lamb

lamb · noun, verb¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · inherited from*h₁l̥h₁onbʰos
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*lambaz
3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*lamb
4. Old English · inherited fromlamb
5. Middle English · inherited fromlamb
6. English todaylamb

From Middle English lamb, from Old English lamb, from Proto-West Germanic *lamb, from Proto-Germanic *lambaz, probably from Proto-Indo-European *h₁l̥h₁onbʰos, enlargement of *h₁elh₁én, ultimately from *h₁el-. See also Dutch lam, German Lamm, Bavarian Lamperl, Danish lam, Swedish lamm, Finnish lammas, Scottish Gaelic lon (“elk”), Ancient Greek ἔλαφος (élaphos, “red deer”). More at elk.

Lamb · proper noun²

1. French · derived fromagneau
2. Irish · derived fromÓ Luain
3. Middle English · derived fromlamb
4. English todayLamb

1. From Middle English lamb as a nickname. 2. From a short form of Lambert. 3. Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Luain. 4. Possibly also a translation of French agneau.

Lamb · proper noun³

See Lamb of God. See also lamb.

Lamb · noun⁴

See lamb.

Words from the same roots