"L" Word Origins

lambaste

Origin

First attested in 1637. Probably lam (“beat”) + baste (“beat”)

lambchop

Origin

From lamb + chop.

Lambda

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek λάμβδα (lámbda). Doublet of lamed.

lambdacism

Origin

Borrowed from Latin lambdacismus. By surface analysis lambda + -cism (phenomenon related to a specific phoneme).

lambent

Origin

From Latin lambēns, present participle of lambō (“lick”).

Lambert

Old French

From Old French Lambert, a saint's name brought to England by the Normans, ultimately from Germanic elements meaning "land" and "bright."

lambkin

Origin

From lamb + -kin.

lambodara

Origin

Borrowed from Sanskrit लम्बोदर (lambodara, “potbellied”); ultimately from लम्ब (lamba) + उदर (udara)

Lamborghini

Italian

Named after the Italian company Automobili Lamborghini, founded by Ferruccio Lamborghini, which began as a tractor manufacturer before moving into supercars.

lambskin

Origin

From lamb + skin.

lame

Old English

From Old English lama ("lame"), a Germanic word originally meaning "broken" or "weakened."

lament

Latin

A back-formation from "lamentation," or borrowed from Middle French lamenter and Latin lamentor, "to wail or weep."

lamentable

Latin

From Middle French lamentable, from Latin lamentabilis, "full of sorrow," from lamentor, "to lament."

lamentably

Origin

From Middle English lamentably, equivalent to lamentable + -ly.

lamentation

Origin

Recorded since 1375, from Middle English lamentacioun, from Middle French lamentation and its etymon Latin lāmentātiō (“wailing, moaning, weeping”), from the deponent verb lāmentor, from lāmentum (“wail; wailing”), itself from a Proto-Indo-European *leh₂- (“to howl”), presumed ultimately imitative. Replaced Old English cwiþan. By surface analysis, lament + -ation.

lamentful

Origin

From lament + -ful.

Lamia

Latin

From Latin lamia, borrowed from Greek Lamia, a mythological child-eating monster.

laminate

New Latin

From New Latin laminatus, from Latin lamina, "a thin sheet of metal or other material."

lamp

Latin

From Old French lampe, from Latin lampas, from Greek lampas ("torch, light"), ultimately from a root meaning "to shine."

lampoon

French

From French lampon, a name for a scurrilous satirical song, which entered English in the seventeenth century. The further origin of the French word is disputed.

lamppost

Origin

A compound of "lamp" and "post," describing exactly what it is.

lampshade

Origin · 2000

From "lamp" + "shade." The storytelling sense is a 21st-century coinage, referencing the idiom "hanging a lampshade on it" — making an awkward element more visible rather than less.

Lan

Origin

From Mandarin 嵐 /岚 (Lán).

lana

Russian

As a given name, either a shortened form of Alana or a diminutive of the Russian name Svetlana.

lanate

Origin

First attested in 1760; borrowed from Latin lānātus (“woolly”), from lāna, see -ate (adjective-forming suffix).

Lancashire

Origin

Named after the county of Lancashire in north-west England.

Lancaster

Old English

From Old English, "the Roman fort on the River Lune," from Lune plus ceaster ("town").

lance

Latin

From Old French lance, from Latin lancea, a word for a light spear.

Lancelot

Middle English

From Middle English Launcelot, from Old French Lancelot, from Frankish *Lanzo, hypocoristic form of names beginning in *Land-, from Proto-Germanic *landą (“land”), and diminutive Old French endings -el and -ot. Related to Old English Landbeorht (modern English Lambert).

lancer

French

Borrowed from French lancier, "one who carries a lance."

lancets

French

Plural of lancet, from Old French lancette, a diminutive of lance 'spear'.

Lancia

Italian

Named after Vincenzo Lancia, founder of the Italian car company.

lancinate

Origin

First attested in 1603; borrowed from Latin lancinātus, perfect passive participle of lancinō, see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Cognate with French lanciner.

land

Old English

From Old English land, an ancient Germanic word found in nearly identical form across Dutch, German, and the Scandinavian languages.

landau

German

Named after the German city of Landau, where the carriage design originated.

landed

Middle English

Inherited from Middle English londed, from Old English ġelandod. By surface analysis, land + -ed.

landen

Origin

Borrowed from Dutch Landen.

lander

Origin

From "land" (verb) + the agent suffix "-er."

landfall

Origin

From land + fall — literally the point where the sea "falls" away into land.

landfill

Origin

From land + fill, describing waste used to fill in land.

landing

Origin

Formed from land + the suffix -ing.

landlady

Origin

From land + lady, the female counterpart of landlord.

landline

Origin

From land + line — originally distinguishing cables laid across land from undersea telegraph cables.

landlord

Old English

From Old English landhlaford, from land + lord — originally meaning the lord who owned the land.

landlubber

Origin

Extension (with land) of earlier lubber. Compare also landloper.

landmark

Old English

From Old English landmearc, "boundary marker," from land + mark.

landmass

Origin

From land + mass.

Lando

Italian

Two main origins: * Borrowed from Italian Lando, a patronymic surname from a personal name of Germanic origin. * Borrowed from Hungarian Landó, a pet form of the personal name Lándor.