Etymology

loose

L1O1O1S1E1

Today it means: To let loose, to free from restraints. Full definition →

Middle English loos ← Old Norse lauss ← Proto-Germanic *lausaz
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*lewh₁-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*lewHs-
  3. Proto-Germanic*leusaną
  4. Proto-Germanic*lausaz
  5. Old Norselauss
  6. Middle Englishloos
  7. English todayloose

From Middle English loos, los, lous, from Old Norse lauss, from Proto-Germanic *lausaz, whence also -less, leasing; from Proto-Indo-European *lewh₁- (“to untie, set free, separate”), whence also lyo-, -lysis, via Ancient Greek.

Words from the same roots

Middle Englishloos all →

loos

Old Norselauss all →

unloose

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.