Etymology dictionary

locomotor (adj.) — long-ago (adj.)

locomotor (adj.)

1870, "of or pertaining to locomotion;" probably based on locomotion (as motor/motion). Earlier as a noun, "something with locomotive power" (1822). Related: Locomotory; locomotorial.

loco-weed (n.)

plant of the U.S. West, noted for its effect on cattle and horses that ate it, 1877; see loco (adj.) "crazy" + weed (n.).

(plural loci), 1715, "place, spot, locality," from Latin locus "a place, spot; appointed place, position; locality, region, country; degree, rank, order; topic, subject," from Old Latin stlocus, a word of uncertain origin. Used by Latin writers for Greek topos. Mathematical sense by 1750.

locum-tenens (n.)

legal Latin, "one who holds the place (of another);" from locum, accusative of locus "place" (see locus) + tenens, present participle of tenere "to hold" (from PIE root *ten- "to stretch").

locust (n.1)

"grasshopper, large orthopterous insect noted for mass migrations accompanied by destructive ravages of vegetation," early 14c., borrowed earlier in Old French form languste (c. 1200), from Latin locusta "locust; lobster" (see lobster).

locust (n.2)

North American tree, used for ornament and lumber, 1630s, a transferred use (based on resemblance) from locust-tree "carob tree" (1610s), the fruit of which supposedly resembles the insect (see locust (n.1)). Greek akris "locust" often was applied in the Levant to carob pods. In U.S. from late 19c. policemen's clubs were famously made from locust wood (locust-club is attested from 1887).

locution (n.)

"style of speech," early 15c., from Latin locutionem (nominative locutio) "a speaking, speech, discourse; way of speaking," noun of action from past-participle stem of loqui "to speak," from PIE root *tolkw- "to speak." Related: Locutionary.

locutory (n.)

"room (in a monastery) for conversation," especially with those not connected with the monastery, late 15c., from Medieval Latin locutorium, from Late Latin locutor "a speaker," from Latin loqui "to talk" (from PIE root *tolkw- "to speak").

lode (n.)

Middle English spelling of load (n.) "a burden," it keeps most of the word's original meaning "a way, a course, something to be followed." The differentiation in sense took place 16c., that of spelling somewhat later. Mining sense of "vein of metal ore" is from c. 1600, from the notion of miners "following" it through the rock. Also found in lodestone, lodestar, and, somewhat disguised, livelihood. Middle English also had lodesman (c. 1300) "leader, guide; pilot, steersman."

loden (n.)

"coarse woolen cloth," 1880, from German loden "thick woolen cloth."

lodestar (n.)

late 14c. (late 13c. as a surname), "a star that leads or serves to guide," an old name for the pole star as the star that "leads the way" in navigation; from lode (n.) "a way, a course, something to be followed" (a Middle English variant spelling of load (n.) that preserved the original Old English sense of that noun) + star (n.). Figurative use from late 14c. Compare lodestone. Similar formation in Old Norse leiðarstjarna, German Leitstern, Danish ledestjerne.

lodestone (n.)

"magnetically polarized oxide of iron," 1510s, literally "way-stone," from lode (n.) + stone (n.). So called because it was used to make compass magnets to guide mariners. Figurative use from 1570s. Compare lodestar.

lodge (n.)

Middle English logge, mid-13c. in surnames and place names; late 13c. as "small building or hut," from Old French loge "arbor, covered walk; hut, cabin, grandstand at a tournament" (12c.), from Frankish *laubja "shelter" (cognate with Old High German louba "porch, gallery," German Laube "bower, arbor"), from Proto-Germanic *laubja- "shelter." On a widespread guess (backed by Watkins, OED) this likely originally meant "shelter of foliage," or "roof made from bark," and is from the same PIE root as leaf (n.).

Modern spelling is from c. 1500. The specific sense "hunter's cabin" is first recorded late 14c. Sense of "local branch of a society" is first recorded 1680s, of Freemasons, from an earlier use of lodge as "workshop of a group of masons" (mid-14c.). In the New World the word was used of certain American Indian buildings (1805), hence lodge-pole (1805) and lodge-pole pine (1859).

lodging (n.)

early 14c., "encampment;" late 14c., "temporary accommodation; place of residence," verbal noun from lodge (v.). Related: Lodgings.

lodge (v.)

c. 1200, loggen, "to encamp (an army), set up camp;" c. 1300 "furnish with a temporary habitation, put in a certain place," from Old French logier "to lodge; find lodging for" (12c., Modern French loger), from loge "hut, cabin" (see lodge (n.)).

