# An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/L (full text)

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L.
Lab, neuter, rennet,’ from Middle High German lap(d), neuter, ‘rennet,’ also ‘acid fluid,’ Old High German lab, ‘broth’; it is not improbable, since the latter is the primary meaning, that the word is further cognate with Old Teutonic terms for ‘medicine.’ Gothic lubja, feminine, ‘poison,’ Anglo-Saxon lyb, ‘poison,’ Old Icelandic lyf, ‘medicine, Old High German luppi, neuter, ‘deadly juice.’ Note specially Middle High German kœseluppe, feminine, Old High German châsiluppa, Anglo-Saxon cŷs-lyb, equivalent to Middle High German kœ̂se-lap. The way in which Lab is related by gradation to lubja corresponds perhaps to that of High German Nase to Anglo-Saxon nosu, English nose. The primary meaning of the stem seems to be ‘strong, sharp perfume; plant juice’; Old Icelandic lyf, ‘medicine,’ and Gothic lubja, ‘poison,’ are differentiations of the same original sense.
Labberdan, masculine, ‘codfish,’ Modern High German only, from Low German; to this are allied, with remarkable divergences, Dutch labberdaan, earlier abberdaan and slabberdaan, and English haberdine, with the same sense. The word is based not on the name of the Scotch town Aberdeen, but on tractus Laburdanus, a part of the Basque country (Bayonne used to be called Laburdum, French Labourd), It must have been introduced into the Netherlands through a French medium; the form abberdaen is due to the error of regarding the initial l as the article. Compare also Kabliau.
laben, verb, ‘to refresh,’ from Middle High German laben, Old High German labôn (compare Anglo-Saxon gelafian), ‘to wash, quicken, refresh.’ If we take into consideration Tacitus' account of the fondness of the Teutons for bathing, we can readily conceive how the meaning ‘to refresh’ was evolved from ‘to wash’; the reverse course is also possible, as is shown perhaps by Modern High German sich erfrischen, sich stärken, in the sense of ‘to drink,’ The former is the more probable, on account of Middle High German lap (b), ‘bilge water’; there is, however, no connection with Latin lavare, Greek λούειν. —
Labe, feminine, ‘refreshment,’ from the equivalent Middle High German labe, Old High German laba, feminine.
Lache, feminine, from the equivalent Middle High German lache, Old High German lahha, feminine, ‘puddle, pool, water in an excavation.’ The Old High German word cannot be derived from Latin lăcus, ‘lake,’ which may, however, be the origin of Middle English and English lake, while Anglo-Saxon lagu, ‘lake,’ shows what form the Teutonic word cognate with the Latin term would assume. The attempt to connect Lache (Bavarian lacke) and lacus is also opposed by the difference in meaning; Italian lacca, ‘low ground,’ and Old Slovenian loky are German loan-words. The origin of Lache remains obscure; it is scarcely allied to leck and its cognates.
lachen, verb, ‘to laugh,’ from the equivalent Middle High German lachen, Old High German lahhên, lahhan, earlier hlahhan; the hk of the High German is due, according to Gothic hlahjan (preterite hlôh), ‘to laugh,’ to an older hj, Anglo-Saxon hlyhhan, English to laugh, and the equivalent Dutch lachen. In the non-Teutonic languages the stem hlah, pre-Teutonic klak (probably onomatopoetic, like the cognates of klingen or Lithuanian klegĕti, ‘to be noisy, laugh loudly’), is not positively authenticated. — Derivative Lache, feminine, ‘laugh,’ from Middle High German lache, feminine, ‘laughing,’ compare English laughter, Anglo-Saxon hleahtor, Middle High German lahter, ‘laughter.’ Lächeln, verb ‘to smile,’ from Middle High German lęcheln, is a frequentative of lachen.
Lachs, masculine, ‘salmon,’ from the equivalent Middle High German lahs (plural lęhse), Old High German lahs; corresponding to Anglo-Saxon leax, Old Icelandic lax, Scotch lax; a common and primary Teutonic term for ‘salmon’; in Gothic perhaps *lahs. The Slavonic and Lithuanian words are cognate; Lithuanian lasziszà, Lettic lasis, Russian lososŭ, ‘salmon trout,’ Polish lasóš, ‘salmon.’ Hence the s in Old High German lahs is a suffix (compare Fuchs), and not a part of the root.
Lachter, neuter and feminine, ‘fathom,’ from the equivalent Middle High German lâhter, lâfter (Middle German); its early history is obscure; the stem is not the same as in Klafter,
Lade, feminine, ‘chest, box, press,’ from Middle High German lade (Old High German *lada, *hlada?), feminine, ‘receptacle, chest’; Lade is properly an ‘arrangement for loading’; the corresponding Old Icelandic hlaþa means ‘barn, storehouse,’ so too Middle English laþe, whence English lathe. For further references compare the verb laden. It is also probable that Lade is connected with the following substantive Laden; in that case the primary meaning would be ‘trunk made of boards.’
Laden, masculine, ‘shop, shutter,’ from Middle High German laden, lade, masculine, ‘board, plank, shutter, shop.’ The meaning of Middle High German lade, ‘board,’ is the originally one, hence the derivation of the word from the verb laden must be rejected in favour of its connection with Modern High German Latte; since the latter in Gothic ​would be represented by *laþþô, and Lade by *laþa, we might assume a root laþ, pre-Teutonic lat, meaning ‘board’; compare Latte.
laden (1.), verb, ‘to load, charge, burden,’ from the equivalent Middle High German laden, Old High German ladan (earlier hladan); corresponding to Gothic hlaþan, Anglo-Saxon hladan, English to lade. The d of the Anglo-Saxon word compared with the þ of the Gothic and d of the High German is abnormal; the irregularity is probably on the side of the Gothic and Old High German, which produced a grammatical change as though the Aryan dental were t. In fact, however, it is dh (hladan, hlôd, hlôdum, hladans, not hlaþan, hlôþ, hlôdum, hladans); compare Old Slovenian kladą (klasti), ‘to lay,’ which, with English to lade, proves the existence of an Aryan root kladh. Compare Last and Lade.
laden (2.), verb, ‘to summon, invite,’ from the equivalent Middle High German laden, Old High German ladôn; distinguished from laden (1) by the initial sound; laden, ‘onerare,’ had originally initial hl, while laden, ‘invitare,’ has always had a simple l only; Gothic laþôn, ‘to summon,’ Anglo-Saxon laþian (obsolete in English). The Teutonic root is laþ, the meaning of which is indicated by Gothic laþôns, feminine, ‘calling, consolation, redemption,’ the adverb laþaleikô, ‘very willingly,’ and Modern High German Luder. Some such idea as ‘to treat affectionately, beg,’ must be regarded as the original sense; a root lat with this meaning has not yet been found in the other Aryan languages. Further, the word cannot possibly be connected with Greek καλεῖν, κλη-τός, &c., to which Modern High German holen more probably belongs.
Laffe, masculine, ‘puppy, dandy,’ from Middle High German lape, lappe, masculine, ‘simpleton, dandy.’ The relation of Modern High German Lump to Lumpen makes the existence of Middle High German lappe, ‘dandy,’ as well as *lappe, ‘rags,’ conceivable; yet the Modern High German form has ff compared with the Middle High German pp; compare läppich. Others refer Laffe to Dutch and Low German laf, ‘stale, insipid.’
Lage, (illegible text)., ‘situation,’ from Middle High German lâge, Old High German lâga, feminine, ‘putting, arranging, situation’; from liegen. So too Modern High German Lager, neuter (properly Leger), from Middle High German lëger, Old High German lëgar, masculine, ‘camp’; compare English lair.
Lägel, see Legel.
lahm, adjective, ‘lame,’ from Middle High German and Old High German lam (genitive lames), ‘weak in the limbs, lame.’ The more general meaning, ‘weak in the limbs,’ is the originally one, since an adjective with a different gradation belonging to the same stem — Old High German luomi, MidHigh German lüeme — signifies ‘wearied, relaxed,’ and even ‘gentle.’ Yet Old Icelandic lame, Anglo-Saxon lama, English lame, Old Saxon lamo, and Dutch lam, ‘lame,’ show that the prevalent Modern High German meaning is primitive (in Gothic halts, Anglo-Saxon halt, equivalent to Latin claudus, Sanscrit khoḍa). An old lama-, ‘weak, infirm’ (from which Provençal lam is borrowed), suggests Old Slovenian lomlją (lomiti), ‘to break’ (root lam); Russian lomóta, ‘rheumatic pains.’ Compare also Scandinavian lemja, ‘to lame, disable.’
Lahn, masculine, ‘tinsel,’ Modern High German only, from F. lame, feminine, ‘thin metal plate, wire.’
Laib, masculine, ‘loaf,’ from Middle High German and Old High German leip (b), masculine (early Old High German hleib), ‘bread.’ It is the earlier Teutonic term for the modern Brot, which is unknown to Gothic, and almost so to Anglo-Saxon. Compare Gothic hlaifs (genitive hlaibis), Anglo-Saxon hlâf, English loaf; to these Gothic gahlaiba and Old High German gileibo, masculine, ‘companion,’ are allied; compare Kumpan. English lord, from Anglo-Saxon hlâford (Gothic *hlaibwards), ‘lord,’ literally ‘bread guardian,’ as well as English lady, from Anglo-Saxon hlœ̂fdige, ‘domina’ (literally ‘bread distributor’), contains High German Laib in the compound; compare English Lammas (Aug. 1), from Anglo-Saxon hlafmœsse, ‘bread-feast as a sort of harvest thanksgiving festival.’ These primitively compounds prove the great antiquity of Laib and the more recent origin of Brot. Slavonic borrowed its chlěbŭ, ‘bread’ (whence Lithuanian klëpas, Lettic klaipas, ‘bread’), from an Old Teutonic dialect (the Old Teutonic word being also found in Finnish and Esthonian — Finnish leipä, Esthonian leip, ‘bread’). See Lebkuchen.
Laich, masculine, and neuter, ‘spawn,’ doubtlessly a primary word, though first recorded in late Middle High German; corresponding to Middle Low German lêk, Swedish lek, Danish leeg. The Gothic form is perhaps *laik, and thus the connection of Laich with Teutonic-Gothic laikan, ‘to leap,’ is conceivable. Dialectically Laich signifies ‘lusus venereus’ (compare Leich).
Laie, masculine, ‘layman, novice,’ from the equivalent Middle High German leie, leige, Old High German leigo, leijo, masculine, ‘laïcus,’ (It is based on a Romanised Latin laïcus, whence also Anglo-Saxon lœwed, ‘layman,’ English lewd). The word was probably borrowed at a later period than the other ecclesiastical terms Priester and Probst.
Laken, masculine and neuter, ‘sheet, shroud,’ Modern High German only, from Low German (Old Low German lakan); in High German properly Lachen, Middle High German lachen, Old High German lahhan. Westphalia sent a great deal of linen (compare Linnen) to South Germany, hence the Low German may have supplanted the High German form. Allied to Middle English lake and Modern High German Leilach.
​ Lakritze, feminine, ‘licorice,’ from the equivalent late Middle High German lakerítze; from Middle Latin liquirítia (the a in the first syllable of the German word is due to the unaccented i), equivalent to Greek γλυκύρριζα (with the modern pronunciation of the vowels). Words originally Greek and used by medical science in the Middle Ages are preserved in Arzt, Büchse, Pflaster, Latwerge, &c.
lallen, verb, ‘to stammer,’ from Middle High German ‘to speak indistinctly, stammer’; the corresponding Old Icelandic lalla, ‘to totter like a child walking,’ shows a curious figurative application of the word. Greek λαλεῖν, Latin lallâre, and High German lallen are scarcely cognate; they are rather independent imitative words separately coined in each language.
Lambertsnuß, feminine, ‘filbert,’ instinctively connected by Germans with St. Lambert, but the historic term is lombardische Nuß, ‘Lombard nut’; Middle High German Lambardîe, Lombardîe, and Lámpart,’ ‘Lombardy, Italy.’ Compare Walnuß.
Lamm, neuter, ‘lamb,’ from the equivalent Middle High German lamp (plural lember), Old High German lamb (plural lęmbir), neuter. It corresponds to Gothic lamb, Anglo-Saxon lomb, English lamb, Dutch lam, ‘lamb’; a primary Teutonic term which passed also into Finnish (lammas, genitive lampaan). Cognates in the non-Teutonic languages have not yet been found.
Lampe, feminine, ‘lamp,’ from the equivalent Middle High German lampe, feminine, which is formed from French lampe (Greek λαμπάξ), whence also English lamp. Compare Ampel. —
Lampe, masculine, ‘hare,’ is probably a pet term for Lamprecht, Lantbrecht, Lambert; its relation to French lapin, Dutch lamprei, ‘rabbit,’ is obscure.
Lamprete, ‘lamprey,’ from Middle High German lamprête, also corrupted into lemfride, lantfride, &c. Old High German (lamprêta, formed from Latin lamprêda (whence French lamproie, English lamprey), with the variant lampetra, literally ‘stone-licker.’
Land, neuter, ‘land, country,’ from the equivalent Middle High German lant (d), Old High German lant (t), neuter; a common Teutonic word; compare Gothic land, ‘district, estate, native country,’ Old Icelandic, Anglo-Saxon, English, Dutch, and Old Saxon land, ‘country, land.’ To these are primary allied Irish land, lann, Welsh llan, Corn lan (from the primitive form *landhâ), ‘open space, area, small enclosure, yard,’ Breton lan, ‘heath,’ as well as Old Slovenian lędina, ‘heath, uncultivated land’ (Russian ljada, ljadina), with which Swedish dialectic linda, ‘fallow field,’ agrees in the vowel sounds. Hence Land is native to the North of Europe, while Acker has a far wider diffusion. The Romance cognates, Italian landa and French lande, ‘heath, plain,’ are derived from Keltic rather than from Teutonic.
lang, adjective, ‘long,’ from the equivalent Middle High German lanc (g), Old High German (and Old Saxon) lang; it corresponds to Anglo-Saxon and English long, Gothic laggs, Old Icelandic langr, Dutch and Low German lang. A common Teutonic adjective primitively allied to Latin longus; it also cognates, perhaps, with Old Persian drânga, so that in Latin and Teutonic a dental (d or dh) may have been lost; Greek δολιχός, Old Slovenian dlŭgŭ, Sanscrit dîrghás, ‘long,’ are certainly not allied. —
Modern High German langsam, adjective, ‘slow,’ is one of the earliest forms ending in sam (in Gothic only lustusams, ‘delightful, longed for’); Anglo-Saxon longsum, ‘tedious, continuous,’ Old Saxon langsam. In Old High German, besides langsam, ‘lasting a long time,’ there exists a form langseimi, ‘lingering,’ and in Middle High German lancsam, adjective and adverb, ‘slow,’ as well as lancseime, ‘lingering, slow’; in Modern High German langseim became obsolete, and its meaning has been transferred to langsam.
Lanze, feminine, ‘lance,’ from the equivalent Middle High German lanze, feminine, which was formed from Old French lance (Latin lancea, compare Italian lancia).
