"L" Word Origins

lorette

Origin

From French lorette.

Lori

Origin · 1900

In some cases a 20th-century spelling of Laurie (from Laura); in others, a short form of names like Loretta or Lorraine.

loring

Origin

Formed from lore plus the suffix -ing.

lorn

Origin

From Middle English lorn, loren, ilorn, iloren (past participle of lese, lesen (“to lose, be deprived of; to damn, doom to perdition”)), from Old English *loren, *ġeloren, from Proto-Germanic *galuzanaz, *luzanaz, past participle of Proto-Germanic *leusaną (“to lose”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lewH- (“to cut, sever; to separate; to loosen; to lose”). See further at lese.

Lorna

Origin · 1869

Coined by novelist R. D. Blackmore in 1869 for Lorna Doone, likely inspired by the Scottish place name Lorn.

Lorraine

Latin

From Old French Loherraine, from Latin Lotharingia, named after the medieval ruler Lothair II.

lorry

Origin · 1800

Origin uncertain — possibly from a dialectal English word meaning "to drag or lug," or from the personal name Laurie. First recorded in the 19th century.

los

Old English

From Old English lox, going back to a Proto-Germanic word for lynx; related to German Luchs and Dutch los.

lose

Old English

From Old English losian, meaning to perish or be lost. Its modern pronunciation was reshaped over time by confusion with the unrelated word "loose."

loser

Origin

Formed from lose plus the agent suffix -er, meaning "one who loses."

loss

Old English

From Old English los, meaning damage or destruction, tracing back to a Proto-Germanic root shared with the word "loose."

lost

Old English

The past participle of "lose", from Old English losod.

lot

Old English

From Old English hlot, meaning a portion, share, or object used to make a chance decision — the same root behind "lottery" and "lotto."

loteby

Origin

From Middle English loteby, equivalent to lote + by.

loth

Origin

From German Loth (obsolete), Lot, later also from Dutch lood, both specific usages of the word for ‘lead’. Doublet of lead.

lothario

Origin

Named after Lothario, a character in the play The Fair Penitent, a reference to a seducer of the same name in the metastory of the Quixote called The Impertinent Curious Man.

lothringia

Origin

From Lotharingia, named for Lothair II, who ruled it. Compare Lorraine, German Lothringen.

lotion

Latin

From Latin lotio, meaning "a washing," from the verb lavare, "to wash" — the same root as "lave."

lotte

French

Borrowed directly from French lotte, referring to the same fish.

lottery

Old English

From Italian lotteria, ultimately related to the Old English word "hlot," the ancestor of "lot."

Lottie

Origin

Diminutive + "-ie."

lotto

Italian

From Italian lotto; a doublet of the word "lot."

Lotus

Latin

Unadapted borrowing from Latin lōtus, from Ancient Greek λωτός (lōtós). Doublet of lote. First attested in the 1540s. Ultimately from Hebrew לוֹט (lōṭ, “myrrh”, literally “covering, envelope”).

Lou

Origin

A shortening of Louis/Louise.

loud

Latin

From Old English hlud, meaning "noisy" or "famous," ultimately from a root meaning "to hear" — the same root gives us "listen" and the Latin-derived word "laud" (praise).

loudly

Origin

Formed from loud plus the adverb suffix -ly.

loudmouth

Origin

A compound of loud and mouth, first used to describe someone who talks too freely or brashly.

loudness

Origin

From Middle English loudnesse, lowdenesse, from Old English hlūdnes, equivalent to loud + -ness.

Loudon

Origin

A variant of Louden.

loudspeaker

Origin

A compound of loud and speaker, referring to a speaker built specifically to produce sound at high volume.

Louella

Origin

From Lou + the diminutive suffix -ella.

lough

Origin

Borrowed from Irish loch (from Old Irish loch), from Proto-Celtic *loku (“lake, pool”), from Proto-Indo-European *lókus (“pond, pool”). Doublet of lay, loch, and Looe.

Louie

Origin

Diminutive + "-ie."

Louis

Old French

From Old French forms tracing back to Frankish Hlūdawīg ("loud, famous" + "battle"), the same root that gives English "Lewis," "Ludwig," and "Luigi."

Louise

French

The feminine form of French Louis.

Louisiana

French

From French Louisiane, named in honor of King Louis XIV.

Louisville

Origin

From "Louis" + "-ville," honoring King Louis XVI of France.

loukes

Origin

From the given name Luke.

lounge

French

Origin unclear, possibly linked to French s'allonger, "to stretch out or lie down."

loup

German

Borrowed from German Luppe, meaning "a lump of iron."

Lourdes

French

From French Lourdes; the given name comes from the Spanish epithet of the Virgin Mary, Nuestra Señora de Lourdes.

louse

Old English

From Old English lus, an ancient Germanic word for the insect, going back to Proto-Indo-European roots shared across many European languages.

lousy

Middle English

From Middle English lousy, literally "infested with lice," which broadened over time into a general insult meaning "bad" or "worthless."

lout

Old English

Likely from Old English lutan, "to bow or stoop," which shifted over time to describe a clumsy, uncouth person.

Louvre

French

Borrowed from French Louvre.

lovable

Origin

From love plus the suffix -able, "capable of being loved."

love

Old English

From Old English lufu, from a very old root shared across most European languages.

love language

English

A compound of love and language, popularised by relationship self-help writing in the late twentieth century.