Etymology

lieu

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Today it means: A place or stead. Full definition →

Middle French lie ← Old French leu ← Latin locus
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lieu · noun1

  1. Proto-Indo-European*stel-der.?
  2. Proto-Italic*s(t)lokos
  3. Old Latinstlocus
  4. Latinlocus
  5. Old Frenchleu
  6. Middle Frenchlie
  7. English todaylieu

Borrowed from Middle French lieu, from Old French leu, from Latin locum, accusative of locus (“place”). Doublet of locus. Attested earlier and in Middle English only as part of the partially calqued phrase in lieu of.

Lieu · proper noun2

As a Vietnamese surname, from liễu (“willow tree”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.