From late 14c. as "to dwell, live; to have temporary accommodations; to provide (someone) with sleeping quarters; to get lodgings." Sense of "plant, implant, get (a spear, bullet, fist, etc.) in the intended place, to make something stick" is from 1610s. Meaning "deposit" (a complaint, etc.) with an official" is from 1708. Related: Lodged; lodging.

lodgement (n.)

also lodgment, "act of lodging," 1590s, from French logement (14c.) "accommodation, lodgings," from Old French logier (see lodge (v.)).

lodger (n.)

"one who lives in rented rooms in the house of another," 1590s, agent noun from lodge (v.). Earlier as "tent-dweller" (early 14c.); c. 1200 as a surname.

loess (n.)

1833 (in Lyell), "unstratified deposit of loam," a special use from 1823 by German mineralogist Karl Cäsar von Leonhard (1779-1862) of German Löss "yellowish-gray soil," of a type found in the Rhine valley, from Swiss German lösch (adj.) "loose" (compare German los "loose"), from Proto-Germanic *lausaz, from PIE root *leu- "to loosen, divide, cut apart." Related: Loessial.

lo-fi (adj.)

1958, the opposite of hi-fi.

loft (n.)

"an upper chamber," c. 1300, an extended sense from late Old English loft "the sky; the sphere of the air," from Old Norse lopt (Scandinavian -pt- pronounced like -ft-) "air, sky," originally "upper story, loft, attic," from Proto-Germanic *luftuz "air, sky" (source also of Old English lyft, Dutch lucht, Old High German luft, German Luft, Gothic luftus "air").

If this is correct, the sense development would be from "loft, ceiling" to "sky, air." Buck suggests a further connection with Old High German louft "bark," louba "roof, attic," etc., with development from "bark" to "roof made of bark" to "ceiling," though this did not directly inform the meaning "air, sky" (compare lodge (n.)). But Watkins says this is "probably a separate Germanic root." Meaning "gallery in a church" first attested c. 1500. From 1520s as "apartment over a stable" used for hay storage, etc.

loft (v.)

"to hit a ball high in the air," 1856, originally in golf, from loft (n.). Compare sky (v.) in the modern slang sense. An earlier sense was "to put a loft on" (a building), 1560s; also "to store (goods) in a loft" (1510s). Related: Lofted; lofting.

lofty (adj.)

"exalted, of high rank," early 15c. (early 14c. as a surname); also "with a high purpose," from loft (n.) + -y (2). Literal sense of "high" is attested from 1580s. Related: Loftily; loftiness.

log (n.1)

unshaped large piece of tree, early 14c., of unknown origin. Old Norse had lag "felled tree" (from stem of liggja "to lie," hence "a tree that lies prostrate"), but many etymologists deny on phonological grounds that this can be the root of English log. Instead, they suggest an independent formation meant to "express the notion of something massive by a word of appropriate sound" [OED, which compares clog (n.) in its original Middle English sense "lump of wood"].

Log cabin (1770) was the typical dwelling of the poor in antebellum U.S. history in the well-timbered region that was then the West. It has been a figure of the honest pioneer since the 1840 presidential campaign of William Henry Harrison (the original application was derisive and either way it was inaccurate). Falling off a log as a type of something easy to do is from 1839.

log (v.2)

"to enter into a log-book," 1823, from log (n.2). Meaning "to attain (a speed) as noted in a log" is recorded by 1883. Meaning "to log in to a computer" is from 1963; it also sometimes is used to mean "log off" of a computer or program. Related: Logged; logging (n.2).

logging (n.1)

"act of felling timber," 1706, verbal noun from log (v.1).

logged (adj.)

c. 1820, "reduced to the condition of a log" (n.1), which was old sailors' slang for an incapacitated wooden ship; thus "inert in the water."

log (v.1)

"to fell trees for logs," 1717; earlier "to strip a tree" to make it a log (1690s), from log (n.1). Related: Logged; logging (n.1).

logging (n.2)

"act of recording in a log," 1941, verbal noun from log (v.2).

log (n.2)

"record of observations, readings, etc.," originally "record of a ship's progress," 1842, sailor's shortening of log-book (1670s), the daily record of a ship's speed, progress, etc., which is from log (n.1) "piece of wood." The book so called because it recorded the speed measurements made by means of a weighted chip of a tree log on the end of a reeled log line (typically 150 to 200 fathoms). The log lay dead in the water, and sailors counted the time it took the line to play out. The line was marked by different numbers of knots, or colored rags, tied at regular intervals; hence the nautical measurement sense of knot (n.). Similar uses of the cognate word are continental Germanic and Scandinavian (such as German Log). General sense "any record of facts entered in order" is by 1913.

loganberry (n.)

