English
lee
Lee comes from Old English hlēo ‘shelter, protection’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *hlaiwaz.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hlaiwazreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hlaiw‘shelter’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hlēo‘shelter’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lee
- Englishearliest quotation 1470–1485same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hlaiwazreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hlaiw‘shelter’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hlēo‘shelter’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lee
- Englishearliest quotation 1470–1485same form
Earliest quotation: 1470–1485, (please specify the chapter): “We lurked under lee.”
Linked words
through Proto-West Germanic *hlaiw ‘shelter’
through Middle English lee
Today it means
noun A protected cove or harbor, out of the wind.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *hlaiwaz / lee