"L" Word Origins

league

Latin

From Old French ligue, ultimately from Latin ligare, "to tie" or "to bind" — the same root as "ligament."

Leah

Hebrew

From Hebrew לֵאָה (Le'a).

leak

Middle English

From Middle English leken, related to Old Norse leka ("to drip"), all going back to a Germanic root meaning "to leak or drain."

leakage

Origin

From leak plus the noun-forming suffix -age.

leaky

Origin

From leak plus the adjective suffix -y, describing something that tends to leak.

leal

Origin

Inherited from Middle English leel, lel, borrowed from Anglo-Norman leal and Old French leial, from Latin lēgālis. Doublet of loyal and legal.

lean

Old English

From Old English hlinian, "to lean or recline," from an ancient Germanic root related to the English word "climate" through a shared Indo-European origin meaning "to slope."

Leander

Latin

From Latin Leander, from Ancient Greek Λέανδρος (Léandros), from λεώς (leṓs) (Attic form of λᾱός (lāós, “people”)) + ἀνήρ (anḗr, “man”) + -ος (-os).

leaning

Origin

From lean plus -ing.

Leann

Origin

Variant of Leanne.

leansome

Origin

From lean (adjective) + -some.

leap

Old English

From Old English hlēapan, "to run or jump," an ancient Germanic word also related to "elope," "gallop," and "interlope."

leapfrog

Origin

A compound of leap and frog, describing the jumping motion of the children's game.

lear

Old English

From Old English lār, "lore" — the same root behind the modern words "learn" and "lore."

learn

Old English

From Old English leornian, going back to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "track" or "trail" — the idea of following a path to knowledge.

learned

Old English

Past participle of learn, from Old English lǣran, "to teach."

learnedness

Origin

From learned + -ness.

learner

Origin

From learn plus the agent suffix -er.

learning

Old English

From Old English leornung, from the same root as learn.

lease

Latin

From Old French lesser/laissier, "to let go" or "to allow," ultimately from Latin laxare, "to loosen" — the same root gives us the English word "lax."

leasehold

Origin

From lease + hold.

leaseholder

Origin

From lease + holder.

leash

Latin

From Old French lesse, related to Latin laxus, "loose," through the idea of a cord that can be loosened or tightened.

leasing

Old English

From Old English lēasung, "lying, deceit," unrelated to the modern rental sense of lease.

least

Old English

From Old English lǣst, related to "less," both ultimately from a Germanic word meaning "smallest."

leather

Old English

From Old English leþer, from an ancient Germanic word possibly borrowed from Celtic, ultimately tied to a very old Indo-European root.

leatherworker

Origin

From leather + worker.

leathery

Origin

From leather plus the adjective suffix -y.

leave

Old English

From Old English lǣfan, "to leave behind," related to an old Germanic root meaning "to remain" or "to stay."

Leavenworth

Origin

Probably a habitational surname from a lost or unidentified place in England.

leavings

Origin

Participial form of "leave".

Lebanese

Origin

From Lebanon plus the suffix -ese, used to form nationalities and languages.

Lebanon

Hebrew

From Biblical Hebrew ləḇānôn, likely related to the word for "white," probably describing the snow-capped peaks of Mount Lebanon.

Lebeau

French

From French Lebeau.

Leblanc

French

Borrowed from French Leblanc.

lech

Origin

A back-formation from "lecher" — people shortened the noun into a new, cruder verb and noun.

lechatelierite

Origin

From Henry Louis Le Chatelier, the French chemist

lecher

Old French

From Old French lecheor ("glutton, sensualist"), from lecher meaning "to lick" — ultimately from the same ancient root as the English word "lick."

lecherous

Old French

From Old French lecherous, tracing back to lecher, "to lick" — the same root that gives us "lecher."

lechery

Old French

From Old French lecherie, related to lecher ("lecher"); the whole word family traces to an old verb meaning "to lick."

Leclerc

French

Borrowed from French Leclerc.

lectern

Origin

15th century partial re-Latinization of early 14th century Middle English lettorne, lettron, from Old French leitrun, from Medieval Latin lectrinum, from Late Latin lectrum, from lectus (from whence also lecture), form of Latin legō (“to read”).

lectic

Origin

From Ancient Greek λέγω (légō) + -τικός (-tikós).

lecture

Latin

From Latin lectura, "a reading," from legere, "to read or recite" — lectures originally meant someone reading a text aloud to students.

lecturer

Origin

Formed from lecture plus the agent suffix -er, "one who does the action."

lede

Origin

A deliberate misspelling of lead, originally used in instructions given to printers to indicate which paragraphs constitute the lede, intended to avoid confusion with the word lead which may actually appear in the text of an article. Compare dek (“subhead”) (modified from deck) and hed (“headline”) (from head).

ledge

Old English

From Old English leċġ, "a bar or crossbeam," related to the verb "to lay" — a ledge was originally something laid across as a support.

ledger

Middle English

From Middle Dutch/Middle English legger, related to "lie" and "lay" — originally a large book that lay permanently in one place, like a church record.