Meanings
proper noun
- The longest river in France, passing (from southeast to northwest) through the departments of Ardèche, Haute-Loire, Loire, Saône-et-Loire, Allier, Nièvre, Cher, Loiret, Loir-et-Cher, Indre-et-Loire, Maine-et-Loire and Loire-Atlantique.
- A department of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. Capital: Saint-Étienne.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*legʰ-“to lie, lay”
- Proto-Celtic*legyā
- LatinLiger
- FrenchLoire
- EnglishLoire
From French Loire, from Latin Liger, itself borrowed from the native Gaulish name of the river, from *liga (“silt, sediment, deposit, alluvium”) (see also French lie, English lees), from Proto-Celtic *legyā, from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- (“to lie, lay”), the same source as many words in English such as lie, ledge, etc.
More words from French, Latin, Proto-Celtic
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic لوار
- لوار (lwār)river
Bulgarian Лоа́ра, Лоа́р
- Лоа́ра (Loára)river
- Лоа́р (Loár)department
Catalan Loira
- Loirariver
Chinese Mandarin 盧瓦爾河 /卢瓦尔河
- 盧瓦爾河 /卢瓦尔河 (Lúwǎ'ěr hé)river
Czech Loira
- Loirariver
Danish Loire
- Loireriver
Dutch Loire
- Loireriver
French Loire, Loire
- Loireriver
- Loiredepartment
German Loire, Loire
- Loireriver
- Loiredepartment
Italian Loira
- Loirariver
Japanese ロワール
- ロワール (Rowāru)river
Latin Liger
- Ligerriver
Polish Loara, Loara
- Loarariver
- Loaradepartment
Portuguese Loire, Líger
- Loireriver
- Lígerriver
Romanian Loara
- Loarariver
Russian Луа́ра
- Луа́ра (Luára)river
Spanish Loira, Loira
- Loirariver
- Loiradepartment
Turkish Loire
- Loireriver
Ukrainian Луа́ра
- Луа́ра (Luára)river
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with Loire
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
APA
Loire. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Loire
MLA
“Loire.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Loire. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Loire,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Loire.
Source: Loire on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.