English
Lightfoot
From light + foot, a nickname for a messenger or fast runner.
Proto-Indo-European *lewk- ‘to shine’
…
Proto-Germanic *leuhtą
Proto-West Germanic *leuht ‘light’
Old English lēoht
Middle English light ‘light, illumination’
English light
Proto-Indo-European *pṓds ‘foot’
Proto-Germanic *fōts ‘foot’
Proto-West Germanic *fōt
Old English fōt ‘foot’
Middle English fot ‘foot’
English foot
Today it means
name A surname transferred from the nickname.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Lightfoot