Etymology dictionary

lying (n.2) — -lyze

lying (n.2)

"untruthfulness, falsehood," c. 1300, "the telling of lies," verbal noun from lie (v.1) "to tell an untruth."

1620s in the classical sense "one who imagines himself to be a wolf and behaves as one;" 1825 in the modern sense "werewolf, human who supernaturally transforms into a wolf," from Modern Latin lycanthropus, from Greek lykanthropos "wolf-man" (see lycanthropy), and compare werewolf. Related: Lycanthropic.

lycanthropy (n.)

1580s, a form of madness (described by ancient writers) in which the afflicted thought he was a wolf, from Greek lykanthropia, from lykanthropos "wolf-man," from lykos "wolf" (see wolf (n.)) + anthrōpos "man" (from PIE root *ner- (2) "man"). Applied to actual transformations of persons (especially witches) into wolves since 1830 (see werewolf).

Lycaonian (adj.)

in reference to an ancient region in Asia Minor, from Latin Lycaonia, from Greek Lykaonia,

lyceum (n.)

1580s, Latin form of Greek lykeion, name of a grove or garden with covered walks in the eastern suburb of ancient Athens, also the site of an athletic facility. Aristotle taught there. The name is from the neuter of Lykeios, an epithet of Apollo under which he had a temple nearby, which probably meant or was understood to mean "wolfish" (the exact legend appears to have become muddled), from lykos "wolf" (see wolf (n.)). Frazer (Pausanias) notes "The same epithet was applied to Apollo at Sicyon and Argos," and adds that "Wolves were dear to Apollo ... and they frequently appear in the myths told of him," and lists several.

Hence lycée, name given in France to secondary schools maintained by the state (a pupil is a lycéen). In England, early 19c., lyceum was the name taken by a number of literary societies (based on a similar use in late 18c. French); in U.S., after c. 1820, it was taken by institutes that sponsored popular lectures in science and literature, and their halls. Related: Lyceal

Lycia

ancient name of a mountainous district of southwestern Asia Minor, inhabited in ancient times by a distinct people, influential in Greece. The name is perhaps related to Greek lykos "wolf." Related: Lycian.

Lycoperdon

fungus genus established 1700 (Tournefort) for the "puffball" mushrooms, from Latinized form of Greek lykos "wolf" (see wolf (n.)) + perdesthai "to break wind," from PIE imitative root *perd-.

Lycra

elastic polyurethane fiber, 1955, proprietary name (registered by E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company, Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.) of an elastic polyurethane fiber.

Lycurgus

Latinized form of Greek Lykourgos, name of the traditional law-giver of Sparta and author of its extraordinary constitution.

Lydia

ancient country of Asia Minor bordering the Aegean. It was an empire under Croesus, famous for his wealth. The name is from a supposed ancestor Ludos. The people also figure, as Ludim, in the Old Testament (Genesis x.13), which seems to have sometimes confused them with the Libyans. Related: Lydian, attested from 1540s as a noun, 1580s as an adjective, and 1570s as a musical mode.

lye (n.)

Old English læg, leag "lye, water impregnated with alkaline salt absorbed from the ashes of wood by leaching," from Proto-Germanic *laugo (source also of Middle Dutch loghe, Dutch loog, Old High German louga, German Lauge "lye"), from PIE root *leue- "to wash."

The substance formerly was used in place of soap, hence Old High German luhhen "to wash," Old Norse laug "hot bath, hot spring," Danish lørdag, Swedish lördag "Saturday," literally "washing-day," "the day appropriated by the Scandinavians to that exercise" [Century Dictionary]. Chamber-lye in early Modern English was the name for urine used as a detergent.

lymph (n.)

in physiology, "colorless fluid found in animal bodies," 1725, from French lymphe (16c.), from Latin lympha "water, clear water, a goddess of water," variant of lumpæ "waters," altered by influence of Greek nymphē "goddess of a spring, nymph."

The same word was used earlier in English in the classical sense "pure water, water" (1620s) and with reference to colorless fluids in plants (1670s). Also see lymphatic. Lymph node is attested by 1874.

lymphadenopathy (n.)

1899, from lymphadeno- "pertaining to a lymph gland" (from lymph + Greek adēnos, genitive of adēn "gland") + -pathy. Lymphadenoma is from 1870.

lymphatic (adj.)

