"L" Word Origins

loo

French

Origin uncertain; one popular theory links it to "gardyloo," a warning shouted in old Edinburgh before emptying chamber pots from windows, itself possibly from French gardez l'eau ("watch out for the water").

loofah

Arabic

Borrowed from Arabic lufa, the name of the plant.

look

Old English

From Old English locian ("to look, gaze"), of West Germanic origin with no certain relatives outside the Germanic languages.

lookalike

Origin

A compound of "look" and "alike."

lookee

Origin

Formed from look plus the suffix -ee, which marks the receiver of an action (as in "employee" or "trainee").

looker

Origin

From look plus the agent suffix -er, meaning "one who does the action."

looking

Old English

From Old English lōcung, the noun form of look, with the -ing ending that turns a verb into an action-noun.

lookit

Origin

A casual run-together spelling of "look at (it)", reinterpreted as its own word.

lookout

Origin

A compound of look and out, originally describing the act of "looking out" for danger.

looky

Origin

Believed to come from the old imperative "look ye!", with "ye" (an archaic form of "you") worn down into the -y ending.

loom

Old English

From Old English gelōma, "tool" or "utensil" — the weaving-machine sense developed later, and the "appear threateningly" sense of the verb grew from the idea of something bulky slowly coming into view.

Loomis

Origin

A variant form of the surname Lomax.

loon

Old Norse

From Old Norse lómr, likely imitating the bird's distinctive cry.

Looney

Irish

An anglicised form of the Irish surname Ó Luanaigh.

loong

Origin

Borrowed from Mandarin lóng ("dragon"); the spelling "loong" is used to keep it distinct from the English word "long."

loonie

Origin

From loon + -ie from the depiction of a loon on the reverse (tail-side) of the Canadian one-dollar coin.

loony

Origin

A shortened, informal version of "lunatic."

loop

Middle English

From Middle English loupe ("noose, loop"), likely tracing back to an Old Norse word for running or leaping, via the idea of a "running knot."

loophole

Middle English

From Middle English loupe ("opening in a wall") combined with hole; the legal/technical sense grew out of the idea of a narrow gap someone could slip through.

looping

Origin

Compare Dutch loopen (“to run”).

loopy

Origin

From loop plus the adjective-forming suffix -y.

loos

Latin

From Old French los, ultimately from Latin laus ("praise, glory"). It shares its root with the word "laud."

loose

Old Norse

From Old Norse lauss ("loose, free"), related to the suffix "-less" and to words like "lyse" and "-lysis" in modern English via a very old root meaning "to untie."

loosely

Middle English

From Middle English lously; equivalent to loose + -ly.

loosen

Origin

From loose plus the verb-forming suffix -en, meaning "to make loose."

looser

Origin

From loose plus the agent suffix -er.

loot

Hindi · 1900

Borrowed from Hindi lūṭ ("booty, plunder"); its casual use for "money" or "prizes" in general spread through American English in the 20th century.

lop

Middle English

From Middle English loppe ("bough"); the verb developed from the noun, describing the cutting-off of boughs.

lope

Middle English

From Middle English lopen, from Old Norse hlaupa ("to leap, run") — the same root that gives us "leap," making lope and leap word doublets.

loper

Origin

From lope (“to leap, to run”) + -er.

lopsided

Origin

From lop ("to hang loosely to one side") plus side and the adjective ending -ed.

lor

Cantonese

Borrowed from Cantonese and Hokkien particles used to express resignation.

Lora

Latin

As a technical term, an acronym of "low-rank adaptation." As a name, from Latin, related to Laura.

lorandite

Origin

? + -ite

lorazepam

Origin

The name combines "chlor-" (referring to a chlorine atom in its structure) with "-azepam," the ending used for drugs in the diazepam family.

lord

Old English

From Old English hlāford, a compound of hlāf ("bread, loaf") and weard ("guardian") — literally "the guardian of the bread," referring to the head of a household who ensured everyone was fed.

lordliness

Origin

From Middle English lordlines, lordlynes, lordlinesse, equivalent to lordly + -ness.

lordship

Old English

From Old English hlāfordsċiepe, formed from lord plus the suffix -ship (denoting status or condition).

Lordy

Origin · 1800

From "Lord" plus the informal ending -y; first recorded in 19th-century American English.

lore

Old English

From Old English lār, related to the verb "learn" — originally meaning teaching or instruction, before broadening to mean traditional or accumulated knowledge.

Lorelai

Origin

A respelling of Lorelei.

lorelei

German

From the Lorelei, a rock cliff on the Rhine river in Germany said in legend to be haunted by a siren who lured sailors to their deaths.

loreless

Origin

From lore + -less.

loremaster

Origin

From lore + master, possibly a learned borrowing from Middle English or calque of Middle English lore maistir (“teacher of knowledge”).

Lorena

Italian

From Italian and Spanish, linked by folk etymology to Laura; the well-known song "Lorena" was inspired by Poe's "Lenore."

Lorenz

Latin

Named after the German company C. Lorenz AG, which developed the landing-aid system; the surname itself comes from Latin Laurentius.

Lorenzo

Latin

From Latin Laurentius, the same root as English "Lawrence."

loreto

Origin

Borrowed from Spanish Loreto, ultimately from Latin laurus.