Page:An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language.djvu/241

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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. Comp. also Haar, Schopf, Hede, and other words for ‘hair’ peculiar to Teut. The primit. 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’; comp. Gr. λυγ- in λυγόω, λυγίζω, ‘I bend, tie,’ also λύγος, ‘young, pliant twig’ (Lith. palugnas, adj., ‘pleasing’?). In Teut. the following are also probably allied to these — Goth. lûkan, ‘to draw’ (uslûkan, ‘to unsheathe a sword’), North. Eng. to look, ‘to weed,’ Bav. liechen, ‘to pluck’ (e.g. the flax out of the ground).

locken, vb., ‘to curl, entice,’ from MidHG. locken, OHG. locchôn, ‘to entice, allure, decoy,’ with the equiv. variant MidHG. lücken, OHG. lucchen. OIc. only has a corresponding lokka, ‘to entice.’ To these Lith. lugsti, ‘to beg,’ is primit. allied. Comp. Luder, allied to laden.

locker, adj., ‘loose, spongy, dissolute,’ first occurs in early ModHG. with the MidHG. variant loger; in UpG. lucke, lücke (now luck); from the same root as Lücke (Teut. root lug).

lodern, vb., ‘to blaze, flare,’ first occurs in early ModHG.; lit. perhaps ‘to spring up (of plants}’; a LG. word. Comp. Westphal. lodern, ‘to grow luxuriantly,’ to which OHG. lota, ‘young shoot,’ is allied; for the root lud see under Leute.

Löffel, m., ‘spoon, ladle,’ from the equiv. MidHG. lęffel, OHG. lęffil (lępfil), m.; corresponding to LG. and Du. lepel (whence Ic. lepill, ‘spoon’), Derived from a Teut. root lap, ‘to drink, lick,’ which is assumed by OHG. laffan, ‘to lick, AS. lapian, ‘to drink, lap’; further by Lat. lambere, ‘to lick’; hence Löffel means lit. ‘a utensil for sipping liquids’ (see Lefze and Lippe). The Scand. term is spánn, which was adopted in E. as spoon (in AS. cucelêre, equiv. to Lat. cochlear; see under Span.

loh, adj. (espec. in lichterloh, ‘in full blaze’), ‘blazing, flaring,’ ModHG. only; allied to the following word.

Lohe (1.), f., ‘blaze,’ from MidHG. lohe, m. (MidG. also f.), ‘flame, lurid ray,’ OHG. *loho (Goth. *laúha); the term used in OHG. was loug, MidHG. louc (AS. lêg, lîg). These, like OIc. loge, m., ‘flame,’ are derived from the Teut. root luh, ‘to give light,’ which still exists in HG. Licht, and which as Aryan luk appears in Lat. lucere, lux, OSlov. luča, ‘ray,’ and the Sans. ruc, ‘to shine,’ rocis, ‘light.’

Lohe (2.), f., ‘tanning bark,’ from the equiv. MidHG., MidLG., and OHG. lô (gen. lôwes), n.; comp. Du. looi. Distinct from Lohe (1), since it presumes a Goth. *lawa-; origin obscure.

lohen, vb., ‘to flare. blaze,’ from the equiv. MidHG. lohen, OHG. lohén; allied to Lohe (1).

Lohn, m., ‘reward, wages,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. lôn, m. and n.; a word common to OTeut.; comp. the equiv. Goth. laun, OIc. laun, AS. leán, Du. loon, OSax. lôn. Since na- is the suffix, we may connect the root lau- with OSlov. lovŭ, ‘booty, chase,’ Lat. lu-crum, ‘gain,’ Gr. ἀπολαύω, ‘to partake of’; others make it cognate with Or. lúag, ‘reward.’

Lolch, m., ‘darnel,’ from the equiv. MidHG. lulch, lullich, lulche, m.; the OHG. word is wanting, therefore it is difficult to determine when the term was borrowed from the equiv. Lat. lolîum. It is also conceivable that the G. word is independent of the Lat., especially as the former is lengthened by a guttural.

Loos, see Los.

Lorbeer, m., ‘laurel,’ from MidHG. lôrber, OHG. lôrbęri, n. and f.; lit. ‘the berry of the lôrboum’ (OHG. and MidHG.); lôr- in lôr-boum, lôr-beri, is Lat. laurus, ‘laurel tree,’ which was probably known in Germany even before the 7th cent. (comp. Ital. lauro, Fr. laurier).

Los, Loos, n., ‘lot, fate, chance,’ from MidHG. and OHG. lôȥ, m. and n., ‘lot, casting lots, drawing a lot, disposal by lottery, division of an inheritance’; comp. Goth. hlauts, ‘lot, inheritance,’ OIc. hlaut (hlutr), ‘lot, portion, sacrifice,’ AS. hlŷt and hlot, E. lot. To these are allied the str. vbs. — OIc. hljóta, AS. hleótan, OSax. hliotan, OHG. lioȥan, MidHG. lieȥen, ‘to obtain by lot, acquire.’ This verbal stem in heathen times was probably a sacrificial term (comp. MidHG. lieȥen, ‘to predict,’ OIc. hlaut, ‘sacrifice’; also Tacitus, Germania, 10). Old derivatives of this root