Etymology

lull

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Today it means: A period of rest or soothing. Full definition →

Middle English lullen
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lull · noun, verb1

  1. Middle English · inherited fromlullen
  2. English todaylull

From Middle English lullen, lollen. Originally, perhaps expressive in origin from la-la-la or lu-lu-lu sounds made in calming a child. Compare Finnish laulaa (“to sing”) and Hiligaynon lala (“to sing a lullaby”). Cognate with Scots lul, lule, loll (“to lull, put to sleep, howl, caterwaul”), Dutch lollen (“to sing badly, caterwaul”), Dutch lullen (“to chatter, prate, cheat, deceive”), Low German lullen (“to lull”), German lullen (“to lull”), Danish lulle (“to lull, sing to sleep”), Swedish lulla (“to lull”), Icelandic lúlla (“to lull”).

Lull · proper noun2

* As a German surname, from personal names based on Leute (“people, population”). * As a Catalan surname, spelling variant of Llull.

Words from the same roots

Middle Englishlullen all →

lullaby

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.