English
loaf
Loaf comes from Old English hlāf ‘bread’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *hlaibaz.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hlaibaz‘bread’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hlaib‘bread’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hlāf‘bread’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500laf
- Englishearliest quotation 1627loaf
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hlaibaz‘bread’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hlaib‘bread’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hlāf‘bread’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500laf
- Englishearliest quotation 1627loaf
Earliest quotation: 1627, IV. Century.: “sugar-loaf”.
Linked words
pairs
- loaf and lord both from Old English hlāf ‘bread’
through Proto-Indo-European *kʷel-
cycle, pole, polar, columnist, bazaar, pulley, accolade, bucolic, 9 more
Today it means
noun A block of bread after baking.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *hlaibaz / loaf