1640s, from Modern Latin lymphaticus "pertaining to the lymph," from Latin lympha (see lymph). The English word also sometimes is used in what was the primary sense of lymphaticus in classical Latin, "mad, frenzied." OED reports this meaning "difficult to account for," but perhaps due to association of lympha with nymphe; compare Greek nymphian "to be frenzy-stricken." Also sometimes in reference to the appearance or temperament of one thought to suffer from excess of lymph, "dull, sluggish, slow in thought or action, with flabby muscles and pale skin" (1834).

lymphocyte (n.)

cell found in the lymph, 1890, from lympho- "lymph" (see lymph) + -cyte "a cell."

lymphoma (n.)

plural lymphomata, 1867, from lympho- (see lymph) + -oma.

lynching (n.)

1836, verbal noun from lynch (v.).

lynch (v.)

1835, "inflict severe (but not deliberately fatal) bodily punishment (on someone) without legal sanction," from earlier Lynch law (1811), in reference to such activity, which was likely named after William Lynch (1742-1820) of Pittsylvania, Virginia, who c. 1780 led a vigilance committee to keep order there during the Revolution. Other sources trace the name to Charles Lynch (1736-1796) a Virginia magistrate who fined and imprisoned Tories in his district c. 1782, but the connection to him is less likely. The surname is perhaps from Irish Loingseach "sailor."

Originally any sort of summary justice, done without authority of law, for a crime or public offense; it especially referred to flogging or tarring-and-feathering. At first the act was associated with frontier regions (as in the above citation), though from c. 1835 to the U.S. Civil War it also often was directed against abolitionists. The narrowing of the meaning to "extra-legal execution by hanging" is evident by the 1880s, and after c. 1893 lynching mostly meant killings of blacks by white mobs (especially in retaliation for alleged sexual assaults of white women). This shift in use seems due in part to the work of African-American journalist and activist Ida B. Wells. Lynch mob is attested from 1838.

Compare earlier Lydford law, from the place in Devon, a seat of the old notorious Stannaries Courts, "that hanged a man in the forenoone, and sate in judgment on him in the afternoone" (1633 description; see stannary).

Also in a similar sense was Jedburgh justice (1706) in reference to the town on the volatile Scottish borders, and, as a verb, to Dewitt (1680s), a reference to two Dutch statesmen of that name, opponents of William of Orange, murdered by a mob in 1672.

Related: Lynched; lynching. The city of Lynchburg, Virginia, dates to the 1750s when John Lynch, brother to Charles but a peaceable Quaker, had a ferry landing on the James River there.

lynx (n.)

moderate-sized wildcat with a short tail, penciled ears, more or less spotted fur, and 28 teeth, inhabiting Eurasia, Africa, and North America; mid-14c., from Latin lynx (source of Spanish, Portuguese, Italian lince), from Greek lyngx, an old name of the lynx found also in Armenian, Germanic, and Balto-Slavic, though often transformed or altered. Often linked to PIE root *leuk- "light, brightness," in reference to its gleaming eyes or its ability to see in the dark, but there are phonetic problems with that and Beekes suggests a loan from a non-IE substrate language.

Cognates probably are Lithuanian lūšis "lynx," Old High German luhs, German luchs, Old English lox, Dutch los, Swedish lo, Armenian lusanunk'. The dim northern constellation was added in 1687 by Johannes Hevelius. Lyncean "pertaining to a lynx" (from Greek lynkeios) is attested from 1630s.

Lyons

city in France in the former province of Lyonnais at the confluence of the Rhone and the Saône, from Gallo-Latin Lugudunum, which is perhaps literally "fort of Lugus," the Celtic god-name, with second element from Celtic *dunon "hill, hill-fort." The fem. adjectival form Lyonnaise is used in cookery in reference to types of onion sauce (1846). During the Revolution the place was renamed Ville-Affranchie "enfranchised town."

lyre (n.)

harp-like instrument, c. 1200, from Old French lire "lyre" (12c.), from Latin lyra, from Greek lyra, a foreign loan-word of uncertain origin. The thing itself is said to be Egyptian, though it became the national musical instrument of ancient Greece. In 18c.-19c. especially the symbol of lyric poetry. Lyra as the name of the ancient northern constellation supposed to resemble a lyre is attested in English from 1650s; the Lyraid (1876) meteors (c. April 20) appear to radiate from there. The lyre-bird (1853) of Australia is so called from the shape of its tail. Related: Lyrate "shaped like a lyre."

lyrical (adj.)