1893, American English, named for U.S. horticulturalist James H. Logan (1841-1928), who developed it by crossing a blackberry and a raspberry.

logarithm (n.)

a mathematical function used to shorten calculation, 1610s, logarithmus, coined in Modern Latin by Scottish mathematician John Napier (1550-1617), literally "ratio-number," from Greek logos "proportion, ratio, word" (see Logos) + arithmos "number" (from PIE *erei-dhmo-, suffixed variant form of root *re- "to reason, count"). Napier invented them and published a table in 1614; the kind now chiefly in use were invented by his contemporary Henry Briggs (1561-1630), a professor of geometry at Gresham College, London.

logarithmic (adj.)

"of, pertaining to, or consisting of logarithms," 1690s, from logarithm + -ic. Related: Logarithmical (1630s); logarithmetical (1620s).

logger (n.2)

"one who enters data in a log," 1958, agent noun from log (v.2).

logger (n.1)

"one who fells or cuts trees, one employed in getting out timber from forests," by 1708, agent noun from log (v.1).

loggerhead (n.)

1580s, "stupid person, blockhead, dunce, numbskull," perhaps from dialectal logger "heavy block of wood" + head (n.). Later it meant a type of thick-headed iron tool (1680s), a type of cannon shot, a post in the stern of a whale-boat, and a type of turtle (1650s). Loggerheads "fighting, fisticuffs" is from 1670s, but the exact notion in the compound is uncertain, perhaps it suggests the heavy tool used as a weapon. The phrase at loggerheads "in disagreement" is first recorded 1670s.

loggy (adj.)

"heavy, sluggish," 1847; see logy. Related: Logginess.

loggia (n.)

"roofed galley used as an open-air room," properly at a height of one or more stories, 1742, from Italian loggia, from French loge (see lodge (n.)).

-logy

word-forming element meaning "a speaking, discourse, treatise, doctrine, theory, science," from Medieval Latin -logia, French -logie, and directly from Greek -logia, from -log-, combining form of legein "to speak, tell;" thus, "the character or deportment of one who speaks or treats of (a certain subject);" from PIE root *leg- (1) "to collect, gather," with derivatives meaning "to speak (to 'pick out words')."

In philology "love of learning; love of words or discourse," apology, doxology, analogy, trilogy, eulogy, etc., Greek logos "word, speech, statement, discourse" is directly concerned.

logy (adj.)

also loggy, "dull and heavy," 1847, American English, perhaps from Dutch log "heavy, dull" + -y (2); compare Middle Low German luggich "sleepy, sluggish." Or perhaps a variant of loggy.

logical (adj.)

early 15c., "based on reason, according to the principles of logic," from logic + -al (1). Meaning "pertaining to logic" is c. 1500. Attested from 1860 as "following as a reasonable consequence." Related: Logically. Logical positivism, in reference to the ideas of the Vienna Circle of philosophers, is from 1931.

logic (n.)

mid-14c., logike, "branch of philosophy that treats of forms of thinking; the science of distinction of true from false reasoning," from Old French logique (13c.), from Latin (ars) logica "logic," from Greek (he) logike (techne) "(the) reasoning (art)," from fem. of logikos "pertaining to speaking or reasoning" (also "of or pertaining to speech"), from logos "reason, idea, word" (see Logos). Formerly also logick. Sometimes formerly plural, as in ethics, but this is not usual. Meaning "logical argumentation" is from c. 1600. Contemptuous logic-chopper "sophist, person who uses subtle distinctions in argument" is from 1846.

logician (n.)

