English
lofe
Lofe comes from Middle English lofe ‘praise, price’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *lewbʰ- ‘to love, like’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewbʰ-‘to love, like’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lubą‘praise, permission’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*lob‘praise’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150lof‘praise, glory, repute, song of praise, hymn’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lofe‘praise, price’
- Englishearliest quotation 1869same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewbʰ-‘to love, like’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lubą‘praise, permission’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*lob‘praise’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150lof‘praise, glory, repute, song of praise, hymn’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lofe‘praise, price’
- Englishearliest quotation 1869same form
Earliest quotation: 1869, Alexander Craig Gibson, The Folk-Speech of Cumberland and Some Districts Adjacent: “Yance I hed t' lofe an' I'd luck to…”
The story
For semantic development, perhaps compare etymology of praise and its senses.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *lewbʰ- ‘to love, like’
left, believe, love, leave, library, belief, leaf, lib, lodge, lobby, libel, libido, liber, loft, libretto, lob, luft, lief, 15 more
through Old English lof ‘praise, glory, repute, song of praise, hymn’
Another origin of lofe
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewbʰ-‘to love, like’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lubōną‘to praise, vow’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*lobōn‘to praise’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150lofian‘to praise, exalt, appraise, value, set a price on’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500loven‘to praise, set a price on’
- Englishtodaylofe
Today it means
noun An offer; choice; an opportunity; chance.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *lewbʰ- / lofe