1580s, from lyric (n.) + -al (1). Related: Lyrically.

lyricism (n.)

1760, perhaps an isolated use; common after mid-19c., from lyric + -ism.

lyric (n.)

"a lyric poem" (one suggestive of music or fit to be sung), 1580s, from French lyrique "short poem expressing personal emotion," from Latin lyricus "of or for the lyre," from Greek lyrikos "singing to the lyre," from lyra (see lyre). The meaning "words of a popular song" is attested by 1876. Related: lyrics.

lyric (adj.)

1580s, "pertaining to or adopted for the lyre or the harp," hence "suggestive of song or musical effect;" see lyric (n.).

lyricist (n.)

1832, "one skilled in lyric composition, lyric poet;" from lyric (n.) + -ist. Meaning "one who writes words for music" is from 1908.

lyrist (n.)

"lyre-player," 1650s, from French lyriste, from Latin lyristes, from Greek lyristes, from stem of lyrizein, from lyra (see lyre).

Lysander

masc. proper name, from Greek Lysandros, literally "releasing men," from combining form of lyein "to release, unfasten" (from PIE root *leu- "to loosen, divide, cut apart") + andros, genitive of anēr "man" (from PIE root *ner- (2) "man").

-lyse

see -lyze.

lyse (v.)

1927, back-formation from lysis. Related: Lysed; lysing.

lysergic (adj.)

in reference to a crystalline organic compound, 1934, from the -lys- in hydrolysis (thus from Greek lysis "a loosening, a dissolution," from lyein "to loosen, dissolve;" from PIE root *leu- "to loosen, divide, cut apart") + the first syllable of ergot (a fungus from which the chemical was first obtained) + -ic.

lysis (n.)

"dissolution of cells, bacteria, etc.," 1902, from -lysis or from Latin lysis, from Greek lysis "a loosening," from lyein "to unfasten, loose, loosen, untie" (from PIE root *leu- "to loosen, divide, cut apart"). Earlier in the sense "gradual recession of a disease" (1834).

-lysis

scientific/medical word-forming element of Greek origin meaning "loosening, dissolving, dissolution," from Greek lysis "a loosening, setting free, releasing; dissolution; means of letting loose," from lyein "to unfasten, loose, loosen, untie" (from PIE root *leu- "to loosen, divide, cut apart").

lyso-

word-forming element indicating "loosening, dissolving, freeing," before vowels lys-, from Greek lysis "a loosening," from lyein "to loose, loosen," from PIE root *leu- "to loosen, divide, cut apart."

lysol (n.)

brown oily coal-tar solution used as a disinfectant, 1890, coined, perhaps in German, from Greek lysis "dissolution, dissolving" (from lyein "to unfasten, loose, loosen, untie," from PIE root *leu- "to loosen, divide, cut apart") + -ol, element indicating "oil."

lysosome (n.)

1955, from lyso- + -some (3). So called for "their richness in hydrolytic enzymes."

lysozyme

type of immune-system enzyme found in tears, saliva, egg-whites, etc., 1922, named by its discoverer, Alexander Fleming (six years before he discovered penicillin), who coined it from lyso- "loosening, dissolving" + suffix from enzyme. So called because it attack bacteria cell walls.

lyssophobia (n.)

"morbid dread of having caught rabies," a psychological condition which sometimes mimicked the actual disease, 1874, Modern Latin, from -phobia + Greek lyssa (Attic lytta) "rabies, canine madness," also the name given to the "worm" of cartilage under a dog's tongue," an abstract word probably literally "wolf-ness" and related to lykos "wolf" (see wolf (n.)); but some see a connection with "light" words, in reference to the glittering eyes of the mad.

lytic (adj.)

"pertaining to lysis," 1889, from Greek lytikos "able to loose, loosing," from lytos "loosed," verbal adjective of lyein "to unfasten, loose, loosen, untie" (from PIE root *leu- "to loosen, divide, cut apart"). Related: Lytically.

-lytic

word-forming element used in making adjectives corresponding to nouns in -lysis, from Greek -lytikos, from lytikos "able to loose, loosing," from lytos "loosed," verbal adjective of lyein "to unfasten, loose, loosen, untie" (from PIE root *leu- "to loosen, divide, cut apart").

-lyze

word-forming element for making verbs corresponding to nouns in -lysis. Chiefly U.S.; the British preferring -lyse.