An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Lache

by Friedrich Kluge

Lache, f., from the equiv. MidHG. lache, OHG. lahha, f., ‘puddle, pool, water in an excavation.’ The OHG. word cannot be derived from Lat. lăcus, ‘lake,’ which may, however, be the origin of MidE. and E. lake, while AS. lagu, ‘lake,’ shows what form the Teut. word cognate with the Lat. term would assume. The attempt to connect Lache (Bav. lacke) and lacus is also opposed by the difference in meaning; Ital. lacca, ‘low ground,’ and OSlov. loky are G. loan-words. The origin of Lache remains obscure; it is scarcely allied to leck and its cognates.