Lappalie, feminine, ‘trifle, bauble, nonsense,’ Modern High German only, from Modern High German Lappe, with a Latin termination and accent; compare Schmieralien.
Lappen, Lappe, masculine, ‘rag, patch,’ from Middle High German lappe, feminine and masculine; Old High German lappa, feminine, ‘piece of stuff hanging loose, rag’; compare Anglo-Saxon lœppa, ‘hem, lappet,’ English lap, and Dutch lap. The irregular correspondence of Anglo-Saxon pp to High German pp is obscure (Anglo-Saxon pp ought to be pf in High German). We may compare Greek λοβός, ‘lobe,’ or preferably Lithuanian lópas, ‘patch, rag,’ lópyti, ‘to patch.’
läppisch, adjective, ‘silly, foolish,’ Modern High German only, allied to Middle High German lappe, ‘dandy, simpleton,’ which is preserved in earlier High German, and still in the dialectic Lappe; compare Laffe.
Lärche, feminine, ‘larch,’ from the equivalent Middle High German lęrche, larche; Old High German *larihha is by chance not recorded, but Latin larix (accusative larĭcem, compare Kelch from Latin calicem) necessarily leads to Old High German *larik, and then by permutation and mutation to *lęrihha. The permutation of k to ch, and the fact that the word is based on a Latin term pronounced larikem (English larch), point to a very early adoption; compare Kelch.
Lärm, masculine, ‘alarm, noise,’ Modern High German only; like English larum, it originated in French ​alarme (from Italian allarme) by dropping the unaccented initial vowel; properly a military term identical with Alarm.
Larve, feminine, ‘spectre mask, larva, grub,’ Modern High German only, from Latin larva, with the v pronounced as f, as in High German Brief, Käfig, and Vers.
lasch, adjective, ‘slack,’ from Middle High German and Old High German *lasc; compare Old Icelandic lǫskr (Gothic *lasqs-), adjective, ‘slack, weary’; formed with a suffix sk from the root laß, lassen (Gothic *lasqa- would represent *latsqa-). Yet it is not improbable, since lasch is first recorded in Modern High German, that the root was borrowed from a Romance class similar in sound (compare French lâche, Italian lasco,‘idle’).
Lasche, feminine, ‘flap, lappet,’ from Middle High German lasche, feminine, ‘shred, rag’; it is conceivable that the word is related to Lappe, whose labial may have been lost before sch; hence Old High German *laska for *lafska?.
Lase, feminine, ‘pitcher, can,’ a Middle High German word, not recorded in Old High German and Middle High German; probably connected with lassen.
lassen, verb, ‘to let, leave,’ from the equivalent Middle High German lâȥen, Old High German lâȥȥan, strong verb; compare Anglo-Saxon lœ̂tan, English to let, Dutch laten, Old Icelandic láta, Gothic lêtan; the pre-Teutonic form of the common Teutonic root lêt, ‘to leave,’ is lêd (with lad as a weaker gradation, compare laß). The only certain cognate in the other Aryan languages is the Latin word lassus, ‘faint, languid,’ quoted under laß; hence ‘to relax, release,’ is probably the primary meaning of the verbal stem. From this, Middle High German lâȥen, both simply and in compounds, evolved the meanings ‘to set free, omit, leave behind,’ &c., as in Modern High German.
Last, feminine (Upper German masculine), from the equivalent Middle High German and Middle Low German last, feminine and masculine, ‘burden,’ Old High German last (earlier hlast); allied to laden Gothic hlaþan); the st is a suffix before which the final dental of the verbal stem hlaþ necessarily disappeared, Anglo-Saxon hlœst, neuter English last. In Scandinavian an old to- participle assumed the meaning ‘waggon-load,’ hlass, neuter (for *hlaþto-). The German word passed into Romance (French lest, masculine, ‘ballast,’ laste, masculine, Italian lasto, ‘load of shipping’). For further references compare laden.
Laster, neuter, ‘vice, crime,’ from Middle High German and Middle Low German laster, neuter, ‘abuse, disgrace, mistake,’ Old High German lastar, neuter. It is connected with a strong verb lahan (for the loss of h before s compare Mist) preserved in Old High German, equivalent to Anglo-Saxon leán, ‘to blame.’ Pre-Teutonic lahstra- is formed from the verbal stem lah with the suffix stra-, which represents the earlier form tra seen in Anglo-Saxon leahtor, neuter, ‘reproach, sin’ (obsolete in English). Another derivative from the same stem is seen in Scandinavian lǫstr (Gothic *lahstus), Middle English last, ‘mistake, defect.’ In the non-Teutonic languages the word may be compared with Old Irish locht (from lokto-), ‘mistake.’
laß, adjective, ‘inactive, idle,’ from Middle High German laȥ (ȥȥ), ‘faint, idle, tardy’ (see letzen); it corresponds to Gothic lats, Old Icelandic latr, Anglo-Saxon lœt, Middle Low German lat, adjective, ‘sluggish, idle, lazy.’ A pre-Teutonic adjective formed by gradation from the stem of lassen, lêt, of which lăt- is the weak form (see schlaff, Old High German slăf, from the root slêp). The close correspondence with Latin lassus may be accounted for historically; lassus is an old participle for *ladtus; lad is the pre-Teutonic root on which Modern High German laß is based; compare lasch, lassen, and letzt. The assumption, however, that High German laß was borrowed from the Romance cognates (Italian lasso, French las, Latin lassus) is inconceivable.
lateinisch, adjective, ‘Latin,’ with the foreign accent, in contrast to the English term. The diphthong of the second syllable proves that the adjective was naturalized previous to Modern High German Middle High German latînisch, Old High German latînisc, which was adopted in the Old High German period, as is proved by the non-permutation of t (latînus) to High German ȥȥ, was used chiefly in the monastic schools, in which Latin was cultivated as the language of the Church.
Laterne, feminine, ‘lantern,’ from the equivalent Middle High German latërne (lantërne), feminine; borrowed with the retention of the foreign accent from Latin laterna (French lanterne, English lantern).
Latte, feminine, ‘lath,’ from the equivalent Middle High German late, latte, Old High German latta, feminine; it corresponds to Dutch lat, Anglo-Saxon lœtta (lœþþa?), Middle English laþþe, English lath; a difficult word both grammatically and etymologically. The correspondence of tt in Anglo-Saxon lœtta and Old High German latta is abnormal (Anglo-Saxon tt ought to be High German tz, only Anglo-Saxon þþ corresponds to a High German tt). Unfortunately a corresponding word is wanting both in Scandinavian and Gothic. Yet there is no need to regard the cognates as foreign; since Modern High German Laden is cognate, the Teutonic origin of the word is established. Hence from High German Latte an allied Romance class has been rightly derived — French latte, Italian latta, ‘flat wooden pole.’ To the Teutonic cognates Irish slath (Breton laz), ‘rod, pole,’ from the base slattâ, is primitively akin.
Lattich, masculine, ‘lettuce,’ from the equivalent ​Middle High German lattech, latech, lateche, Old High German lattuh (latohha), borrowed in the Old High German period from Latin lactū̆ca through the intermediate forms lattū̆ca, láttuca; compare Anglo-Saxon leahtric, ‘lactuca’ (compare Attich from Latin acte). — In Huflattich, ‘colt’s foot,’ Lattich represents Latin lapatium (Middle High German huoflęteche, Old High German huoflętihha), or more correctly Middle Latin lapatica (intermediate forms lápatica, láptica, lattica).
Latwerge, ‘electuary, confection,’ from the equivalent Middle High German latwërge, laiwêrje, latwârje, feminine; the t as in Lattich represents ct (assimilated tt); lactuárium has a in the unaccented first syllable for e, as in Lafritze. This foreign term is based on the equivalent Middle Latin electuarium, which sometimes in Middle High German preserves its primary form, electuârje, lectquerje. The Middle Latin word, which originated in Greek ἐκλεικτόν, ἔκλειγμα, ‘medicine that dissolves in the mouth,’ belongs to the medical art of the Middle Ages, which was learned from the Greeks (compare also Lafrige, Büchse, Arzt, &c.), and was introduced into German through a Romance medium — Italian lattovaro, French électuaire (whence English electuary).
Latz, masculine, ‘stomacher, bodice,’ first occurs in early Modern High German from Romance (French lacet, masculine, ‘lace, stay-lace,’ whence English lace; Italian laccio, ‘cord’; the primary word is Latin laqueus, ‘noose, snare’).
lau, adjective, ‘lukewarm, tepid,’ from the equivalent Middle High German lâ (inflected lâwêr), Old High German lâo (inflected; probably for an earlier *hlâo (Gothic *hlêws); compare Old Icelandic hlýr, ‘warm, mild,’ Dutch lauw. In the non-Teutonic languages indubitable cognates are wanting, yet the Romance cognates of flau (French flou) are derived from Old German.
Laub, neuter, ‘foliage,’ from the equivalent Middle High German loup(b), Old High German loub, masculine and neuter; a primitive and common Teutonic term; compare Gothic laufs (plural laubôs), masculine, Anglo-Saxon leáf, neuter, English leaf, Dutch loof. Some connect the word with Lithuanian lápas, ‘leaf,’ which, however, compared with the diphthong of the Teutonic word has an abnormal a (compare Haupt with Latin caput); Greek λέπος, ‘scale, rind,’ is even less akin.
Laube, feminine, ‘arbour, bower,’ from Middle High German loube (löube), feminine, ‘porch, market, court of justice, gallery round the upper storey of a house,’ Old High German louba (louppea), feminine, ‘penthouse, hall, front building’ (the mutated läube is met with in Middle German dialects; compare Low German löve). The Old Icelandic lopt, ‘upper storey, balcony’ (whence English loft), is probably connected with this word. The Modern High German meaning, ‘arbour,’ wanting in Middle High German and Old High German, is due to the term being popularly connected with Laub. The Old High German word passed in the form of Middle Latin into Romance (Italian loggia, French loge, ‘hut, tent, tier of boxes’).
Lauch, masculine, ‘leek, garlic,’ from. the equivalent Middle High German louch, Old High German louh(hh), masculine; compare the corresponding Old Icelandic laukr, Dutch look, Anglo-Saxon leác, English leek, with which lic in garlic is connected; a primitive and common Teutonic word, which was adopted in Finnish as laukka and in Old Slovenian as lukŭ. Like most of the old names of plants and animals, it is of obscure origin. Greek λύγος, ‘a pliant rod or twig for wicker-work, willow-like tree,’ cannot be allied on account of its meaning. Perhaps Old Irish luss, ‘herb, plant’ (from *luksu-), is a cognate.
Lauer, masculine, ‘tart wine.’ “It is derived from Latin lôra, which denotes the tart wine that is made from the skins and stones of grapes by pouring water on them” (Lessing). Even in Old High German lûra, Middle High German lûre, feminine (Old High German lûrra, Middle High German liure, from the primary form *lôrea, appears in the equivalent Suabian leier; to this Swiss glöri from Old High German glûrra is allied?). As to the period of the introduction of Italian vine-culture into Germany, compare Wein, Winzer, Keller, Kelch, and Most. Latin lôrea is also indicated by Italian loja, ‘dirt.’
lauern, verb, ‘to lie in wait,’ from the equivalent late Middle High German lûren, weak verb; it corresponds to Scandinavian lúra, ‘to slumber,’ Middle English lûren, English to lower, lour. Compare further Middle English lurken (for lûr ken), English to lurk, which seems the primary meaning of the German and Scandinavian word. “To the German term is traced French lorgner, ‘to leer, ogle,’ from which the foreign words French lorgnon, lorgnette, were introduced into German”
Läufel, Lauft, ‘shell’ (especially nutshell), a Hessian and Franconian word, corresponding to Old High German louft, ‘nutshell, bark of trees.’ Prim. cognate with Lithuanian lupinai, ‘peel, skins of fruit’ (lùpti, ‘to skin, peel’), Polish lupina, ‘husk,’
laufen, verb, ‘to run,’ from the equivalent Middle High German loufen, Old High German louffun, strong verb; from an earlier hlauffan, equivalent to Gothic hlaupan, ‘to run.’ It corresponds to Anglo-Saxon hleápan, strong verb, ‘to run, leap, dance,’ English to leap, Dutch loopen, Old Icelandic hlaupa; a specifically Teutonic word common to all the dialects. For the primary meaning we have absolutely ​no clue (Greek κραιπνός, ‘swift,’ is not allied to Gothic hlaupan, which may be preferably compared with Lithuanian klupti, ‘to stumble’). The Teutonic root hlaup has a collateral form hlŭp, by gradation hlŏp (Middle High German and Modern High German dialectic geloffen, participle), of which a variant hlaubt appears in Swiss lôpen, ‘to run’ (compare hüpfen, Bavarian hoppen). Modern High German Lauft, plural Läufte, masculine, from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German louft, masculine, ‘course (of time),’ (Middle High German plural löufte, ‘conjunctures’).
Lauge, feminine, ‘lye,’ from the equivalent Middle High German louge, Old High German louga, feminine; corresponding to Middle Low German lôge, Dutch loog, Anglo-Saxon leáh, and the equivalent English lye. In Old Icelandic laug, feminine, means ‘warm bath’ (preserved in Modern Icelandic in numerous proper names, and signifying ‘hot spring’). Perhaps this Teutonic word for ‘warm bath’ is connected with the Aryan root, low, lu, ‘to bathe’ (compare Latin lavâre), like the equivalent Swedish lut, of which an extended Aryan luk, equivalent to Teutonic luh, ‘to wash,’ may appear in Old High German luhhen, ‘to wash,’ Suabian lichen, North Franconian and Henneberg lüen, ‘to rinse washed linen.’ The High German word occurs in the Slavonic languages as lug, ‘lye.’
läugnen, verb, ‘to contradict, deny,’ from the equivalent Middle High German löugenen, lougenen, lougen, Old Low German louginen, lougnen, weak verb; corresponding to Old Saxon lôgnian, Anglo-Saxon lêhnan, lŷgnan, Gothic laugnjan, weak verb, ‘to deny’; Old Icelandic leyna, ‘to conceal’ (Gothic galaugnjan, ‘to be concealed’), with the loss of a g before the n. A common Teutonic weak verb with the meaning ‘to deny’; it is a derivative of an Old High German noun lougna, feminine, ‘denial’ (Old Icelandic laun), which is formed by gradation from the stem of lügen (root lug). Compare lügen.
Laune, feminine, ‘humour, freak,’ from Middle High German lûne, feminine, ‘humour, mood’; the Modern High German word also signifies ‘phase of the moon, quarter of the moon, change of fortune.’ This series of meanings shows that the word is based on Latin lûna, and that the astrology of the Middle Ages in its attempt to read the fortunes of men by the stars determined the different significations. Italian luna, French les lunes, English lunatic, lunacy, lune, all referring to mental states, give evidence of the belief that the moon influenced the moods of men.