"person skilled in logic," late 14c., from Old French logicien (13c.), from logique (see logic). The Greek word was logistes.

log in (v.)

verbal phrase, 1963 in the computing sense, from log (v.2) + in (adv.).

login (n.)

in the computer sense, as one word, by 1983, from the verbal phrase; see log in.

logistics (n.)

"art of moving, quartering, and supplying troops," 1846, from French (l'art) logistique "(art) of quartering troops," which apparently is from logis "lodging" (from Old French logeiz "shelter for an army, encampment," from loge; see lodge (n.)) + Greek-derived suffix -istique (see -istic). The form in French was influenced by logistique, from the Latin source of English logistic. Related: Logistical.

logistic (adj.)

"pertaining to logic," 1620s, from Medieval Latin logisticus, from Greek logistikos "skilled in calculating; endued with reason," from logistes "a calculator," from logos "calculation, proportion" (see Logos). Related: Logistical (1560s); logistically. Logistics, from this word, in the sense "art of arithmetical calculation" is from 1650s.

log-jam (n.)

also logjam, "congestion of logs on a river," by 1851, American English; see log (n.1) + jam (n.2). The figurative sense is by 1890.

logo (n.)

"simple symbol or graphic meant to represent something," 1937, probably a shortening of logogram "sign or character representing a word."

logo-

before vowels log-, word-forming element meaning "speech, word," also "reason," from Greek logos "word, discourse; reason," from PIE root *leg- (1) "to collect, gather," with derivatives meaning "to speak (to 'pick out words')."

Logos (n.)

1580s, "the divine Word, second person of the Christian Trinity," from Greek logos "word, speech, statement, discourse," also "a computation, account," also "reason, judgment, understanding," from PIE *log-o-, suffixed form of root *leg- (1) "to collect, gather," with derivatives meaning "to speak," on notion of "to pick out words." The Greek word was used by Neo-Platonists in metaphysical and theological senses involving notions of both "reason" and "word" and subsequently picked up by New Testament writers.

logocentric (adj.)

"centered on reason," 1931, from logo- "reason" + -centric.

logocracy (n.)

"system of government in which words are the ruling powers," 1804; see logo- + -cracy "rule or government by." Popularized by Washington Irving.

logogram (n.)

"word-sign, sign or character representing a word," 1840, from logo- "word" + -gram. Generically, "any symbol representing graphically a product, idea, etc.," from 1966. The earliest use of the word (1820) is in the sense "logograph," but OED explains this as a substitute for logograph, "which in this sense is itself a mistake for logogriph," the old type of word-puzzle.

logograph (n.)

"instrument for giving a graphic representation of speech, word-writer," 1879, from logo- "word" + -graph "instrument for recording; something written." Earliest use (1797) is in the sense "logogriph," and it frequently was used in place of that word (see logogriph). In ancient Greek, logographos was "prose-writer, chronicler, speech-writer." Related: Logographic.

logogriph (n.)

type of word puzzle based on synonyms, etc., and often in the form of a verse, 1590s, from French logogriphe, from Greek logos "word" (see Logos) + gripos/griphos "riddle," a figurative use, literally "fishing basket, creel," probably from a pre-Greek word in a lost Mediterranean language. "The variation [p/ph] is typical for Pre-Greek words; such an origin for a fisherman's word is quite understandable" [Beekes].

logolatry (n.)

"worship of words," 1810 (Coleridge), from logo- + -latry "worship of."

logomachy (n.)

"contention about, or with, words," 1560s, a nativized Latinized form of New Testament Greek logomakhia "a war about words," from logomakhos (see logo- + -machy). Related: Logomach; logomachical.

logomaniac (n.)

"one mad for words," 1870; see logo- "word" + maniac (see mania).

logon

in computer sense, as one word, by 1975, from log (v.2) + on (adv.).

logophobia (n.)

"fear of words," 1890; see logo- "word" + -phobia "fear." Related: Logophobe; logophobic.

logopoeia (n.)

a quality in poetic writing that charges words with meaning based on context and prior usage, a term introduced, along with phanopoeia (visual image) and melopoeia (sound), by Ezra Pound from Greek logopoeia, from logos "word" (see Logos) + poiein "to make, create" (see poet).

logorrhea (n.)

