Etymology

lobby

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Today it means: An entryway or reception area; vestibule; passageway; corridor. Full definition →

Medieval Latin laubia ← Frankish *laubijā ← Proto-West Germanic *laub
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lobby · noun, verb1

  1. Proto-Indo-European*lewbʰ-der.?
  2. Proto-Germanic*laubą
  3. Proto-West Germanic*laub
  4. Frankish*laubijā
  5. Medieval Latinlaubia
  6. English todaylobby

From Medieval Latin lobia, lobium, laubia (“a portico, covered way, gallery”), borrowed from Frankish *laubijā (“arbour, shelter”), related to Old English lēaf (“foliage”). More at leaf. Doublet of leaf, lodge, and loggia. Political sense derives from the entrance hall of legislatures, where people traditionally tried to influence legislators because it was the most convenient place to meet them.

lobby · noun2

Shortened from lobscouse.

Words from the same roots

Frankish*laubijā all →

logeloggialouver

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.