English
la
La comes from Middle English la, from Italian la, Guido of Arezzo's solmization syllable, taken from Latin labiī ‘of the lips’ in the hymn Ut queant laxis.
- Italianc. 1300–presentla
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘sixth note of Guido of Arezzo's scale’
- Englishearliest quotation 1749same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Italianc. 1300–presentla
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘sixth note of Guido of Arezzo's scale’
- Englishearliest quotation 1749same form
Earliest quotation: 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones: “And now Mrs Waters (for we must confess she…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *leb- ‘to hang loosely’
lip, label, limp, lap, limbo, lobe, labrum, lave, 13 more
through Proto-Italic *labjom
through Latin labium ‘lip’
Another origin of la
- Frenchc. 1600–presentla
- Englishtodaysame form
Another origin of la
- Cantonesemodern啦laa¹
- Englishtodayla
Today it means
noun A syllable used in solfège to represent the sixth note of a major scale.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Italian la / la