Etymograph

English

loof

Loof comes from Middle English love ‘palm of the hand’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *leh₂p- ‘to be flat’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leh₂p-‘to be flat’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lōfô‘palm of the hand’reconstructed
  3. Old Norsec. 800–1350lōfi‘the palm or hollow of the hand’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500love‘palm of the hand’
  5. Englishtodayloof

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leh₂p-‘to be flat’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lōfô‘palm of the hand’reconstructed
  3. Old Norsec. 800–1350lōfi‘the palm or hollow of the hand’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500love‘palm of the hand’
  5. Englishtodayloof

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *leh₂p- ‘to be flat’

lamp, lantern, limpid, 5 more

through Middle English love ‘palm of the hand’

love, 1 more

Another origin of loof

  1. Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500loef‘an oar or paddle used in steering’
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lof‘a contrivance for altering a ship's course, paddle, oar’
  3. Englishtodayloof

Another origin of loof

  1. Egyptian Arabicmodernلُوفlūf
  2. Englishtodayloof

Today it means

noun The palm of the hand.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *leh₂p- / loof

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