Etymology

Loire

L1O1I1R1E1

Today it means: The longest river in France, passing (from southeast to northwest) through the departments of Ardèche, Haute-Loire, Loire, Saône-et-Loire, Allier, Nièvre, Cher, Loiret, Loir-et-Cher, Indre-et-Loire, Maine-et-Loire and Loire-Atlantique. Full definition →

French Loire ← Latin Liger ← Proto-Celtic *legyā
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*legʰ-“to lie, lay”
  2. Proto-Celtic · derived from*legyā
  3. Latin · derived fromLiger
  4. French · borrowed fromLoire
  5. English todayLoire

From French Loire, from Latin Liger, itself borrowed from the native Gaulish name of the river, from *liga (“silt, sediment, deposit, alluvium”) (see also French lie, English lees), from Proto-Celtic *legyā, from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- (“to lie, lay”), the same source as many words in English such as lie, ledge, etc.

Words from the same roots

Proto-Celtic*legyā all →

Leicestershireleeslias

Proto-Indo-European*legʰ- all →

lawlaylieledgerLeicestershirelairledgeleeslias

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.