Laus, feminine, ‘louse,’ from the equivalent Middle High German, Middle Low German, and Old High German lûs, feminine; corresponding to Anglo-Saxon lûs, English louse, Scandinavian lús (plural lýss), Dutch luis, ‘louse.’ The word is common to Teutonic, occurring evelywhere in the same sense. The usual derivation of Laus from the stem of verlieren, Ver-lus-t, lose, löse (root lus), although supported by the analogy of Greek φθείρ, ‘louse,’ from φθείρω, is dubious, since Middle High German verliesen (properly ‘to lose’) does not occur at an early period in the sense of ‘to spoil.’ Neither is the derivation from the Teutonic root lū̆t, ‘to hide oneself’ (Old High German lûȥȥên, see lauschen), certain.
lauschen, verb, from the equivalent Middle High German (rare) and Middle Low German lûschen, weak verb, ‘to listen, lurk’; the meaning points to the oft-recurring Old Teutonic stem hlū̆s, ‘to hear,’ so that *hlûskan for *hlûs-skai-, with a derivative sk-, may be assumed. Compare Old High German hlosên, Middle High German losen, ‘to listen to, hearken,’ Old Icelandic hlus-t, ‘ear.’ English has preserved the cognates in Anglo-Saxon hlyst, feminine, ‘hearing,’ hlystan, ‘to listen or hearken to,’ English to list, listen; Old High German lûs-trên, Middle High German lū̆stren, Suabian and Bavarian laustern, ‘to hearken,’ Middle High German lusemen, lüsenen, ‘to hearken.’ The Old Teutonic verbal stem hlus, authenticated by this group, from pre-Teutonic klus, has cognate terms in Indian and Slavonic; Indian crušṭís, feminine, ‘hearing, obedience’; Old Slovenian slyšati, ‘to hear,’ sluchŭ, masculine, ‘hearing,’ Lithuanian klausà, feminine, ‘obedience,’ paklùsti, ‘to obey,’ klausýti, ‘to hear.’ To this root klus, ‘to hear,’ a shortened form klu is allied; compare laut and Leumund. Modern High German lauschen also seems to be connected in a subsidiary manner with Middle High German lôschen, Old High German lôscên, ‘to be hidden, concealed.’ Compare Middle Dutch luuschen, ‘to be concealed,’ allied to the equivalent Old High German lûȥȥên (Bavarian laußen, ‘to lie in ambush,’ still exists).
laut, adjective, ‘loud,’ from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German lût (for an earlier hlût, Gothic *hlûda-); a common Teutonic adjective (compare Dutch luid, Anglo-Saxon hlûd, English loud), which, like falt, alt, tot, gewiß, traut, zart, -haft, kund, satt, wund, was originally an old participle in to (Latin tus, Greek τος, Indian tas). The meaning of *klû-dâ-s, pre-Teutonic klû-tó-s, from the root klū̆, ‘to hear,’ is literally ‘audible, heard.’ Another shade of meaning was assumed by the Aryan participle in the cognate languages — Sanscrit çrutás, Greek κλυτός, Latin inclŭtus, ‘famous.’ In Teutonic also there are traces of the short vowel (hlŭda-), especially in proper names, Ludwig, Lothar, Ludolf, Chlothilde, &c. Moreover, the root klū̆ (Greek κλύω, ‘I hear,’ κλέος, ‘fame’; Indian çrávas, ‘fame’; Old Slovenian sluti, ‘to be called,’ slovo for *slevo, ‘word’; Latin cluo, clueo, ‘to hear oneself ​called’) is also widely diffused in Old Teutonic; Gothic hliuma, ‘hearing, ear,’ Old Icelandic hljómr, Anglo-Saxon hleóþor, ‘tone, voice, melody. Compare lauschen and Leumund.
Laut, masculine, ‘sound,’ from Middle High German lût, masculine, ‘sound, tone, voice, cry.’ — laut, preposition with genitive, is a form of the substantive; literally ‘according to the sound of, &c.; Middle High German nâch lût, e.g. der briefe, ‘according to the letters,’ nâch lût des artikels, ‘according to the article,’ then also simply lût des artikels. Originally used only of the contents of documents read out.
Laute, feminine, ‘lute,’ from the equivalent late Middle High German lûte, feminine, which is derived from French luth; compare Old French leút, Italian liúto, the origin of which from Arabic al'ûd, ‘musical instrument,’ is accepted; hence the connection between Laute and Laut or Lied must be rejected.
läuten, verb, ‘to ring, chime,’ Middle High German liuten, weak verb, ‘to utter a sound, cause to resound, ring,’ Old High German lûtten, ‘to make audible.’ Compare Anglo-Saxon hlŷdan, ‘to be audible, make a loud noise, shout, sound.’
lauter, adjective, ‘pure, mere,’ from Middle High German lûter, adjective, ‘bright, pure, clear’ Old High German lûttar, hlûttar. Since Gothic and Low German tr is not permutated in High German (compare zittern, Winter, Eiter, Otter, and bitter), Gothic hlûtrs, ‘pure,’ Anglo-Saxon hlûttor, ‘pure, clear’ (wanting in English), and Dutch louter are corresponding forms. A primary Teutonic adjective perhaps originally signifying ‘washed’ (like Latin lautus, literally ‘washed,’ then ‘splendid, magnificent’). This primary meaning may be assumed since the Teutonic root hlût, preserved only in the adjective lauter, is cognate with Greek κλυδ and κλύζω, ‘to rinse out, wash, cleanse,’ and κλύδων, ‘beating of the waves.’
Lavendel, masculine and feminine, ‘lavender,’ from the equivalent Middle High German lavendel, feminine and masculine; Middle Latin lavendula (Italian lavendola).
lavieren, verb, ‘to veer, tack,’ Modern High German only, from Dutch laveeren, whence also French louvoyer.
Lawine, feminine, ‘avalanche,’ Modern High German simply; from Swiss, in which Lauwin, pronounced with a German accent, was current at an earlier period. The word passed in the 18th century into the written language, originally with the variants Lauwine, Lauine, Läue, Loewin. Although we might regard the word as a derivative of Latin labina on account of Föhn, which is undoubtedly of Latin origin, yet it probably comes from a genuine Teutonic source; for the medial Latin b would be represented only by b or f (v) in German (Middle High German *lęvene). Moreover, the numerous dialectic variants point to a German root, and, indeed, to kinship with lau; thus with Bavarian läuen, läunen, ‘to be softened by a mild temperature, thaw,’ is connected Bavarian läuen, läun, ‘thaw, mass of half-melted snow, avalanche,’ and Swiss läue, láui (plural láuine), ‘avalanche,’ with läu, ‘warm enough to thaw.’ Even in Old High German an allied word lęwina, ‘cascade,’ occurs.
leben, verb, ‘to live,’ from the equivalent Middle High German lëben, Old High German lëbên; corresponding to Gothic liban (preterite libaida), Anglo-Saxon libban, English to live, Dutch leven; Scandinavian lifą, ‘to live,’ and also ‘to be remaining.’ This proves the identity of the stem lib, ‘to live,’ with that of bleiben (Gothic bileiban); hence the connection with Greek λΓπαραεῖν, ‘to persist', to which λιπαρής, ‘persistent, industrious,’ is allied, probably also Lithuanian lìpti, ‘to adhere.’ Compare bleiben and Leib.
Leber, feminine, ‘liver,’ from the equivalent Middle High German lëber, lëbere, Old High German lëbara, feminine; the ë of the stem is an old i (compare beben and leben); corresponds to Dutch and Middle Low German lever, Anglo-Saxon lifer, English liver, Old Icelandic lifr, feminine. Some have attempted to connected with this common Teutonic word equivalent terms in the non-Teutonic languages — Greek ἥπαρ, Latin jecur, Sanscrit yakṛt, and have assumed two stems, lik and ljē̆k (jêk); in that case the medial labial in Leber would represent an originally guttural as in vier, fünf, elf, Wolf, &c. Equally uncertain is the explanation from the Greek λίπα, ‘fat,’ λιπαρός, ‘sticky, greasy’; nor does it seem probable that Greek λαπάρα, feminine, ‘loins, flanks,’ is allied, because the Old Teutonic word has an old i.
Lebkuchen, masculine, ‘gingerbread,’ from the equivalent Middle High German lëbekuocke, masculine, allied to the equivalent Middle High German lëbezelte. The derivation of lëb-, from Slavonic lipa, ‘lime-time,’ Polish lipiec, ‘finest honey (lime-tree honey),’ is improbable; Latin lîbum, too, hardly suffices to explain the High German word. Middle High German lëbe- is more probably a graded form of Middle High German leip (see Laib), ‘bread.’ Or is it connected with ModSlov. lepenj, ‘a sort of cake’?
lechzen, verb, ‘to be parched with thirst,’ from Middle High German lëchzen, lëchezen, properly ‘to dry,’ then ‘to be parched with thirst’ (compare Durst). It is connected with the earlier Modern High German adjective lëch, ‘leaky,’ for which the Low German form is used (compare leck), Middle High German lëchen, ‘to dry up, crack and leak through dryness’; in Gothic probably a strong verb ​*likan; compare Old Icelandic leka, ‘to drip, leak’; English to leak, Anglo-Saxon leccan, ‘to water.’ The Gothic stem is probably lik, by gradation lak (or rather hlak). Old Irish legaim, ‘to melt away, dissolve,’ is closely related in sound and meaning. Compare also the following word.
leck, adjective, ‘leaky,’ Modern High German only, a Low German form for an earlier and strictly High German lech, for, according to the words quoted under lechzen, the Gothic root is lik (hlik?), and this adjective corresponds to the Old Icelandic adjective lekr, ‘leaky,’ whose k would be represented in High German by ch. The borrowing of the Modern High German word from Low German is explained by the fact that a great number of nautical expressions in Modern High German are of Low German origin; the High German form lech is also found in the dialects Middle High German lęcken, verb, ‘to moisten’ (lęcke, feminine, ‘moistening’), has ck for earlier kj, as is shown by Anglo-Saxon lęččean, ‘to moisten’ (from lakjan). Both verbs prove that ‘to be watery’ is the primary meaning of the Teutonic stem lek (by gradation lak). Modern High German lecken, ‘to leak,’ is no more connected with Middle High German lęcken, ‘to moisten,’ than it is with Modern High German lecken, ‘to lick’; it is a derivative of the adjective leck, and hence has the variant lechen.
lecken (1.), verb, ‘to lick,’ from the equivalent Middle High German lëcken, Old High German lëcchôn (for Gothic *likkôn). It corresponds to Dutch likken, Anglo-Saxon liccian, English to lick. The verb likkôn, ‘to lick,’ common to English and German, is related to Gothic laigôn, apart from the gradation, as High German Ziege (Gothic *tigô) is to Zicklein (Gothic *tikkein), or as Hut (Gothic *hôda-) is to Anglo-Saxon hœtt (Gothic *hattu-). Gothic *likkôn, ‘to lick,’ is also authenticated by the equivalent Romance cognates borrowed from it, Italian leccare, French lécher. A Teutonic root slikk seems to be preserved in Modern High German schlecken, Old Icelandic sleikja, ‘to lick.’ Gothic *laigôn is based on an Aryan root lī̆gh, leigh, loigh; Greek λείχω, ‘to lick,’ λιχνεύω, ‘to lick, taste by stealth,’ λίχνος, ‘glutton, dainty’; Sanscrit rih, lih, ‘to lick’; Old Slovenian ližą (liżati), and Lithuanian lëżiù (lêżti), ‘to lick’; Latin lingo, ‘to lick,’ and allied to this perhaps Latin lingua (Lithuanian lëżùvis), ‘tongue’; Old Irish ligim, ‘to lick.’
lecken (2.), löcken, verb, ‘to kick, hop,’ from the equivalent Middle High German lęcken, weak verb, in Gothic perhaps *lakjan, which may be connected with Greek λάξ, adverb λάγιδην, ‘with the foot.’ Its kinship with Gothic laikan, ‘to spring, hop,’ is improbable.
Leder, neuter, ‘leather,’ from the equivalent Middle High German lëder, Old High German lëdar, neuter; a common Teutonic word pointing to Gothic *liþra-, neuter; compare Anglo-Saxon lëþer, English leather, Dutch leder, Old Icelandic leþr, neuter, ‘leather.’ The pre-Teutonic form is létro-m, to which Irish lethar, Welsh lledr, ‘leather,’ are traced.
ledig, adjective, from the equivalent Middle High German lëdic, lëdec (g), ‘unoccupied, free, untrammelled’; the modern Upper German dialects point to Middle High German lędic. Old High German *lëdag, lędig, as well as Gothic *liþags are wanting; the following, however, are recorded: Old Icelandic liþugr, ‘free, untrammelled,’ Middle English leþi, adjective ‘unoccupied, empty,’ Middle Dutch lëdech, Middle Low German leddich, ledich, ‘at leisure, unemployed.’ The primary word is Middle English lę̂the, ‘leisure, spare time’ (Anglo-Saxon leoþu?), to which is allied lêthen (leþin), ‘to set free’ (Anglo-Saxon ût-, a-leoþian?), as well as Middle Dutch onlêde, ‘want of leisure, grief.’ On account of the absence of the word in the Old Teutonic dialects it is difficult to determine the evolution in meaning. Must we connect it with Gothic unlêds, Anglo-Saxon unlœ̂de, ‘poor, unhappy,’ or with Latin lîber (for lîthero?), ‘free’?
Lee, neuter, ‘lee,’ Modern High German only, from Low German lee, ‘place where a calm prevails’; compare Icelandic hlé, English lee (from Anglo-Saxon hleó, ‘protection’).
leer, adjective, from the equivalent Middle High German lœ̂re, Old High German and Old Saxon lâri, ‘empty, void’; compare Anglo-Saxon lœre, gelœ̂re, Middle English ilêre, English dialectic leer, ‘empty, with an empty stomach, hungry.’ It can hardly be determined whether the r represents by rhotacism an earlier s. Perhaps Gothic lasiws, ‘powerless, weak,’ Anglo-Saxon lęswe, ‘weak’ (Middle High German erlęswen, ‘to grow weak’), as well as Old Icelandic lasenn, ‘demolished,’ are the nearest cognates of leer.
Lefze, feminine, ‘lip,’ from the equivalent Middle High German lëfs, lëfse, feminine and masculine, Old High German lëfs, masculine, an Upper German term (in Suabian lengthened to läfzg) for the properly Low German Lippe. Both terms are primitively allied; Lippe may come from Teutonic *lipjô, feminine, and Lefze (with the Old High German variant lëffur, Old Saxon lëpur), from primitively Teutonic lepas, genitive lepazis, or lefs, genitive lefsis (with fs for ps); compare Gothic ahs, genitive ahsis, ‘ear (of corn ),’ with Old High German ahir, Anglo-Saxon eár (from *eahor), English ear. For the further cognates compare under Lippe. Gothic and Scandinavian have a totally different term for ‘lip’; Gothic waírilô (Anglo-Saxon wëler), Old Icelandic vǫrr, feminine.
