English "long" + "worth" (enclosure or homestead).

longy

Origin

From long + -y.

Lonnie

Origin

Diminutive + the familiar suffix "-ie."