Etymograph

English

Looby

Looby comes from Irish Ó Lúbaigh ‘descendant of Lúbach’, from lúbach ‘looped, coiled’, and ultimately from Old Irish lúb.

  1. Old Irishc. 600–900lúb
  2. Irishc. 1200–presentsame form‘bend, loop, twist’
  3. Irish, derivedc. 1200–presentlúbach‘looped, coiled’
  4. Irish, derivedc. 1200–presentÓ Lúbaigh‘descendant of Lúbach’
  5. EnglishtodayLooby

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Earlier history uncertain.

Lineage

  1. Old Irishc. 600–900lúb
  2. Irishc. 1200–presentsame form‘bend, loop, twist’
  3. Irish, derivedc. 1200–presentlúbach‘looped, coiled’
  4. Irish, derivedc. 1200–presentÓ Lúbaigh‘descendant of Lúbach’
  5. EnglishtodayLooby

The story

Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Lúbaigh (‘descendant of Lúbach’), a byname originally applied to a cunning person, from lúbach (‘looped, coiled; crafty, tricky’).

Linked words

through Proto-Germanic *hlaupaną ‘to jump forward, to leap’

leap, gallop, wallop, 3 more

through Old Norse hlaupa ‘to leap, spring’

loop, lope, 1 more

Today it means

name A surname from Irish.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Old Irish lúb / Looby

Shirt and support for this word