Legel, masculine, ‘keg, cruse,’ from Middle High German lœ̂gel, lâgel, lœ̂gele, feminine, ‘small cask,’ Old High German lâgila, lâgella, feminine, which is derived from Middle Latin lagêna, ‘a measure for liquids and for dry goods’ (Latin lagôna, lagoena, ‘flask,’ ​from Greek λάγηνος, λάγῦνος ἡ, ‘flagon’); with respect to l for Latin n in words borrowed from Latin compare Kümmel (also Himmel, schlennig). Moreover, the primitive kinship of the High German cognates with Old Slovenian lakŭtĭ, Lithuanian lakas, ‘earthen pitcher,’ is perhaps conceivable.
legen, verb, ‘to lay, put,’ from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German lęgen, lęcken, weak verb; properly ‘to cause to lie,’ hence a factitive of liegen. It corresponds to Old Saxon lęggian, Dutch leggen, Anglo-Saxon lęčgan, English to lay, Old Icelandic legja, Gothic lagjan, weak verb, ‘to lay.’ Compare liegen.
Legende, feminine, ‘legend,’ from Middle High German legende, feminine, ‘story of a saint’; from Middle Latin legenda, neuter plural (sic dicta, quia certis diebus legenda in ecclesia et in sacris synaxibus designabatur a moderatore chori).
Lehde, Lede, feminine, ‘waste land,’ simply Modern High German, from earlier Dutch leeghde, Modern Dutch laagte, ‘low ground, valley,’ through a Low German medium. Allied to the Modern Dutch adjective laag, ‘low,’ to which English low and the equivalent Old Icelandic lágr correspond; in miners' language the adjective appears also in German; läg, ‘sloping, awry,’ from Middle High German lœ̂ge, ‘flat, low.’ The whole class belongs to the stem of liegen.
Lehen, neuter, ‘fief,’ from Middle High German lêhen, neuter, ‘feudal estate, fief,’ Old High German lêhan, neuter; corresponding to Old Icelandic lán, neuter, ‘loan, fief (whence English loan), Anglo-Saxon lœ̂n; in Gothic probably *laihwnis, neuter, to which Sanscrit reknas, neuter, ‘estate, wealth,’ properly ‘inheritance,’ corresponds in construction and derivation. For further cognates compare leihen.
Lehm, masculine, ‘loam, clay,’ with a Low German and Middle German form (ê for High German ei); the strictly High German form Leimen has a restricted sphere. Compare Middle High German leim, leime, masculine, ‘loam,’ from Old High German leimo, masculine. It corresponds to Anglo-Saxon lâm, English loam (Gothic *laima). The root lai appears with a derivative s in Old Icelandic leir, neuter, from *laiz, which may have been contracted from laj-is, like Gothic ais, ‘brass,’ from ájis, Sanscrit áyas. Allied to Latin lîmus, masculine, ‘slime, dirt.’ The form of the gradation between Teutonic laima and Latin lîmus is ai to î. Compare Leim.
Lehne (1.), feminine, ‘back or arm (of a chair), balustrade, railing,’ from the equivalent Middle High German lëne, line, feminine, Old High German lina, feminine, ‘reclinatorium’ for *hlina, which was probably the form in Gothic also. Compare Greek κλῖνη, ‘couch, mattress’ (these meanings also belong to Lehne in earlier Modern High German), and for further cognates see lehnen and Leiter.
Lehne (2.), feminine, from the equivalent Middle High German liene, with the remarkable variant liehe, feminine, ‘wild sow’; its further connection are difficult to determine; the similarity in sound with the equivalent French laie and Middle Latin lêfa (for lêha?) must not be overlooked. It is doubtful whether Lehne is of Teutonic origin.
Lehne (3.), feminine, ‘linch-pin’; compare Lünse.
Lehne (4.), Lenne, feminine, ‘Norwegian maple’; Middle High German and Old High German lîn-, lîmboum, hence also earlier Modern High German Leinbaum; the Modern High German form is borrowed from a Northern dialectic; Danish lön, Swedish lönn. Moreover the term was originally common to Teutonic; it was applied to the ‘maple’ in all the older dialects except Gothic; Old Icelandic hlynr, Anglo-Saxon hlyn (hlynn or hlîn?), and with these in the non Teutonic languages Slavonic klenŭ, and Lithuanian klévas, ‘maple,’ are primitively allied.
lehnen (1.), verb, ‘to lean, recline’; it combines Middle High German lënen, linen, intransitive, ‘to rest (on),’ and (through the medium of Middle German) Middle High German leinen, transitive, ‘to lean,’ Old High German linên, earlier hlinên, intransitive, and leinen, hleinen, transitive; corresponds to Anglo-Saxon hlinian, hleonian, intransitive, and hlœ̂nan, transitive, ‘to lean.’ The real stem is hli, the n is a verbal suffix (in Lehne, however, corresponding to Greek κλί-νη, a nominal suffix). The graded form of hlī̆, hlai, has been preserved in Leiter; it also existed in an Old Teutonic *hlaiwaz, *hlaiwiz, neuter, ‘hill’ (Gothic hlaiw, Anglo-Saxon hlœ̂w, Old High German lêo for hlêo), as well as in Gothic hlains, masculine, ‘hill,’ Old Icelandic hlein, feminine, ‘projecting rock.’ The root hlī̆, unpermutated klī̆, appears in the non-Teutonic languages with numerous cognates; Greek κλἷ-νω, ‘to lean,’ κλἷ-μαξ feminine, ‘ladder, stairs’ (compare Leiter), κλῖ-νη, ‘couch,’ κλι-σία, ‘conch, easy-chair, tent’ (compare Gothic hlei-þra, feminine, ‘tent’), κλι-τύς, ‘hill,’ κλῖ-τος, κλίτος, neuter, ‘hill’ (compare Modern High German Leite, feminine, Old Icelandic hlíþ, feminine, Anglo-Saxon hlĭþ, neuter, ‘hill’); Latin clinare, ‘to incline,’ clivus, masculine, ‘hill,’ with which are allied Lithuanian szlýti, ‘to incline to one side,’ szlëti, ‘to lean against,’ szlaítas, ‘slope.’ Hence, according to these allied meanings, the idea is ‘to rise gradually, assume a wry form or a slanting position.’
lehnen (2.), verb, ‘to lend,’ from Middle High German lêhenen, Old High German lêhanôn, ‘to bestow as a fief, lend’; compare Lehen, and further also leihen; allied to Anglo-Saxon lœ̂nan (preterite lœ̂nde), English to lend.
lehren, verb, ‘to teach,’ from Middle High German and Old High German lêren, ‘to instruct, teach, make one acquainted with,’ sometimes also ‘to ​learn’; corresponding to Dutch leeren, Anglo-Saxon lœ̂ran (whence Old Icelandic lœ̂ra is borrowed), Gothic laisjan, ‘to teach.’ A common Teutonic verb with the primitive meaning ‘to cause to know’; laisjan is the factitive of a preterite present lais, ‘I know,’ preserved in Gothic only. In German and English only a participle derivative was retained, which was probably represented in Gothic by *lisnan or *liznan; compare lernen. Allied also to Gothic leis, ‘knowing,’ leisei, ‘knowledge,’ in lubja-leis, -leisei, ‘skilled in poisons, witchcraft.’ We have data for assuming that Gothic lais, ‘I know,’ is based on a primary meaning ‘I have experienced,’ for the stem lis of lehren and lernen appears also in Gleise and leisten in the old sense of ‘to go,’ with which Latin lîra, ‘furrow,’ and its derivative delîrare (literally ‘to slip away from’) are connected, as well as Old Slovenian lěcha, ‘ridge (of a furrow),’ mentioned under Gleise; compare leisten. —
Lehre, feminine, ‘teaching, doctrine,’ from Middle High German lêre, Old High German lêra, feminine; compare Anglo-Saxon lâr, feminine, whence English lore. —
gelehrt, gelahrt, participle, ‘learned,’ even in Middle High German gelêrt and gelârt, with the Modern High German sense, properly however, ‘one who is instructed’; compare Middle English ilœred, Scandinavian lœ̂rþr (compare doctus from docere).
-lei, suffix, Modern High German simply; from Middle High German leie, feminine, ‘manner, method.’ In Middle High German there was no compound corresponding to Modern High German mancherlei, the expression maneger leie being used as a genitive, e.g. maneger leie liute, ‘various sorts of people,’ equivalent to Modern High German mancherlei Leute. Middle High German leie, lei, is generally considered to be a Romance word borrowed from Old French and Provençal ley, ‘method’ (Spanish and Portuguese laya, ‘manner,’ is said to be of Basque origin).
Lei, Leie, masculine and feminine, ‘rock, stone’ (in proper names like Lorelei), from Middle High German lei, leie, feminine, ‘rock, stone,’ also ‘paved way, schist,’ corresponding to Old Saxon leia, feminine ‘rock.’ Further cognates, whether in the Teutonic or non-Teutonic languages, are uncertain (allied perhaps to Greek λᾶας, ‘stone’?). It has been assumed that Italian lavagna, ‘slate,’ was borrowed from the German cognates.
Leib, masculine, ‘body, waist,’ from Middle High German lîp (b), masculine, ‘life, body, substance’; the meaning ‘life’ has been preserved in Modern High German only in compounds such as Leibzucht, ‘sustenance,’ Leibrente, ‘life-annuity.’ Old High German lîb, masculine and neuter, ‘life,’ Anglo-Saxon lîf, English life; Gothic *leif (b) is wanting (‘life’ is rendered by faírhwus); Scandinavian líf, neuter, ‘body, life.’ The phonetic kinship with Leben may be represented in Greek by λίπ, λῖπ; just as Leben, following Greek λιπαρεῖν, means literally ‘to persist,’ so too Old Teutonic lîba- is literally ‘persistence, continuance’; the meaning ‘body, substance,’ is simply German Greek λείπω cannot on account of Latin linquo be connected with λιπαρέω; it is allied to Teutonic leihen, while λιπαρέω with Leib and Leben are based on an Aryan root lī̆p in bleiben.
Leich, masculine, ‘lay,’ a term borrowed anew from Middle High German leich, masculine, ‘song consisting of unequal strophes,’ originally in a general sense ‘instrumental melody’ (whence Old French lai was borrowed). It corresponds to Gothic laiks, ‘dance,’ from laikan, ‘to dance,’ Anglo-Saxon lâc, neuter, ‘play, tilting,’ from lâcan, ‘to leap, dance.’ Since Modern High German Leich is only a loanword, no further remarks are necessary concerning the specifically Old Teutonic root laik and its wide ramifications.
Leiche, feminine, ‘corpse,’ from Middle High German lîch, lîche, feminine, ‘body, substance,’ also ‘dead body, corpse’; in Modern High German the specialised meaning, which in the earlier Teutonic dialects was subordinate to the more general sense ‘body’ as substance, has now become the prevalent one. Old High German lîh (hh), feminine and neuter, ‘body, flesh,’ Anglo-Saxon lîc, neuter, ‘body, substance, corpse’ (for English like compare gleich); Gothic leik, neuter, ‘flesh, body, corpse.’ In a possessive compound lîk assumed even in the Old Teutonic period the definite meaning ‘body,’ but was modified afterwards in numerous dialects to a suffix equivalent to High German -lich (which see). The signification ‘body’ has been retained in Modern High German Leihdorn, ‘corn,’ literally ‘thorn in the body’ (Icelandic líkþorn). —
Leichnam, masculine, ‘dead body, corpse,’ from Middle High German lîchname, Old High German lîhhinamo, masculine, ‘body, substance, corpse’; Old High German lîhhinamo for *lihhin-hamo is based on a weak form *lîkan-, *lîkin- (compare Gothic manleika, ‘image’); at all events, Old High German lîhhin-amo is not a corruption of Old Teutonic lîkhamo, masculine, ‘body’; Old High German lîhhamo (by syncope lîhmo), Middle High German lîchame, masculine, Anglo-Saxon lîc-hǫma, Old Icelandic líkamr (líkame), masculine, ‘body.’ The second component is an obsolete noun (ham, hamo), meaning ‘form, covering’; compare Old Icelandic hamr, ‘skin, shape,’ Anglo-Saxon homa, ‘covering’; Gothic anahamôn, gahamôn, ‘to put on (clothes), dress’ (compare Hamen, hämisch, and Hemd). Therefore Leichnam probably signified originally ‘body,’ literally ‘covering or form of flesh,’ i.e. ‘body of flesh, in so far as it is endowed with life.’ The compound has a rather poetical air about it, and in fact ​Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon poetry coined many similar circumlocutions for ‘body.’ In Anglo-Saxon poetry compare flœ̂sc-homa, ‘flesh-covering,’ also bân-fœt, literally ‘bone-vessel,’ bânhûs, literally ‘bone-house,’ bânloca, literally ‘bone-cage,’ bâncofa, literally ‘bone-dwelling,’ as synonyms of Anglo-Saxon lîc-homa, ‘body.’ Hence it is quite possible that Old Teutonic lîk-hamo was adopted from poetry in ordinary prose.
leicht, adjective, ‘light’ from the equivalent Middle High German lîht, lîhte, Old High German lîhti; corresponding to Dutch ligt, Anglo-Saxon lîht, leóht, English light, Old Icelandic léttr, Gothic leihts, ‘light.’ The further cognates of the word are uncertain, since there are too many adjectives in the allied languages closely resembling leicht both in sense and sound. Some etymologists derive Latin lĕvis, ‘light,’ from lêvis, lenhvis, in order to connect it with the common Teutonic adjective as well as with Greek ἐλαχύς, ‘petty, small,’ Lithuanian lengwùs, lèngwas, ‘light’; in that case lîht would represent linht, lenht. If leicht be connected with Modern High German gelingen, it might be compared with Greek ᾿ἐλαφρὸς, ‘light, nimble’ (see lungern). No explanation has been hitherto quite satisfactory, since in the non-Teutonic languages there is no adjective corresponding in form to German leicht. — In English lights (see Lunge) is also connected with the adjective light.
