English
los
Los comes from Middle English lusk ‘lynx’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *lewk- ‘to be bright, be light, shine’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewk-‘to be bright’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*luhsaz‘lynx’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*luhs‘lynx’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150lox‘lynx’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lusk‘lynx’
- Englishearliest quotation 1592los
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewk-‘to be bright’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*luhsaz‘lynx’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*luhs‘lynx’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150lox‘lynx’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lusk‘lynx’
- Englishearliest quotation 1592los
Earliest quotation: 1592, Thomas Thomasius: “A beaſt like unto a wolfe having many ſpottes,…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *lewk- ‘to be bright, be light, shine’
light, link, low, lucy, ounce, lunar, luna, lea, illumination, lux, illuminate, lucid, luminous, translucent, lumen, lynx, luce, lumia, luminosity, lum, lune, leucine, luminescent, luminary, luminal, loach, 75 more
through Middle English lusk ‘lynx’
Today it means
noun A medium-sized wildcat, most of them part of the genus Lynx.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *lewk- / los