luge

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*h₃sleydʰ-“to slide, slip; to be slick or slippery”
2. Gaulish · derived from*stludio
3. Late Latin · derived fromsclodia
4. Medieval Latin · derived fromscludia
5. Franco-Provençal · borrowed fromluge
6. English todayluge

The noun is borrowed from Swiss French or Franco-Provençal luge, from Medieval Latin scludia, from Late Latin sclodia, of Celtic origin, from Gaulish *stludio, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *h₃sleydʰ- (“to slide, slip; to be slick or slippery”). If so, it is related to sled and sleigh. Sense 2.2 (“drinking utensil”) is from its resemblance to the tracks on which luges race. The verb is derived from the noun. Cognates * Irish slaod (“raft, float”) * Old Breton stloit (“sliding; traction”) (modern Breton stlej (“sleigh”)) * Welsh llithr (“slide, slippage”)

Words from the same roots