Leid, neuter, ‘harm, hurt, sorrow,’ from Middle High German leit (d), neuter, ‘affliction, pain, evil’ (as adjective ‘afflicting’), Old High German leid, neuter, ‘that which causes affliction; harm, pain’ (leid, adjective, ‘afflicting, repugnant, hateful’). Compare Anglo-Saxon lâþ, ‘offence, wrong, hostile, hateful, inimical’; English loath, adjective, to loathe, Old Icelandic leiþr, ‘hostile, hateful.’ Probably the abstract substantive is originally nothing more than the neuter of the adjective, which passed into Romance at a very early period (compare Italian laido, ‘ugly,’ French laid). See further under leiden and leider.
leiden, verb, ‘to suffer, endure, bear,’ from the equivalent Middle High German lîden, Old High German lîdan, strong verb. It is ordinarily identified with an Old Teutonic strong verb lîþan, ‘to go’ (compare leiten); compare Old High German lîdan, ‘to go, proceed,’ Anglo-Saxon lîþan, Gothic leiþan, ‘to go.’ It is assumed that lîþan, from the meaning ‘travelling to a foreign land (alilandi, whence Modern High German elend) and across the sea’ (lîþan is frequently used of a voyage), has acquired the sense of ‘indisposition, enduring, and suffering.’ This explanation is too artificial, and when it is urged in its favour that the latter meaning does not occur in Gothic, Old Saxon, and Anglo-Saxon, the fact is overlooked that it is assumed as primitively by the common Teutonic adjective laiþa-, ‘painful, repugnant, hostile,’ which is wanting only in Gothic (compare Leid). It might be conceivable if a compound of liþan, ‘to go,’ formed by prefixing a verbal particle, had assumed within the historic period the meaning ‘to suffer,’ but that the simple verb evolved such a sense immediately from ‘to go’ in primitively Teutonic times is scarcely credible. The proof of this lies in the fact that the derivative laiþa-, from the stem of lîþan, is more widely diffused, and is recorded at an earlier period. Thus we are led to the originally meaning ‘to put up with what is repugnant,’ and the early existence of the adjective and substantive discussed under Leid causes no surprise. For the further history of the word the Old High German interject. lêwes, lês, ‘oh! alas!’ appears to be valuable; in form it is the genitive of a noun, and presumes Gothic laiwis, from a stem lai-wa-. Since it is used in a way similar to High German leider, they are probably cognate. Thus the root would be lai, by gradation lî; the dental of lîdan, leiden, was probably therefore a part of the present stem originally. See the following word.
leider, interjection, ‘alas!’ from the equivalent Middle High German leider, Old High German leidôr; properly a comparat. of the Old Teutonic adjective mentioned under Leid. With regard to the possibility of its being allied to Old High German lêwes, lês, ‘alas!’ compare leiden.
Leier, feminine, ‘lyre,’ from the equivalent Middle High German lîre, Old High German lîra, feminine; from Latin and Greek lyra, with the Byzantine pronunciation of the y current in the Middle Ages, but with an abnormal change of quantity (as in Kreuz, Schule, and Lilie). The lyre of the Middle Ages, except when imported, was essentially different from the antique lyre; it was an instrument of the same sort as a guitar, and was played by a wheel turned by a winch; hence it was something very like a barrel-organ (hurdy-gurdy). Through the influence of classical studies, the term Leier is now applied again to the antique instrument without entirely supplanting the earlier meaning (compare Leierkasten). Compare also Italian lira, French lyre, English lyre, and Dutch lier.
leihen, verb, ‘to lend, borrow,’ from Middle High German lîhen, Old High German lîhan, strong verb, ‘to take on credit,’ rarely ‘to give on credit’; so too Gothic leihwan, Anglo-Saxon león (contracted from ​lîhan), of which only the allied forms loan and to lend have been preserved in English (compare Lehen and lehnen). These derivatives, which appear in several dialects, are based on the common Teutonic meaning ‘to lend.’ The correspondences in the cognate languages prove that this is only a specialisation of a general sense, ‘to leave,’ The Aryan root lik occurs with the meanings ‘to leave behind, forsake, set free, relinquish’; Sanscrit ric (for lik), present rinácmi, ‘to abandon a thing, give up, set free, empty, clear, give way for a certain sum’; to this are allied rikthám, neuter, ‘bequest, inheritance,’ reknas, neuter, ‘property left behind, wealth’ (see Lehen), riktás, adjective, and rêku-s, adjective, ‘empty’; also Latin linquo, relinquo, reliquus; Greek λείπω, with very numerous meanings, ‘to forsake, leave over or behind, omit’; λοιπός, adjective, ‘remaining’; Old Icelandic léicim (primary form leiqó), ‘I leave, relinquish’; Lithuanian lëku, likti, ‘to leave behind,’ pálaikas, ‘remnant,’ Old Slovenian otŭ-lěkŭ, ‘remnant, relic.’
Leilachen, Leilach, neuter, ‘sheet,’ from Middle High German lîlachen, lîlach, neuter, ‘bed-linen, sheet.’ The Modern High German and Middle High German word originated in lîn-lacken, which form is often recorded in Middle High German (Leinlachen in earlier Modern High German), and appears in Old High German as lîn-lahhan; lînl- was assimilated in Middle High German to lîll- and ll simplified after a long vowel. A similar course was followed by the Old Icelandic cognate lé-rept for *línrept, *línript, ‘linen.’ The derivation of Leilachen from Middle High German lîhlachen, Old High German lîh-lahhan, ‘body-linen’ (compare Leiche, for Old High German lîh), is less probable, because an assimilation of chl to ll, l, is scarcely credible.
Leim, masculine, ‘glue, birdlime,’ from the equivalent Middle High German, Middle Low German, and Old High German lîm, masculine; corresponding to Dutch lijm, Anglo-Saxon lîm, English lime; Scandinavian lím, neuter, ‘glue, lime’; Gothic *leima is wanting. The common Teutonic lîma- is related by gradation to the common Teutonic laima-, mentioned under Lehm; the primary meaning, ‘earthy, adhesive substance,’ is deduced from the English and Scandinavian signification ‘glue, lime.’ Latin lîmus, ‘slime,’ is more closely connected with High German Lehm in meaning, but with High German Leim in its graded form î. The root lai, by gradation lî, is authenticated by Old Icelandic leir, neuter (see Lehm), and Latin li-no, ‘to rub over.’ Its relation to Greek λειμών, ‘mars,’ and γλοιός, ‘sticky, clammy stuff,’ is less certain.
Lein, masculine, ‘flax,’ from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German lîn, masculine and neuter; compare Leinen.
Leine, feminine, ‘line,’ from Middle High German and Middle Low German lîne, feminine, late Old High German lîna, feminine, ‘rope, cable, line,’ especially ‘towline.’ The derivation from Latin lînea is doubtful, because the latter does not signify ‘cable’ even in Middle Latin but specially ‘plumb-line,’ and in Middle Latin ‘measure of length.’ As far as the sense is concerned, the word is more closely connected with Latin lînum, ‘thread, cable, rope’; hence Old High German lîna is the plural of the Latin word. In Romance and Middle Latin, however, lînum does not occur in this sense. Perhaps Leine, as an independent Teutonic derivative of lîn, ‘linen,’ corresponds to Greek λιναία, λινέα, ‘rope, cord’?. In that case Anglo-Saxon lîne, English line, and Old Icelandic lína (Gothic *leinjô, literally ‘what is prepared from flax’), are also formed according to the genuinely Teutonic principle (suffix, jôn).
Leinen, neuter, ‘linen,’ properly a neuter adjective used as a substantive, Middle High German lînen, lînîn, ‘(of) linen.’ It is based on Middle High German lîn, masculine, ‘flax, linen, linen garment,’ Old High German and Old Saxon lîn, neuter, Gothic lein, neuter, ‘linen.’ In this case, as in that of Hanf, it is doubtful whether the term (common Teutonic lîna-) is cognate with or borrowed from the similarly sounding words in Latin and Greek. If the Teutonic word is really borrowed, the relation of the consonants proves that Hanf was known to the Teutons previous to the permutation of consonants, i.e., long before our era; the same may be said of lîna-, ‘flax,’ since Pliny and Tacitus testify that linen was used among the Teutons when they wrote. Perhaps we may regard Scythian as the source of the cognates, as is indicated by the absence of the word among the Eastern Aryans. Compare Latin lînum, Greek λίνο-ν, Old Slovenian lĭnŭ, Lithuanian linaì, ‘flax’; λῖ- was retained in the dative λῖ-τί, plural λῖ-τα, hence the root of lînum, λίνον, is lī̆- and no, the suffix. Compare Leilachen and Leine. —
Leinwand, feminine, is a Modern High German corruption of Middle High German lînwât, feminine, ‘linen,’ connecting it with High German Gewand. The old wât (Old High German and Middle High German) has become obsolete in Modern High German; like Anglo-Saxon wœ̂d, ‘garment,’ it is allied to a lost Aryan root, wê, ‘to weave.’
Leis, masculine, ‘canticle,’ borrowed from Middle High German and early Modern High German leis, leise, masculine, ‘spiritual song,’ shortened from kĭrléise. Kyrie eleison was the refrain of hymns.
leise, adjective, ‘low, soft, gentle,’ from Mid ​High German lîse, Old High German *lîsi (adverb lîso), ‘low,’ also ‘slow.’ Under lehren, List, and lernen, a Teutonic root, originally meaning ‘to go,’ is discussed, with which Gothic leis, ‘familiar,’ seems to be connected. The High German word can, however, scarcely be directly allied to this adjective, since the difference in meaning is too great. It is also questionable whether leise belongs at all to the root lis. Perhaps it is connected with Greek λεῖος, λιαρός, ‘soft, gentle, mild’; both, however, are better referred to Latin lêvis, ‘smooth.’ The nasal in Suabian lins (lœñs), ‘low,’ presents a difficulty.
Leiste (1.), feminine, ‘list, border, selvage,’ from Middle High German lîste, Old High German lîsta, feminine, ‘long strip, edge, lace, list’; compare Anglo-Saxon lîst, feminine, English list; Icelandic lísta (lĭsta?), feminine, ‘border, strip’; in the non-Teutonic languages there are no cognates. Note, however, the words borrowed in Romance Italian lista, French liste, ‘strip, lace.’
Leiste (2.), feminine, ‘groin,’ Modern High German only, probably not connected with the preceding word, but with Gothic *laistô, feminine. The latter is indicated also by English last (dialectic), ‘groin.’ The equivalent Anglo-Saxon leósca, Middle English lêske, Modern Dutch liesche, Old Swedish liuske, Danish lŷske, diverge too widely in sound from the High German form; the attempt to connect it with Middle Latin laisius, ‘lap’ (Lex Salica), is also dubious.
Leisten, Leiste, masculine, from the equivalent Middle High German leist, masculine, ‘last’; Old High German leist (neuter?), ‘forma.’ Corresponding to Anglo-Saxon lâst, lœ̂st, masculine, ‘footprint, track, forma,’ English last, Gothic laists, masculine, ‘track, goal,’ with the facts mentioned under leisten, indicate that ‘footprint’ is the originally meaning of the High German and English words; this is probably an important fact in the history of the word. It is true that Old Icelandic leistr, masculine, signifies ‘foot,’ and ‘short stocking, sock.’
leisten, verb, ‘to perform, accomplish,’ from Middle High German and Old High German leisten, ‘to adhere to and execute an order, fulfil one's promise or duty’; corresponds to Gothic laistjan, ‘to pursue, yield.’ On account of its kinship with Gleise and Leisten, masculine, the meaning of the High German word (as well as the equivalent Old Saxon lêstan) must be based on the Gothic verb Anglo-Saxon lœ̂stan, ‘to perform, accomplish, hold, sustain, endure,’ whence English to last. The common Teutonic weak verb laistjan, literally ‘to pursue’ (whence Spanish and Portuguese lastar, ‘to pay on behalf of another,’ was borrowed), is derived from Gothic laists, masculine, Anglo-Saxon lâst, masculine, ‘footprint’ (see under Leisten), which are again derived from a root lis, ‘to go.’ This root has a constant tendency to pass from the sensuous meaning ‘to go, follow,’ into an intellectual notion (see Lehre, lernen, and List); compare also leise.
Leite, feminine, from the equivalent Middle High German lîte, feminine, ‘mountain, slope, declivity,’ Old High German lîta, from an earlier *hlîta, feminine (Gothic *hleida, feminine). The Teutonic root hlî is discussed more fully under lehnen, where also the allied terms signifying ‘hill’ may be compared.
leiten, verb, from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German ‘to lead, guide’; corresponding to Old Saxon lêdan, Dutch leiden, Anglo-Saxon lœ̂dan, English to lead, Old Icelandic leiða. All point to a non-recorded Gothic *laidjan, which (as factitive of the Old Teutonic lîþan, ‘to go,’ discussed under leiden) signifies literally ‘to cause to go’; compare senden, which also had originally this same meaning. With the factitive *laidjan is connected a Teutonic laidô-, feminine, ‘leading,’ whence Anglo-Saxon lâd, ‘road, journey,’ in English current only in loadstar, loadstone, and loadsman (Anglo-Saxon lâdmann), equivalent to Modern High German Lotse. Modern High German Leitstern, Middle High German leitstërne, masculine, ‘the polar star that guides the mariners, loadstar.’
Leiter, feminine, from the equivalent Middle High German leiter, leitere, Old High German leitara (earlier *hleitir), feminine, ‘ladder.’ It corresponds to Dutch ladder, leer, Anglo-Saxon hlœ̂dder, hlœ̂der, feminine, English ladder; the Gothic term *hlai-dri (genitive -drjôs), feminine, ‘ladder,’ with a feminine suffix identical with Greek -τρια, is wanting; *hlaí-dri is based on the hlī̆ (pre-Teutonic klī̆) discussed under lehnen, and in Greek κλῖ-μαξ this root has a meaning corresponding to that of the West Teutonic word; Leiter is as it were ‘that which slants or leans.’ Scandinavian hleiðr, ‘tent,’ may be connected with the equivalent Gothic hleiþra, feminine, and Greek κλισία. Compare Lehne, lehnen, and Leite.
Lende, feminine, ‘loins,’ from the equivalent Middle High German lęnde, Old High German lęntin, feminine; corresponding to Dutch lende, Anglo-Saxon lęnden, feminine (in the plural lęndenu, masculine); Old Icelandic lend, Danish lynd, ‘loins’ (allied to Icelandic lundir, ‘sirloin, saddle of mutton’?); in Gothic perhaps *landini, feminine. In case the b of Latin lumbus, ‘loins,’ represented Aryan dh, or rather dhw (for Latin barba, representing bhardhâ, see Bart, and Latin ruber, representing Aryan rudhros, ἐρυθρός, see rot), High German Lende might be compared with it. The primary form lndhwî- is also indicated by Old Slovenian lędvija, feminine, ‘loins, kidney.’
lenken, verb, ‘to guide, direct,’ from Middle High German lęnken, ‘to bend, turn, direct’; a denominative of Middle High German lanke, Old High German ​lanca, hlanca, ‘hip, loins.’ For further details see under Flanke and Gelenk; it is also perhaps allied to link, literally ‘oblique’; hence lenken originally means ‘to direct obliquely or sideways’ (compare link). It is also thought to be connected with Lithuanian lènkti, ‘to bend.’
Lenz, masculine (Bavarian längess, längsing, Swiss langsi), from the equivalent Middle High German lęnze, masculine and feminine, ‘spring’ (from the variants langeȥ, langeȥe); Old High German lęnzo, lęnzī̆n, langiȥ, masculine; the loss of the g is normal, as in Bliß and Runzel. Compare Dutch lente, Anglo-Saxon lęncten, masculine, ‘spring,’ English Lent. This West Teutonic word was probably the term for spring, and Tacitus in the Germania seems to have a dim idea that it was used by the Teutons (Old Icelandic vár, Middle English and Scotch wêr, North Frisian ûrs, wos, represent the North Teutonic term primitively allied to Latin vêr, Greek ἔαρ, Sanscrit vasar); for the other observations of Tacitus on the Old Teutonic divisions of time, compare Herbst (also Frühling, which has supplanted the old word Lenz in most of the modern dialects of Upper Germany; see an old Aryan term for Lenz under Jahr). The word is peculiar to Teutonic; it has not been authenticated in the non-Teutonic languages; its primary meaning is therefore dubious. Some etymologists, misled simply by the similarity of sound, have connected Lenz with lang (Gothic laggs), and opined that it was so named from the lengthening of the days; such a derivation is at all events uncertain.
