Etymology

linn

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Today it means: A waterfall or cataract (torrent of water running over a rocky bed), or a ravine down which such a waterfall rushes. Full definition →

Middle English *linne ← Old English hlynn
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linn · noun1

  1. Old English · inherited fromhlynn“torrent”
  2. Middle English · inherited from*linne
  3. English todaylinn

From Middle English *linne, from Old English hlynn (“torrent”).

linn · noun2

  1. Proto-Celtic · derived from*lindos“lake, liquid”
  2. Cumbric · derived from*lınn
  3. Irish · derived fromlinn“pool, pond”
  4. English todaylinn

From Scottish Gaelic or Irish linn (“pool, pond”), or else a Brythonic source such as Cumbric *lınn, all from Proto-Celtic *lindos (“lake, liquid”). Conflated to some extent with linn (“waterfall”).

Words from the same roots

Old Englishhlynn all →

LynnwoodLynwoodLanford

Proto-Celtic*lindos all →

LincolnLindsayLindsey

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.