1878, from logo- "word, speech" + ending from diarrhea.

log-roll (v.)

also logroll, 1835, a back-formation from log-rolling.

log-rolling (n.)

also logrolling, in the legislative vote-trading sense, "mutual aid given in carrying out several schemes or gaining individual ends," 1823, American English, from the notion of neighbors on the frontier joining forces for rolling logs into heaps after the trees have been felled to clear the land (as in phrase you roll my log and I'll roll yours); see log (n.1) + verbal noun from roll (v.). "Sometimes many neighbors were invited to assist, and a merrymaking followed. [Century Dictionary]. In lumbering, in reference to rolling logs into a stream where they bound together and floated down to the mills.

However the phrase is not attested in any literal sense, only the political sense, until 1848.

-logue

word-forming element meaning "one who is immersed in or driven by," mostly from French-derived words, ultimately from Greek -logos, -logon (see -logy). Now mostly superseded by -loger, -logist except in ideologue and a few others. As a combining element meaning "kind of discourse," it is from French -logue, from Greek -logos.

*lois-

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "furrow, track."

It forms all or part of: delirious; delirium; last (n.1) "wooden model of a human foot used by shoemakers;" last (v.) "endure, go on existing;" learn; learning; Lehrjahre; lore.

It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Latin lira "furrow;" Old Prussian lyso "field bed;" Old Church Slavonic lexa "field bed, furrow;" Old High German leisa "track," Gothic laistjan "to follow," Old English læran "to teach."

loimic (adj.)

"pertaining to plague," 1822, from Greek loimikos "pestilential," from loimos "plague, pestilence," metaphorically "pernicious man," most often taken as a variant of limos "hunger, famine," a word of uncertain origin. Related: Loimography (1706).

loin (n.)

early 14c., "side of the body of an animal used for food;" late 14c., "side of the lower torso of a human body," from Old French loigne "hip, haunch, lumbar region," from Vulgar Latin *lumbea, from *lumbea caro "meat of the loin," from fem. of *lumbeus, from Latin lumbus "loin," from PIE root *lendh- (1) "loin" (see lumbo-).

The native word was Old English lendenu "loins," from Proto-Germanic *landwin- (source also of German Lende "loin," Lenden "loins;" Old High German lenti, Old Saxon lendin, Middle Dutch lendine, Dutch lende, Old Norse lend). The Latin word perhaps was borrowed from Germanic. In Biblical translations, often used for "that part of the body that should be covered and about which the clothes are bound" (1520s), hence, in symbolic or figurative use, with reference to being the seat of sexual faculty and a symbol of strength. Related: Loins.

loin-cloth (n.)

also loincloth, "cloth worn about the loins" (properly the hips), 1851, from loin (n.) + cloth (n.).

Loire

river through central France, from Latin Liger, which is perhaps from a compound of PIE roots meaning "mud" and "water."

loiter (v.)

early 15c., "idle one's time, dawdle over work;" perhaps from or akin to Middle Dutch loteren "be loose or erratic, shake, totter" like a loose tooth or a sail in a storm; in modern Dutch, leuteren "to delay, linger, loiter over one's work," according to Watkins, literally "to make smaller," and perhaps from Germanic *lut-, from PIE *leud- "small" (see little (adj.)).

The Dutch word is said to be cognate with Old English lutian "lurk," and related to Old English loddere "beggar;" Old High German lotar "empty, vain," luzen "lurk;" German Lotterbube "vagabond, rascal," lauschen "eavesdrop;" Gothic luton "mislead;" Old English lyðre "base, bad, wicked." Related: Loitered; loitering.

loitering (n.)

late 14c., verbal noun from loiter (v.).

lol (interj.)

by 1993, computer chat abbreviation of laughing out loud.

Lola

fem. proper name, diminutive of Spanish Dolores.

Lolita

fem. proper name, diminutive of Lola (thus a double diminutive). Title and character name in the 1958 novel by Vladimir Nabokov (1899-1977) "about a precocious schoolgirl seduced by a middle-aged man" [OED]; hence figurative use (by 1960) "to designate people and situations resembling those in the book."

