Etymograph

English

lai

Lai comes from Old French lai ‘song, lyric, poem’, from Proto-Germanic *laikaz ‘dance’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *leyg- ‘to jump, spring, play’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leyg-‘to jump, spring, play’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*laikaz‘dance’reconstructed
  3. Frankishc. 250–700*laik‘play, melody, song’reconstructed
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400lai‘song, lyric, poem’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1850same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leyg-‘to jump, spring, play’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*laikaz‘dance’reconstructed
  3. Frankishc. 250–700*laik‘play, melody, song’reconstructed
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400lai‘song, lyric, poem’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1850same form

Earliest quotation: 1850, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology: “To poetry and music, indeed, the whole Celto-Cymric race…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *leyg- ‘to jump, spring, play’

like, ilk, lich, 1 more

through Proto-Germanic *laikaz ‘dance’

lake

through Old French lai ‘song, lyric, poem’

lay

Today it means

noun A mostly North European medieval form of lyrical, narrative poem written in octosyllabic couplets that often deals with tales of adventure and romance, with stanzas that do not repeat.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *leyg- / lai

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