lieu

L1I1E1U1
/ljuː//luː/

noun

A place or stead.

Similar
steadpositionplace
OriginMiddle French lie ← Old French leu ← Latin locus →
CommonScrabble 4
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

lieu1

nounlieu (uncountable)
  1. uncountableA place or stead.

Lieu2

proper nounLieu (plural Lieus)

plural Lieus

  1. A surname.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounthe post or function properly or customarily occupied or served by another

Similar
steadpositionplace
Broader
functionofficepart
Also see
placepositionstead

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

lieu · noun

  1. Proto-Indo-European*stel-der.?
  2. Proto-Italic*s(t)lokos
  3. Old Latinstlocus
  4. Latinlocus
  5. Old Frenchleu
  6. Middle Frenchlie
  7. Englishlieu

Borrowed from Middle French lieu, from Old French leu, from Latin locum, accusative of locus (“place”). Doublet of locus. Attested earlier and in Middle English only as part of the partially calqued phrase in lieu of.

More words from Middle French, Old French, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Lieu · proper noun

As a Vietnamese surname, from liễu (“willow tree”).

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with lieu

younewdowhoviewtwothroughreviewutooqfewbluefaqduetruecontinuegnuquesushoeCPUvenuePeru
All rhymes →

Sounds the same

lewLiuluelooLoulu (yod-dropping)
Cite this entry
APA

lieu. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lieu

MLA

“lieu.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lieu. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “lieu,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lieu.

Source: lieu on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.