"L" Word Origins

luminiferous

Origin

From Latin lumen, lumin- (“light”, noun) + -ferous [from ferre (“to bear, carry”, verb) + -ous (suffix forming adjectives)].

luminol

Origin · 1934

The compound was first described in a 1934 chemistry paper; the informal verb usage developed decades later, popularized by crime shows.

luminous

Latin

Borrowed from Middle French lumineus, from Latin luminosus, "full of light."

lummox

Origin

Unknown. First attested in 1825 in East Anglian slang. Perhaps from "dumb ox", influenced by lumbering; or from or cognate to dialectal verb lummock (“move about heavily or clumsily”), itself a word of uncertain origin.

lump

Middle English

From Middle English lumpe, from a Germanic root related to words for something loose or hanging — compare German Lumpen, "rag."

lumper

Origin

From lump + -er.

lumpish

Origin

Partly: * from Late Middle English lumprissh, lumpryssh (“of a somewhat lumpy consistency”), from lumpe (“mass of material; excrescence, swelling; mass of people, crowd; useless person”) or lumpred (“piled up or twisted into lumps”) (both possibly related to Proto-Germanic *limpaną (“to glide; to go; to hang limply”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)lembʰ- (“to hang limply”)) + -ish (suffix forming adjectives with the sense ‘of the nature of; similar to; somewhat’); and * from lump (noun, verb) + -ish. Compare English lumber.

lumpy

Origin

From lump + the adjective-forming suffix -y.

luna

Latin

From Latin lūna, meaning "moon."

lunacy

Latin

From lunatic + the noun-forming suffix -cy; ultimately from Latin luna ("moon"), reflecting the old belief that madness waxed and waned with the moon.

lunar

Latin

From Latin lunaris ("of the moon"), from luna ("moon"), from a very old Indo-European root meaning "to shine."

lunatic

Late Latin

From Old French lunatique, from Late Latin lunaticus ("moonstruck"), from Latin luna ("moon") — reflecting the old superstition that changes in the moon triggered fits of madness.

lunch

Origin · 1580

First recorded in the 1580s meaning simply "a hunk of food," lunch likely comes from lump, in the same way hunch comes from hump. The word later merged in meaning with luncheon, and by the 1800s lunch had become the everyday term for a midday meal.

lunchbox

Origin

From lunch + box.

luncheon

Origin

Of uncertain origin, first recorded as lunching; it may derive from an early form related to lump, meaning a chunk of food, and is closely tied to lunch, though it isn't fully settled which word came first.

luncheonette

Origin

From luncheon + -ette.

lunchroom

Origin

From lunch + room.

lunchtime

Origin

From lunch + time.

lunchware

Origin

From lunch + -ware.

Lund

Old Norse

As a surname, from Old Norse "lundr," meaning "grove."

Lundgren

Swedish

Borrowed directly from the Swedish surname Lundgren.

Lundy

Old Norse

The island's name comes from Old Norse "lundi" ("puffin") plus "ey" ("island") — literally "puffin island."

lune

Latin

From Latin luna ("moon"), reflecting its crescent shape.

lung

Old English

From Old English lungen, related to an ancient root meaning "light" — lungs were named for how light they are (they float, being full of air), the same root that gives us the word "light."

lunge

Latin

From French allonge ("a lengthening, an extension"), ultimately from Latin longus ("long") — the same root that gives us "elongate."

lunged

Origin

From lung + -ed.

lunk

Origin

Clipping of lunkhead.

lunkheaded

Origin

From lunk + headed.

Luo

Origin

Borrowed from Luo, as an ethnic self-designation.

luopu

Origin

From the Mandarin Chinese pronunciation for 洛浦 (Luòpǔ).

lupe

Spanish

A shortened form of the Spanish given name Guadalupe.

lupin

Latin

From Latin lupinus ("of the wolf"), possibly because the plant was thought to "wolf" nutrients from the soil, or because of the fang-like shape inside its flower.

lupine

Origin

Borrowed from Latin lupīnus, from lupus (“wolf”) + -īnus (“pertaining to”). Doublet of lupin and piecewise doublet of wolven, Latin lupus being a cognate of wolf and -ine being a doublet of -en.

Lupo

Italian

From Italian "lupo," meaning "wolf."

lupus

Latin

Borrowed directly from Latin lupus ("wolf") — an old name reflecting the way certain skin lesions associated with the disease were once thought to resemble a wolf's bite.

lurch

French

Originally a nautical term describing a ship rolling violently in rough seas; its ultimate origin is unknown, though it may be linked to French lâcher ("to let go").

lure

Old French

From Old French loirre, from a Frankish word for the object used to call a hawk back in falconry — its root may connect to a very old word meaning "invitation."

lurid

Latin

From Latin luridus ("pale yellow, sallow"); the modern sense of "shockingly sensational" developed much later in English.

lurk

Middle English

From Middle English lurken, likely from an Old Norse root related to lour, meaning to lie in wait.

lurking

Origin

From the verb "lurk," meaning to wait in hiding or move stealthily.

lurksome

Origin

From lurk + -some.

lurky

Origin

From lurk + -y.

lurry

Origin

Shortened form of liripipe.

luscious

Origin

Probably an alteration of lustious, from lusty ("pleasant, delicious") + -ous; Shakespeare used both lush and lusty in similar senses.

lush

Old English

From Middle English lusch ("slack, limp"), from Old English roots meaning weak or feeble — the modern sense of "lush, green, and thriving" developed later.

lusitanian

Origin

From Lusitania + -an.

lust

Old English

From Old English lust ("desire, pleasure"), a Germanic word related to Dutch lust and German Lust, ultimately from a root meaning simply "pleasure."

luster

Latin

From Middle French lustre, from Old Italian lustrare ("to brighten"), from Latin lustro ("to purify, to brighten").