English
lob
First attested late 16th c.
The story
First attested late 16th c. in the sense "allow or cause to dangle, hang," from sense 2.
Another origin of lob
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewbʰ-‘to desire, covet, want’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lubbǭ‘that which hangs or dangles’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150*lobbreconstructed
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lob‘a lazy lout, bundle of clothing’
- Englishtodaysame form
Possibly influenced or borrowed through Welsh llob (‘lump’).
Another origin of lob
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lob‘pollock’
- Englishtodaysame form
Today it means
verb To throw or hit a ball into the air in a high arc.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / lob