Lerche, feminine, ‘lark,’ from the equivalent Middle High German lē̆rche, from lêreche, lêwreche, Old High German lêrahha, feminine; it is shown by the equivalent Dutch leeuwerik, Anglo-Saxon lâwrice, lœ̂werce, lâwerce, English lark, Scotch laverock, Old Swedish lœrikia, as well as the Middle High German variants lêwerich, lêwerech, lêwerch, that a fuller form would have been *lêwarahha in Old High German. The Gothic form cannot be determined with any certainty, nor can we say definitely whether the Old High German and Anglo-Saxon words are compounds or simply unusual derivatives,
lernen, verb, from the equivalent Middle High German lërnen, ‘to learn’ (more rarely ‘to teach’), Old High German lirnên, lërnên, ‘to learn’; compare Anglo-Saxon leornian, English to learn, Old Saxon lînon for Gothic *liznan (preterite *liznôda); an Old Teutonic derivative of the participle of the Gothic strong verb lais, ‘I know,’ discussed under Lehre and lehren; hence lernen means ‘to become experienced, informed.’ The cognates of the stem lis fall into two classes; to one belongs the sensuous notion ‘to go’ (compare Leisten, Leiste, Gleise, and leise), the other comprises the words Lehre, lehren, and Gothic leis, ‘knowing.’
lesen, verb, ‘to gather, glean, read,’ from Middle High German lësen, Old High German lësan, ‘to pick out, pick up, read,’ also ‘to narrate, relate.’ Gothic lisan, galisan, and Anglo-Saxon lesan, simply mean ‘to gather, collect’; from the latter English to lease is derived. So too in earlier Old Icelandic lesa merely signifies ‘to collect, glean.’ There can be no doubt that this was the primary meaning of High German lesen; hence it is probable that the common Teutonic lesan, ‘to gather up,’ is connected with Lithuanian lesù (lèsti), ‘to peck, pick up grains of corn.’ There is no relation between Gothic lisan, ‘to gather,’ and lais, ‘I know,’ laisjan, ‘to teach’ (see lehren, and lernen). The development of the meaning ‘to read’ from ‘to gather’ is indeed analogous to that of Latin lego and Greek λέγω, which the High German significations combine. Yet the state of Old Teutonic culture affords a finer and wider explanation of lesen, ‘legere’; since the modern term Buchstabe, ‘letter,’ is inherited from Old Teutonic times, when runic signs were scratched on separate twigs, the gathering of these twigs, which were strewn for purposes of divination, was equivalent to ‘reading (lesen) the runes.’ Hence Old Teutonic lesan expressed the action described by Tacitus (Germ. 10) as “surculos ter singulos tollit;” in pre-hist. German it also signified “sublatos secundum impressam ante notam interpretatur.” It is worthy of remark too that the Old Teutonic dialects have no common term for ‘to read,’ and this proves that the art was not learnt until the Teutons had separated into the different tribes. It is also certain that runic writing was of foreign, probably of Italian origin. The Goth used the expressions siggwan, ussiggwan, ‘to read,’ the Englishman Anglo-Saxon rœ̂dan, English to read; the former probably signified originally ‘loud delivery,’ the latter ‘to guess the runic characters.’
Letten, masculine ‘(potter's) clay,’ from Middle High German lëtte, Old High German lëtto, masculine, ‘loam’ (ë is due to the Bavarian and Alemannian dialects); to this is probably allied the Icelandic graded form leþja, ., ‘loam, dirt.’ It is connected by some etymologists with Latin lŭtum, neuter, ‘mud, dirt,’ and by others, less probably, with Old Prussian laydis, ‘loam,’ whose diphthong, compared with the a of the Teutonic word, presents a difficulty.
​ letzen, verb, ‘to injure,’ from lętzen, Old High German lęzzen, ‘to check, stop, hinder, damage, hurt’; corresponding to Gothic latjan, galatjan, ‘to stop, check,’ Anglo-Saxon lęttan, English to let; a common Teutonic denominative from the adjective lata-; compare laß and lassen.
sich letzen, ‘to indulge oneself, from Middle High German lętzen, ‘to liberate, do one a kindness, take one's leave, regale oneself.’ See also the following word.
letzt, superlative adjective, ‘last,’ from the equivalent Middle High German lęst, lęȥȥist, superlative of laȥ, adjective, ‘faint’; the Modern High German form seems to be due to Low German, which must have produced (lętist and lęzt (for lętst). These forms actually occur in the Heliand. In Old High German lęȥȥist, laȥȥôst, Anglo-Saxon lœtma and lœtmest (pointing to a Gothic *latuma, ‘latest’); also Anglo-Saxon latost, English last. The posit. of these Old Teutonic superlats. is the Old Teutonic adjectival stem lata- (see laß), literally ‘lazy, inactive, dilatory’; letzter originally means ‘most dilatory, latest’ (compare Anglo-Saxon and English late). In the phrase zu guter Leztz, ‘for the last time, finally,’ the noun is a corruption of Letz, which is connected with Middle High German lętzen, ‘to end, take one's leave, take refreshment,’ mentioned under letzen, hence the expression meant originally ‘as a choice farewell-banquet.’
Leuchse, feminine, ‘rail-tie,’ a Bavarian and Suabian word, from the equivalent Middle High German liuhse; probably cognate with the equivalent. Czech lušnĕ, Polish lusnia, Russian ljušnja, if these are not connected rather with Lünse.
Leuchte, feminine, ‘light, lamp,’ from Middle High German liuhte, feminine, ‘light, apparatus for giving light,’ also ‘brightness, lustre’; a derivative of Licht.
leuchten, verb, from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German liuhten, ‘to shine, give light,’ corresponding to Gothic liuhtjan, ‘to shine, give light’; an Old Teutonic denominative from the adjective liuhta-, ‘light’; leuchten meant literally ‘to be light, bright.’ Compare licht.
Leumund, masculine, ‘reputation, character,’ from Middle High German and Old High German liumunt, masculine, ‘reputation, fame, report.’ In Modern High German it is perhaps instinctively interpreted as Leute Mund, ‘mouth of the people’; but the word is not a compound. In Gothic probably *hliumunds, masculine, which must be referred to hliuma, ‘hearing, ear’; -munda- is perhaps an affix corresponding to Greek -ματ- and Latin -mento- (in co-gnô-mentum). The root hliu- has numerous derivatives, both in the Teutonic and non-Teutonic languages (compare laut, läuten, Greek κλέος, Sanscrit çrávas, ‘fame’); Sanscrit çrômata-masculine, neuter, ‘hearing,’ corresponds most nearly in form to High German Leumund. Latin crîmen has absolutely nothing to do with these last two terms. Verleumden, ‘to calumniate,’ is not based directly on Leumund, but on a Middle High German liumde, normally abbreviated from it.
Leute, plur only, ‘people,’ from Middle High German liute, masculine and neuter plural, ‘people, persons,’ with the singular liut, masculine and neuter, ‘nation’; Old High German liuti, masculine and neuter plural, ‘people,’ also liut, masculine and neuter, ‘nation’; corresponding to Anglo-Saxon leóde, plural, ‘people’. It is uncertain whether we have to assume *liudus, ‘nation,’ in Gothic. The word is common to Teutonic and Slavonic; Old Slovenian ljudŭ, masculine, ‘nation,’ plural,’ ljudije, ‘people,’ Lettic laudis, masculine plural, ‘people, nation.’ They are connected with an Aryan root ludh, ‘to grow,’ which retained its meaning in Gothic liudan, Old Saxon liodan, Anglo-Saxon leódan, Old High German liotan; compare the Sanscrit root ruh, ‘to grow.’ The following Teutonic words are also connected with the same stem, Gothic lauþs (genitive laudis) in swalauþs, ‘so great,’ samalauþs, ‘equally great, equal,’ juggalauþs, ‘youth,’ Middle High German lôte, ‘constituted’; Gothic ludjô-, feminine, ‘face’; Anglo-Saxon leód, masculine, ‘king.’
-lich, adjective suffix, from Middle High German -lī̆ch, -lîch (the short vowel on account of its position in an unaccented syllable), Old High German -lîch; corresponding to Gothic -leiks, Anglo-Saxon -lîc, English -ly. Originally identical with the Old Teutonic lîka-, ‘body,’ discussed under Leichnam and gleich; Gothic waíraleiks, ‘male,’ literally ‘having a male body.’ In this manner -lîka is used in all the dialects as an adjective suffix. In some pronominal forms (solcher and welcher) the old -lîk represents a suffix corresponding to Greek -λίκος in τηλίκος, πηλίκος. See gleich and männiglich.
licht, adjective, ‘light, luminous,’ from Middle High German lieht, Old High German lioht, adjective, ‘bright, radiant, shining’; corresponding to Anglo-Saxon leóht, English light, adjective; Gothic *liuhts, ‘bright,’ may be inferred from its derivative liuhtan, ‘to give light’ (see leuchten). It is questionable whether the dental licht is of participle origin. as in alt, falt, laut, &c.
Licht, neuter, ‘light, luminary, candle,’ from Middle High German licht, Old High German lioht, neuter, ‘light, lustre, brightness’; corresponding to Old Saxon lioht, Dutch licht, Anglo-Saxon leóht, neuter, English light. The dental of the word is a suffix, as is shown by Gothic liuh-aþ (genitive -adis), neuter, ‘light, sheen.’ Old Icelandic ljós, neuter, ‘light,’ formed with a different suffix would be in Gothic *liuhs (genitive -sis); they are based on Aryan leukot-, leukt-, and ​leukos-, leuks-, as a double stem; compare Sanscrit rocis, neuter, Zend raocaṇh (for *rocâs, ‘lustre, light.’ The Aryan root luk, by gradation leuk, has numerous derivatives, Sanscrit ruc (rôcâmi), ‘to give light,’ rukmá-s, adjective, ‘glittering,’ substantive ‘jewels,’ rôká-s, masculine, rôcaná, neuter, ‘light’; Greek λευκός, adjective ‘white,’ ἀμφιλύκη, ‘morning twilight’; Latin lucerna, lûceo, lux, lucidus, lûna, lûmen, diluculum; Old Irish lóche (t), ‘lightning,’ lón, ‘lustre’; Old Slovenian luča, ‘ray,’ luna, feminine, ‘moon.’ In Teutonic there are also other derivatives of the Aryan root luk; compare Leuchte, licht, adjective, Lohe and Luchs, as well as Gothic lauhmuni, feminine, ‘lightning,’ lauhatjan, ‘to give light’; Old Icelandic ljóme, Anglo-Saxon leóma, Old Saxon liomo, masculine ‘lustre’; Anglo-Saxon lêgetu, Middle English leit, ‘lightning,’ and Old High German lôhazzen, ‘to lighten’; compare also Luchs. With Sanscrit rukšá, Zend raokšna, adjective, ‘bright,’ Prussian lauksnos, feminine, plural, ‘stars,’ and Old Icelandic ljós, ‘light,’ are also connected Old High German liehsen, adjective, ‘bright,’ and Anglo-Saxon lîxan, ‘to give light.’
lichten, verb, ‘to lighten, weigh (anchor),’ Modern High German only; Middle High German lüften, ‘to raise aloft, lift up, air,’ as well as English to lift, are unconnected with this word. Lichten, as a nautical term, is borrowed from Low German lichten, literally ‘to make light,’ then ‘to lift up.’
Lid, in Augenlid, neuter, from Middle High German, lit(t), neuter, ‘lid’ (especially of a vessel), Old High German lit, earlier hlit, neuter; corresponding to Anglo-Saxon hlid, neuter, ‘lid, door,’ English lid; Old Icelandic hliþ, neuter, ‘gate.’ ‘Eyelid’ in Icelandic is augnalok, neuter, literally ‘eye-lock’; in Middle English also eielid, English eyelid (Middle High German ougelit), and hence the term, like Augapfel, is common both to German and English hlid, ‘lock-up, lid,’ is connected with an old verbal stem, Old Saxon and Anglo-Saxon hlîdan, ‘to cover, lock up.’
lieb, adjective, ‘dear, esteemed,’ from the equivalent Middle High German liep (inflected lieber), Old High German liob (inflected liobêr). It corresponds to Gothic liufs (b), Anglo-Saxon leóf, English lief, adjective, Dutch lief, Old Icelandic ljúfr; a common Teutonic adjective with the general meaning ‘dear’; it is regularly derived from pre-Teutonic *léubho-, which is accurately represented by Old Slovenian ljubŭ (Aryan root leubh, by gradation lubh). An Old Aryan adjective for ‘dear’ (Sanscrit priyá-s) was changed in meaning at an early period in Teutonic (see frei) and supplanted by lieb; Modern High German and Middle High German lieben, Old High German liubôn, ‘to love’; to this is allied Anglo-Saxon lufian, English to love, with a weaker vowel stage of the root (Anglo-Saxon lufu, equivalent to English love). Since High German Lob, geloben, erlauben, glauben belong to the same Teutonic root lub, by gradation leub (pre-Teutonic lubh, leubh), we must assign to the latter a wider meaning, something like ‘pleasure’ and ‘approbation’; Sanscrit lubh, ‘to demand violently,’ Latin lŭbens, libens, ‘with pleasure, willingly,’ lŭbet, ‘it pleases, is agreeable,’ lŭbîdo, libîdo, ‘pleasure, longing, desire.’ With these perhaps the common Teutonic word lustus, equivalent to Lust, is also connected.
Liebstöckel, neuter and masculine, ‘lovage,’ even in Middle High German liebstuckel, usually, however, lübestecke, masculine, which is based on Latin ligusticum (whence the equivalent Italian levistico, French livèche). The unintelligible Latin form was corrupted in the Middle Ages in the most varied ways; Anglo-Saxon lufestice is also based on Anglo-Saxon lufu, love’ Old High German lubistëchal, Middle High German lübestecke seem to be formed in allusion to Old High German luppi, Middle High German lüppe, ‘juice of a plant producing strong effects’ (see Lab).