The doll-like Japanese fashion is mentioned in English circa 1995; the reference is ultimately derived from the Nabokov book, but in Japan the term had evolved a sense of "babyfaced adult" or "physically underdeveloped adult" and so became applied to the fashion style which tends to eschew any clothing elements traditionally seen as erotic or sexualized in favor of appearing cute and innocent.

loll (v.)

mid-14c., lollen "to lounge idly, hang loosely;" late 14c., "rest at ease" (intransitive), a word of uncertain origin; perhaps related to Middle Dutch lollen "to doze, mumble," or somehow imitative of rocking or swinging. Specifically of the tongue from 1610s. Also in extended form lollop (1745). Related: Lolled; lolling. As a noun, from 1709. Lollpoop "A lazy, idle drone" ("Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue") is from 1660s.

lollapalooza (n.)

also lallapaloosa, lallapalootza, etc.; "remarkable or wonderful person or thing," 1901, American English, fanciful formation. The annual North American alternative pop music concert of the same name dates from 1991.

Lollard

name for certain heretics, late 14c., also Loller, from Middle Dutch lollaerd, a word applied pejoratively to members of semi-monastic reforming sects active in the Low Countries from c. 1300 who devoted themselves to the care of the sick and poor. The Dutch word means literally "mumbler, mutterer, one who mutters prayers and hymns," from lollen "to mumble or doze."

They were so called by critics who saw in them heretics pretending to humble piety, from lollen "to mumble or doze." In transferred use it became the generic late Middle English term for groups suspected of heresy, especially followers of John Wycliffe. Related: Lollardism (the modern word); Lollardy (the old one).

lolly (n.)

short for lollipop, 1854. Also, in mid-20c. British slang, "money."

lollipop (n.)

1784, lolly-pops "soft candy, coarse sweetmeat made of treacle and sugar, usually with butter and flour added," a word "of obscure formation" [OED]. The elements are perhaps related to loll (v.) "to dangle" (the tongue) + pop "a strike, slap." Or the first element may be northern dialectal lolly "the tongue." Figurative sense of something sweet but unsubstantial is by 1849. Meaning "hard candy on a stick" is from 1920s.

lollygag (v.)

"dawdle, dally," 1862, lallygag, American English, perhaps from dialectal lolly "tongue" + gag "deceive, trick." Related: Lollygagged; lollygagging.

Lombard (n.)

also (reflecting a variant pronunciation) Lumbard, late 15c., "native or inhabitant of Lombardy" in Italy, from Medieval Latin Lombardus (source also of Italian Lombardo), from Late Latin Langobardus, name of a Germanic people that originated in Scandinavia, migrated to the Elbe area 1c. C.E., then to Pannonia (5c.) and c. 568 under Albonius conquered northern Italy and founded a kingdom there.

The name is from Proto-Germanic *Langgobardoz, often said to mean literally "Long-beards" (see long (adj.) + beard (n.)), but according to OED the second element is perhaps rather from the proper name of the people (Latin Bardi). Their name in Old English was Langbeardas (plural), but also Heaðobeardan, from heaðo "war."

In Middle English the word meant "banker, money-changer, pawnbroker" (late 14c.), especially a Lombard or other Italian trading locally, before it was used in reference to the nationality. The name in Old French (Lombart, Lombert) also meant, in addition, "money-changer; usurer; coward." Lombards were noted throughout medieval Western Europe as bankers and money-lenders, also pawn-brokers. French also gave the word in this sense to Middle Dutch and Low German.

London's Lombard Street (c. 1200) originally was the site of the houses of Lombard (and other Italian) bankers, who dominated the London money-market into Elizabethan times. An old expression for "long odds, much against little" was Lombard Street to a China orange (1815, earlier to an egg-shell, 1763).

Lombardic

1690s, from Lombard + -ic or from Medieval Latin Lombardicus.

Lombardy

region and former kingdom (overthrown 744 by Charlemagne) in northern Italy; see Lombard. Lombardy poplar for the tall, columnar or spire-shaped variety, originally from Italy but planted in North American colonies as an ornamental tree, is attested from 1766.

London

chief city and capital of England, Latin Londinium (Tacitus, c. 115), according to the "Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names," "unexplained." It is often said to be "place belonging to a man named *Londinos," a supposed Celtic personal name meaning "the wild one," "but this etymology is rejected in an emphatic footnote in Jackson 1953 (p. 308), and we have as yet nothing to put in its place" [Margaret Gelling, "Signposts to the Past: Place-Names and the History of England," Chichester, 1978]. Its mythical history is told in Layamon's "Brut" (c. 1200).

In late Old English often with -burg, -wic, or -ceaster. As an adjective, Old English had Lundenisc, but this seems to have fallen from use, and modern Londonish (1838) probably is a re-coinage. Also Londony (1884); Londonesque (1852); Londinensian (George Meredith); Londonian (1824, marked "rare" in OED).

