lye

lye · noun, verb¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*lewh₃-“to wash”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*laugō
3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*laugu
4. Old English · inherited fromlēah
5. Middle English · inherited fromleye
6. English todaylye

From Middle English leye, lye, from Old English lēah, lēag (“lye”), from Proto-West Germanic *laugu, from Proto-Germanic *laugō, from Proto-Indo-European *lewh₃- (“to wash”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Loge, Looie (“lye”), Dutch loog (“lye”), German Low German Loge, Loje, Loog (“lye”), German Lauge (“lye”). Compare typologically Ancient Greek ῥύμμα (rhúmma) < ῥύπτω (rhúptō, “to cleanse, to wash”); Russian м́ыло (ḿylo) (a nomen instrumenti of мыть (mytʹ)).

lye · verb, noun²

Variant of lie (“to rest horizontally”) now used in a specialised sense; compare sett.

Words from the same roots