Lied, neuter, from the equivalent Middle High German liet(d), Old High German liod, neuter, ‘song’ (Gothic *liuþ, neuter, may be inferred from liuþareis, masculine, ‘singer,’ and liuþân, ‘to sing praises’); compare Dutch lied, Anglo-Saxon leóþ, neuter, ‘song.’ The Teutonic term for poetical productions, such as existed far earlier than the time of Tacitus (compare “carmina antiqua,” Germania, 2). Poetry flourished long before the adoption of the letters of the runic alphabet, which was derived from the Latin.
liederlich, adjective, ‘dissolute,’ from Middle High German liederlich, adjective, ‘light, pretty, trifling, frivolous’ (not recorded in Old High German). Anglo-Saxon lŷþre, adjective, ‘miserable, bad,’ points to *liuþrs. To this is doubtlessly allied lotter- in compounds pointing to a Gothic *ludrs. Probably Greek ἐλεύθερος, ‘free,’ like the Teutonic words, may be traced to a root leuth. Lüderlich for liederlich is a recent form of the adjective connecting it with Luder (Middle High German luoder).
liefern, verb, ‘to deliver, furnish, supply,’ first occurs in early Modern High German, formed from Middle Latin liberare, ‘dare, praebere’ (French livrer).
liegen, verb, ‘to lie, be situated,’ from the equivalent Middle High German ligen, licken, Old High German licken, ligen, strong verb; corresponding to Dutch liggen, Anglo-Saxon ličǧan, English to lie (ligjan, lag, legans, was the originally gradation, but Gothic ligan in the present); the common Teutonic verb for liegen, which has numerous cognates in Aryan (root legh). Compare Greek λέκτρον, λέχος, neuter, ‘bed,’ ἄλοχος, ‘bed-fellow, wife,’ also λεχώ, ‘woman in childbed,’ λοχέω, ‘to give birth to’; λόχος, ‘lying in wait, ​bush,’ also ‘lying-in, childbirth, In Greek epic poets aorist forms of a verb formed from a root legh, λεχ, have been preserved, λέκτο, λέξατο, &c., with the meaning ‘to lie down, encamp.’ The verb is also wanting in Latin, where, however, lectus, ‘bed,’ a derivative of the root legh, is retained. Old Slovenian lęgą (lešti), ‘to lie down,’ lezą (ležati), ‘to lie.’ In East Aryan the root is unknown. Compare legen, Lager, and löschen.
Lilie, feminine, ‘lily,’ from the equivalent Middle High German lilje, Old High German lilja, feminine; borrowed in Old High German from Latin lîlia, plural; the brevity of the i of the accented syllable in the German word and also in English (Anglo-Saxon lilie, English lily) is the same as in Linie and Litze, from Latin lînea and lîcium. Compare Rose.
lind, gelinde, adjective, ‘gentle,’ from Middle High German linde, Old High German lindi, adjective, ‘soft, gentle, tender, mild’ (Gothic *linþs is wanting); corresponding to Old Saxon lîthi, Anglo-Saxon lîþe, ‘mild, friendly, soft,’ English lithe. In Scandinavian an exact correspondence is not found; the term used is linr, ‘friendly, mild, soft’ (whence Lappish lines is borrowed), which with Bavarian len, ‘soft,’ Dutch lenig, ‘pliant,’ points to the fact that the dental of the German and English words is a suffix. Hence lin- is the root from which are formed in Old Teutonic Gothic af-linnan, ‘to go away, yield,’ Old Icelandic linna, ‘to cease,’ Anglo-Saxon linnan, ‘to cease, part from, lose,’ Old High German bilinnan, ‘to relax, leave off.’ Therefore the Teutonic root meant originally ‘yielding disposition.’ Compare Old Slovenian lěnŭ, ‘lazy,’ Latin lên-i-s, ‘gentle, mild,’ and lentus, ‘flexible, pliant.’
Linde, feminine, ‘linden, lime-tree,’ from the equivalent Middle High German linde, Old High German linta, feminine; corresponding to Dutch linde, Anglo-Saxon lind, feminine English lind, linden, linden-tree (English lime-tree = ‘linden’ is obscure); Old Icelandic lind, feminine, ‘lime-tree’; a common Teutonic term for ‘linden,’ also, as an Old Teutonic warlike term, ‘shield,’ literally ‘linden shield,’ Its earlier history is obscure; Modern High German dialectic Lind, ‘bast,’ and Scandinavian linde, ‘girdle,’ derivatives of Linde, give no clue to the primary meaning of the word. If we consider the change in meaning to which names of trees have been subject (see under Buche, Eiche, and Tanne), we might assume that Linde is related to Greek ἐλάτη (from lentâ), ‘pine tree, white pine’; it can scarcely be connected with Latin lentus, ‘flexible’ (compare lind), as if the inner bark of the linden were used at an early period for cords.
Lindwurm, masculine, ‘winged serpent or dragon,’ borrowed, with the revival of Middle High German literature in the last century, from Middle High German lintwurm, Old High German lindwurm, masculine, ‘dragon’ (compare also Wurm). The first component is identical in meaning with the second, which is only an explanation of the obscure term Lind, which was no longer understood; compare Old High German lind, lint, ‘serpent’; Old Icelandic linnr, ‘serpent’ (for *linþr). Windhund is a similar compound.
Linie, feminine, ‘line, lineage,’ from the equivalent Middle High German linie, feminine, from Latin lînea, feminine, with a change of quantity. It occurs even in Old High German.
link, adjective, ‘left,’ from the equivalent Middle High German linc, adjective, with the variant lęnc (genitive -kes); the form with sl is probably quite as old as that with initial l (compare drosseln, Stier, Hocken, and lecken). In Old High German only lęncha, feminine, ‘left hand,’ is recorded; the adjective is rendered by winistar, Middle High German winster, in Bavarian lërz, lërc, and tenk, Lower Rhenish slinc (this is doubtless a primitive variant of link, as is shown by the analogies under drosseln, Stier, Hocken, and lecken); in English left (Anglo-Saxon *lyfte? Dutch lucht). In the Old Teutonic dialects there are no other correspondences of link; perhaps Modern High German lenken is allied to this word with the primary meaning ‘oblique, awry’; lenken signifies literally ‘to direct obliquely.’ Schlimm may also be a cognate.
Linnen, neuter, a Low German form for Leinen, ‘linen,’ which was introduced in the last century into Upper Germany through the Westphalian linen trade. Old Saxon lînîn is still used as an adjective, ‘flaxen, linen.’
Linse, feminine, ‘lentil, lens,’ from the equivalent Middle High German linse, Old High German linsi, feminine, with the Middle High German and Old High German variant linsîn. It is not certain whether the word comes from Latin lens, feminine, because other borrowed terms are based not on the nominative of the Latin word (compare Kreuz, Kelch, yet also Pabst), but on the stem appearing in the oblique cases; hence Latin lent- (as is shown by Anglo-Saxon lens) ought to have appeared as *linz- in High German. An analogous case of an apparent permutation of nt to ns is furnished by English flint, equivalent to Old High German flins, Middle High German vlins (see Flinte); these difficulties are not yet solved. Erbse, however, testifies that we are not compelled to assume that Linse was borrowed from Latin. Compare also Old Slovenian lęšta (from *lentja), Lithuanian lènszis, ‘lentil.’
Lippe, feminine, ‘lip,’ unknown to Middle High German and Old High German; it has appeared in the written language since Luther. It is the Low German and ​Middle German word for Upper German Lefze; Compare Old Saxon *lippa, Dutch lip, Anglo-Saxon lippa, English lip; in Gothic we have perhaps to assume *lipiô, feminine. According to Old Saxon lëpur the Teutonic root is lep, and this, following the permutation of consonants, is based on leb. The correspondence with Latin labium is generally accepted; but when this is connected with lambere, ‘to lick,’ difficulties are presented, especially by the meaning. To represent the lip as ‘that which licks’ is not satisfactory. In Teutonic a verb (Old High German laffan, preterite luof) corresponding to Latin lambere has been retained, and the rules of gradation show that High German Lippe cannot be allied to this; Lippe is connected rather with a Gothic verb *lipan, not *lapan (Old High German laffan). Latin labium was derived perhaps from *lebium (Gothic *lipjô) and connected with lambere; to this Modern Persian lab, ‘lip,’ is allied. The Low German word passed through Dutch into French lippe, feminine, ‘blobber lip.’
lispeln, verb, ‘to lisp,’ with a diminutive or frequentative suffix from Middle High German and Old High German lispen, verb, ‘to stammer’; never ‘to speak through the lips’ as a derivative of Lefze (see Lippe); it rather represents wlispen (thus in Lower Rhenish in the 15th century, also by transposition, wilspen?). Compare Anglo-Saxon wlisp, wlips, Old High German lisp, ‘stammering’; English to lisp, Dutch lispen.
List, feminine, ‘craft, cunning, deceit,’ from Middle High German and Old High German list, masculine (feminine in Middle German and Old High German), ‘wisdom, prudence, slyness, sly purpose, cunning, art.’ Gothic lists is by chance not recorded with the Modern High German sense only. The meaning ‘prudence’ is the originally one; Anglo-Saxon list, feminine, ‘art, propriety, cunning,’ English list; Old Icelandic list, feminine, ‘prudence, skill in an art, propriety.’ Thus the signification of the word fluctuates in several dialects between the primary meaning ‘prudence’ and ‘cunning.’ The substantive, as an old abstract in ti (Gothic listi-ns, accusative plural), belongs by its structure to the Gothic preterite present lais, ‘I know’; the verbal stem lis, with the original sense ‘to know,’ is still widely diffused in High German, compare lehren and lernen. Moreover, on the common Teutonic listi- are based the Slavonic cognates of Old Slovenian lĭstĭ and the Romance class comprising French leste and Italian lesto, ‘skilful, nimble.’
Liste, feminine, ‘list, roll’ Modern High German only, from French liste, Italian lista, which are again derived from High German Leiste (Middle High German lîste).
Litze, feminine, ‘twisted lace, bobbin,’ from Middle High German litze, feminine, ‘twisted lace, cord as a barrier’; from Latin lîcium, neuter, ‘thread.’ The change made in the quantity when the word was borrowed in Middle High German as lĭtze is analogous to that in Lilie and Linie. From the Latin lîcium (whence French lice, ‘lists, arena’) are also derived Zwillich and Drillich, which see.
Lob, neuter, ‘praise,’ from Middle High German lop (b), Old High German lob, neuter and masculine, ‘praise, reward, glorification’; corresponding to Dutch lof, Anglo-Saxon lof, masculine, ‘praise, fame’; Old Icelandic lof. neuter, ‘fame, reward, praise, laudatory poem,’ also ‘permission,’ points to the similarity of the roots of loben and erlauben (compare Middle High German urloup and urlop, ‘permission’). The old gradation lub-liub-laub comprises Modern High German Lob, lieb, glauben, and erlauben; in Anglo-Saxon, lufu (equivalent to English love) is the weakest form of the root with the meaning corresponding to High German lieb (Gothic liufs), Under lieb the primary sense of the Aryan root leubh (Sanscrit lubh, Latin lubet, lubido) is assumed to be ‘inclination’; in meaning, Lithuanian liaupsě, ‘hymn,’ láupsinti, ‘to extol,’ are the most closely allied. With regard to the gradation, it is also noteworthy that Middle High German and Modern High German loben, Old High German lobôn, lobên, verb, Anglo-Saxon lofian, verb, ‘to praise,’ are represented in Old Icelandic by lofa, verb, ‘to praise, commend, permit,’ and that Old Icelandic leyfa (from *laubjan) has also the same double sense. — Modern High German and Middle High German lobesam, adjective, ‘laudable,’ Old High German lobosam, Anglo-Saxon lofsum; Gothic galufs, galaufs, ‘precious,’ literally ‘having praise,’ so too Old High German glob, ‘precious.’
Loch, neuter, ‘hole, dungeon, haunt,’ from Middle High German loch, neuter, Old High German loh, genitive lohhes, neuter, ‘enclosed place, prison, lurking-place, cave, hole, opening.’ Compare Anglo-Saxon loc, neuter, ‘enclosed place, lock’; loca, masculine, ‘enclosed place, prison’; from the former English lock is derived. The various meanings all originate in ‘enclosed place’; compare Gothic usluka-, ‘opening.’ The substantive is formed by gradation from an old Teutonic verb (obsolete in Modern High German), Middle High German lûchen, Old High German lûhhan, Gothic lûkan, Anglo-Saxon lûcan, ‘to lock,’ which may be compared (since the Pre-Teutonic root is lū̆g) with Lithuanian lúżtu (lúżti), ‘to be broken,’ as well as with Sanscrit ruj, ‘to break.’
Locke, feminine, ‘lock, curl, tress,’ from the equivalent Middle High German loc (plural locke), Old High German loc (plural locchâ), masculine; compare Anglo-Saxon locc, English lock, Old Icelandic lokkr, Dutch lok, ‘lock’ A common Teutonic word for ‘lock’ (Gothic *lukks is by chance not recorded), and peculiar to the ​Teutons, who from the earliest times laid special stress on the mode of wearing the hair; the freeman was distinguished by his long streaming locks, while the bondman wore his hair short. The Southerners (see fahl) were specially struck with the golden curly hair of the Teutons when they first came into contact with them. It is true that curls were considered effeminate by the earlier Northmen, though in Germany they were fondly cherished. Compare also Haar, Schopf, Hede, and other words for ‘hair’ peculiar to Teutonic. The primitively history of the word is obscure; Locke (as ‘that which is bent’) is most provably connected with an Aryan root, lug, ‘to draw, bend, curve’; compare Greek λυγ- in λυγόω, λυγίζω, ‘I bend, tie,’ also λύγος, ‘young, pliant twig’ (Lithuanian palugnas, adjective, ‘pleasing’?). In Teutonic the following are also probably allied to these — Gothic lûkan, ‘to draw’ (uslûkan, ‘to unsheathe a sword’), North. English to look, ‘to weed,’ Bavarian liechen, ‘to pluck’ (e.g. the flax out of the ground).
locken, verb, ‘to curl, entice,’ from Middle High German locken, Old High German locchôn, ‘to entice, allure, decoy,’ with the equivalent variant Middle High German lücken, Old High German lucchen. Old Icelandic only has a corresponding lokka, ‘to entice.’ To these Lithuanian lugsti, ‘to beg,’ is primitively allied. Compare Luder, allied to laden.
locker, adjective, ‘loose, spongy, dissolute,’ first occurs in early Modern High German with the Middle High German variant loger; in Upper German lucke, lücke (now luck); from the same root as Lücke (Teutonic root lug).
lodern, verb, ‘to blaze, flare,’ first occurs in early Modern High German; literally perhaps ‘to spring up (of plants}’; a Low German word. Compare Westphalian lodern, ‘to grow luxuriantly,’ to which Old High German lota, ‘young shoot,’ is allied; for the root lud see under Leute.
Löffel, masculine, ‘spoon, ladle,’ from the equivalent Middle High German lęffel, Old High German lęffil (lępfil), masculine; corresponding to Low German and Dutch lepel (whence Icelandic lepill, ‘spoon’), Derived from a Teutonic root lap, ‘to drink, lick,’ which is assumed by Old High German laffan, ‘to lick, Anglo-Saxon lapian, ‘to drink, lap’; further by Latin lambere, ‘to lick’; hence Löffel means literally ‘a utensil for sipping liquids’ (see Lefze and Lippe). The Scandinavian term is spánn, which was adopted in English as spoon (in Anglo-Saxon cucelêre, equivalent to Latin cochlear; see under Span.
loh, adjective (especially in lichterloh, ‘in full blaze’), ‘blazing, flaring,’ Modern High German only; allied to the following word.