London Bridge the children's singing game is attested from 1827. London broil "large flank steak broiled then cut in thin slices" attested 1930s, American English; London fog first attested 1785.

Londoner (n.)

"resident or native of London," mid-15c., from London + -er (1). Earlier (late 14c.) was Londenoys, from Anglo-French Londenois.

lone (adj.)

late 14c., "having no companion, solitary, apart from any other," shortening of alone (q.v.) by weakening of stress or else by misdivision of what is properly all one. Used attributively, while the full form is used in the predicate. Compare live (adj.), from alive; colloquial 'long for along. The Lone Star in reference to Texas is first recorded 1843, from its flag when it was a nation. Lone wolf in the figurative sense is 1901, American English.

loneness (n.)

"state of being solitary or alone," 1590s, from lone (adj.) + -ness.

lonely (adj.)

c. 1600, "solitary, lone; unfrequented," from lone + -ly (1). Meaning "dejected for want of company" is from 1811. Lonely heart (n.) "a lonely-hearted person" is from 1922. Lonely hearted (adj.) is attested from 1820.

loneling (n.)

"single child" (as opposed to a twin, etc.), 1570s, from lone (adj.) + -ling.

loneliness (n.)

1580s, "condition of being solitary," from lonely + -ness. Meaning "feeling of being dejected from want of companionship or sympathy" is from 1814.

loner (n.)

"one who avoids company," 1946; see lone. Apparently first in U.S. baseball slang:

lonesome (adj.)

"drearily solitary; secluded from society; dejected from want of company," 1640s, from lone (adj.) + -some (1). Related: Lonesomeness. An older adjective was loneful (1560s).

longing (n.)

"yearning, eager desire, craving," Old English langung "longing, weariness, sadness, dejection," verbal noun from long (v.).

long (adj.)

Old English lang "having a great linear extent, that extends considerably from end to end; tall; lasting," from Proto-Germanic *langa- (source also of Old Frisian and Old Saxon lang, Old High German and German lang, Old Norse langr, Middle Dutch lanc, Dutch lang, Gothic laggs "long").

The Germanic words perhaps are from PIE *dlonghos- (source also of Latin longus "long, extended; further; of long duration; distant, remote," Old Persian darga-, Persian dirang, Sanskrit dirghah "long"), from root *del- (1) "long" (source also of Greek dolikhos "long," endelekhes "perpetual"). Latin longus (source of prolong, elongate, longitude, etc.) thus is probably cognate with, but not the source of, the Germanic words. The word illustrates the Old English tendency for short "a" to become short "o" before -n- (also retained in bond/band and West Midlands dialectal lond from land and hond from hand).

Also in Old English in reference to time, "drawn out in duration," with overtones of "serious." The old sense of "tall" now appears to be dialectal only, or obsolete. For long "during a long time" is from c. 1300. To be long on something, "have a lot" of it, is from 1900, American English slang. A long vowel (c. 1000) originally was pronounced for an extended time. Mathematical long division is from 1808. Sporting long ball is from 1744, originally in cricket. Long jump as a sporting event is attested from 1864. A long face, one drawn downward in expression of sadness or solemnity, is from 1786. Long in the tooth (1841 of persons) is from horses showing age by recession of gums (but not in this sense until 1870). Long knives, name Native Americans gave to white settlers (originally in Virginia/Kentucky) is from 1774, perhaps a reference to their swords. Long time no see, supposedly imitative of American Indian speech, is first recorded 1919 as Chinese English.

longing (adj.)

early 15c. (implied in longingly), present-participle adjective from long (v.).

long (adv.)

Old English lange, longe "for a length of time, a long time; far, to a great extent in space," from long (adj.). Old English also had langlice (adv.) "for a long time, long, at length." Longly (adv.) is rarely used. No longer "not as formerly" is from c. 1300; to be not long for this world "soon to die" is from 1714.

long (v.)

Middle English longen, from Old English langian "to yearn after, grieve for," literally "to grow long, lengthen," from Proto-Germanic *langojan, which probably is connected with the root of long (adj.). Cognate with Old Norse langa, Old Saxon langon, Middle Dutch langhen, Old High German langen "to long," German verlangen "to desire." Related: Longed; longing.