Lohe (1.), feminine, ‘blaze,’ from Middle High German lohe, masculine (Middle German also feminine), ‘flame, lurid ray,’ Old High German *loho (Gothic *laúha); the term used in Old High German was loug, Middle High German louc (Anglo-Saxon lêg, lîg). These, like Old Icelandic loge, masculine, ‘flame,’ are derived from the Teutonic root luh, ‘to give light,’ which still exists in High German Licht, and which as Aryan luk appears in Latin lucere, lux, Old Slovenian luča, ‘ray,’ and the Sanscrit ruc, ‘to shine,’ rocis, ‘light.’
Lohe (2.), feminine, ‘tanning bark,’ from the equivalent Middle High German, Middle Low German, and Old High German lô (genitive lôwes), neuter; compare Dutch looi. Distinct from Lohe (1), since it presumes a Gothic *lawa-; origin obscure.
lohen, verb, ‘to flare. blaze,’ from the equivalent Middle High German lohen, Old High German lohén; allied to Lohe (1).
Lohn, masculine, ‘reward, wages,’ from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German lôn, masculine and neuter; a word common to Old Teutonic; compare the equivalent Gothic laun, Old Icelandic laun, Anglo-Saxon leán, Dutch loon, Old Saxon lôn. Since na- is the suffix, we may connect the root lau- with Old Slovenian lovŭ, ‘booty, chase,’ Latin lu-crum, ‘gain,’ Greek ἀπολαύω, ‘to partake of’; others make it cognate with Or. lúag, ‘reward.’
Lolch, masculine, ‘darnel,’ from the equivalent Middle High German lulch, lullich, lulche, masculine; the Old High German word is wanting, therefore it is difficult to determine when the term was borrowed from the equivalent Latin lolîum. It is also conceivable that the German word is independent of the Latin, especially as the former is lengthened by a guttural.
Loos, see Los.
Lorbeer, masculine, ‘laurel,’ from Middle High German lôrber, Old High German lôrbęri, neuter and feminine; literally ‘the berry of the lôrboum’ (Old High German and Middle High German); lôr- in lôr-boum, lôr-beri, is Latin laurus, ‘laurel tree,’ which was probably known in Germany even before the 7th century (compare Italian lauro, French laurier).
Los, Loos, neuter, ‘lot, fate, chance,’ from Middle High German and Old High German lôȥ, masculine and neuter, ‘lot, casting lots, drawing a lot, disposal by lottery, division of an inheritance’; compare Gothic hlauts, ‘lot, inheritance,’ Old Icelandic hlaut (hlutr), ‘lot, portion, sacrifice,’ Anglo-Saxon hlŷt and hlot, English lot. To these are allied the strong verbs — Old Icelandic hljóta, Anglo-Saxon hleótan, Old Saxon hliotan, Old High German lioȥan, Middle High German lieȥen, ‘to obtain by lot, acquire.’ This verbal stem in heathen times was probably a sacrificial term (compare Middle High German lieȥen, ‘to predict,’ Old Icelandic hlaut, ‘sacrifice’; also Tacitus, Germania, 10). Old derivatives of this root ​hlut, which is peculiar to Teutonic, passed also into Romance; compare Italian lotto, ‘lottery urn,’ French lot, ‘share,’ Old French lotir, ‘to cast lots, predict,’ French loterie, ‘lottery.’
los, adjective, ‘loose, released,’ from Middle High German lôs, ‘free, unimpeded, bare, plundered, released, wanton, not solid, frivolous’; corresponding to Gothic laus, ‘empty, invalid, vain,’ Old Icelandic ‘loose, free, unimpeded,’ Anglo-Saxon leás, ‘loose, false, deceitful’ (to this is allied English leas, ‘lie’ and English -less, only as the second part of a compound; English loose is borrowed from Scandinavian), Dutch los, Old Saxon lôs; the adjective form lausa-, common to Teutonic, is from the root lus, ‘to be loose,’ discussed under verlieren. From the Teutonic adjective is derived Spanish lozano, ‘merry, cheerful.’ See lösen.
löschen (1.), verb, ‘to extinguish, go out’; in the Modern High German verb two Middle High German verbs are comprised, Middle High German lëschen (most frequently erlëschen), strong verb, ‘to cease to burn, go out,’ and the corresponding factitive lęschen, ‘to extinguish’; compare Old High German lëskan, irlëskan, intransitive, and lęsken, transitive; this verbal stem is unknown to the other Teutonic languages. The sk of Old High German lëskan is really a suffix of the present stem (see dreschen and waschen), as may be inferred from the connection with the Teutonic root leg (see liegen); erlöschen is literally ‘to lie down.’
löschen (2.), verb, ‘to discharge a ship,’ borrowed from the equivalent Low German, Dutch lossen; compare Danish losse, Swedish lossa; the origin and early history of the cognates are unknown (compare Boot, Bord, and Rahe).
lösen, verb, ‘to loosen, free,’ from the equivalent Middle High German lœsen, Old High German lôsen (*lôsjan); a derivative of the Middle High German and Old High German adjective lôs (see los); compare Gothic lausjan, ‘to loosen,’ from laus, ‘loose.’
Losung, feminine, ‘war-cry, watchword,’ from the equivalent late Middle High German losunge, lôȥunge, the first appearance of which in the 15th century makes it impossible to determine the correct Middle High German form and its derivation (from Los? or from losen, ‘to hear’? see lauschen).
Lot, neuter, ‘lead (or soft metal), half an ounce,’ from Middle High German lôt (in Old High German by chance not recorded), neuter, ‘lead, weight cast from lead’; corresponding to Dutch lood, ‘lead, kind of weight,’ Anglo-Saxon leád, English lead. The old West Teutonic *lauda-, neuter, ‘lead,’ is connected with the equivalent Old Irish luáide. —
löten, verb, from the equivalent Middle High German lœten, ‘to solder,’ is a derivative of Lot. —
lötig, ‘of due alloy,’ corresponds in compounds to Middle High German lœtec, ‘of full weight, containing the due proportion of a noble metal.’
Lotse, masculine, ‘pilot,’ like löschen (2) Modern High German only; borrowed from Low German and Dutch loots, loods, ‘pilot.’ Perhaps the word originated in English in which loadsman, ‘steersman,’ occurs as an old compound of load, Anglo-Saxon lâd, ‘street, way’ (see leiten). With regard to the o in Lotse, see Boot.
Lotter-, in compounds like Lotterbube, ‘vagrant, knave,’ from Middle High German loter, ‘slack, light-minded, frivolous, knave, ne'er-do-well, buffoon,’ Old High German lotar, ‘empty, vain’; compare Anglo-Saxon loddêre, ‘villain.’ Allied to liederlich.
Löwe, masculine, ‘lion,’ from the equivalent Middle High German lęwe, lëwe (louwe, löuwe), Old High German lëwo, lęwo (louwo), masculine; compare Old Saxon and Anglo-Saxon leo, Dutch leeuw; undoubtedly a loan-word, since there is no common Teutonic and no old Aryan term for ‘lion.’ Latin leo, however, does not suffice to explain all the German forms of Middle Europe. Old High German louwo and Middle High German löuwe, ‘lion,’ are specially abnormal (English lion is derived from French lion). These late occurring Old High German forms with ou are preserved in Modern High German names of places and streets, such as Lauenburg, Lauengasse. The Middle High German feminine lunze (also lewinne), ‘lioness,’ still remains obscure.
Luchs, masculine, ‘lynx,’ from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German luhs, masculine; corresponding to Old Saxon lox, Dutch losch, Anglo-Saxon lox, masculine. The s of this Old Teutonic stem is a suffix, as in Fuchs; hence Swedish lô (Gothic *laúhô), and in the non-Teutonic languages Lithuanian lúszis, Greek λυγκ-, ‘lynx.’ It is probably related to the root luh in Licht (Old Icelandic ljós, ‘light,’ Anglo-Saxon lîxan, ‘to give light’), since the sharp, gleaming eyes of the lynx may have given rise to the name.
Lücke, feminine, ‘gap, chasm,’ from Middle High German lücke, lucke, Old High German lucka, from *luggja, feminine, ‘hole, gap,’ closely allied to locker (Middle High German loger, Upper German luck). The Upper German dialects contain a primary form *luggia (Swiss lugg, not lukχ), hence Old High German luccha, ‘gap,’ is abnormal. For this reason too the phonetic relation of the word to Loch is obscure.
Luder, neuter, ‘lure, decoy, bait,’ from Middle High German luoder, neuter, ‘bait, gluttony, dissolute life, loose woman’ (from an Old Teutonic lôþra- is derived French leurre, ‘lure, bait’). Its connection with Modern High German laden is probable, since ‘bait’ is the original sense.
Lüderlich, see liederlich.
​ Luft, feminine (Upper German masculine), ‘air, breeze,’ from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German luft, masculine and feminine; a common Teutonic term; compare Gothic luftus, Old Icelandic lopt, Anglo-Saxon lyft (English lift, dialectic only), Old Saxon luft, Dutch lucht, ‘air’. Whether Old Icelandic lopt, ‘loft’ (compare Laube), is a derivative of the same word remains dubious; nor is it of any help in determining the primitive sense of the specifically Teutonic luftu-, especially as indubitable cognates in the non-Teutonic languages are wanting.
Lug, masculine, Lüge, feminine, ‘lie, falsehood,’ from the equivalent Middle High German luc (g), lüge (lügene), Old High German lugin, feminine; an abstract of lügen (dialectic liegen), Middle High German liegen, Old High German liogan, strong verb ‘to lie.’ Compare Old Saxon lugina, ‘lie,’ from liogan, Dutch leugen, logen, from liegen, Anglo-Saxon lyge (English lie), from leógan, Gothic liugn, ‘lie,’ from liugan, strong verb ‘to lie.’ —
Lügner, masculine, ‘liar,’ from Middle High German lügenœre, Old High German luginâri. To this common Teutonic root lug (Aryan lugh), ‘to lie,’ Gothic liugan (preterite liugaida), ‘to marry,’ has no relation; the latter, like Old Frisian logia, ‘to marry,’ is connected rather with Old Irish luige, ‘oath’ (primitive form lughio-). Modern High German lügen is more probably allied to Old Slovenian lŭžą (lŭgati), ‘to lie,’ lŭža, ‘lie.’ From Teutonic, Italian (dialectic) luchina, ‘false story,’ is derived.
lugen, verb, ‘to look out, spy,’ from the equivalent Middle High German luogen, Old High German luogên; corresponding to Old Saxon lôcôn, Anglo-Saxon lôcian, English to look, with an abnormal k for g. From these Norman luquer is borrowed. The early history of this West Teutonic stem lôkai, lôgai-, is obscure.
Luke, feminine, ‘dormer window, hole, hatchway,’ properly a Low German word meaning ‘opening’; allied to Loch.
lullen, verb, ‘to lull,’ Modern High German only; a recent onomatopoetic term.
Lümmel, masculine, ‘lubber, scoundrel,’ first occurs in Modern High German; probably derived from the antiquated adjective lumm, ‘relaxed, loose,’ which is based on Middle High German lüeme, Old High German luomi, ‘mild, languid’ (Middle High German lüemen, ‘to slacken, relax, be wearied’), and connected with lahm.
Lump, masculine, ‘scamp, ragamuffin,’ Modern High German only; properly identical with Lumpen, masculine, ‘rag, tatter,’ which in late Middle High German appears as lumpe with the same sense. It was probably introduced from Low German; compare Dutch lomp, ‘rag, tatter, patch,’ lomperd, ‘lout’ (to this Old Icelandic leppr, ‘shield,’ is allied?); compare Lappen and Lasse. — lumpen, verb, literally ‘to treat or regard as a ragamuffin.’
Lunge, feminine, ‘lung,’ from the equivalent Middle High German lunge, Old High German lungun (plural lungunnâ), feminine; corresponding to the equivalent Gothic *luggô, Old Icelandic lunga, Anglo-Saxon lungen, English lungs (properly plural on account of the two lobes), Dutch long. Some etymologists connect these cognates with the Old Teutonic root ling, ‘to be light,’ which appears in leicht and gelingen. Compare Portuguese leve, ‘lung,’ from Latin levis, ‘light,’ English lights from light, Russian legkoe from legkij.
lungern, verb, ‘to seek prey, yearn,’ Modern High German only; a derivative of the West Teutonic adjective, Middle High German lunger, Old High German lungar, ‘speedy, quick,’ Anglo-Saxon lungor, ‘quick,’ which, with Greek ἐλαφρός, ‘quick,’ is connected with the Aryan root lengh, discussed under the preceding word (see leicht).
Lüning, masculine, ‘sparrow’ (Low German), from the equivalent Old Saxon hliuning. Origin obscure.
Lünse, feminine, ‘linch-pin,’ from the equivalent late Middle High German luns, lunse; compare Old Saxon lunisa, Dutch luns, lens. In Old High German lun, luna, Middle High German lun, lune, feminine, also Old High German luning, Middle High German lüninc, lüner, ‘lungs’; compare Anglo-Saxon lynes, masculine, English linch-pin (Gothic *lunisi is wanting); it may have been formed like Gothic aqizi, jukuzi. Some etymologists connect these cognates with the Aryan root lu, ‘to loosen,’ discussed under verlieren, so that Lünse is literally ‘peg for loosening the wheel.’ Compare further Anglo-Saxon âlynnan, ‘to release.’
Lunte, feminine, ‘lunt, match,’ Modern High German only; corresponding to Dutch lonte, English lunt, Danish lunte. In earlier Modern High German and in modern dialects it signifies ‘wick of a lamp’ (properly ‘tow’?), allied to Middle High German lünden, ‘to burn’ (Old High German lunda, ‘tallow’?). Further cognates are uncertain. — Lunte, ‘brush of a fox,’ is a figurative sense of Lunte, ‘lunt’ (i.e., from its fiery colour).
lüpfen, ‘to set free and then raise aloft,’ an Upper German verb, from the equivalent Middle High German lüpfen, lupfen. Since the word is not found in other languages (Gothic *luppjan?), its origin cannot be discovered; perhaps it is connected with the cognates of Läufel. In Modern High German a modern verb, lüften (allied to Luft), ‘to lift,’ has supplanted the cognate phonetic form lüpfen.
Lust, feminine, ‘pleasure, delight, fancy, lust,’ from the equivalent Middle High German lust, masculine and feminine, Old High German lust, feminine; corresponding to Gothic lustus, Old Icelandic lyst, Anglo-Saxon lyst, lust, English list, lust, Dutch and Old Saxon lust; a common Teutonic abstract, the origin of which is still dubious. Its relation to lieben (Teutonic root lub, ‘to ​desire’), as well as to the root lus (see verlieren) is improbable; it is rather connected with a root has, ‘to desire,’ to which is allied Greek λιλαζομαι, Sanscrit root laš (for lals), ‘to desire,’ and also with the Sanscrit root lod, lud, ‘to move.’
lutschen, verb, ‘to suck,’ Modern High German only, a recent onomatopoetic term.