English
lose
Lose comes from Middle English losen, from Old English losian ‘to be lost’, a verb formed from los ‘loss’.
- Old Englishc. 450–1150los‘loss’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150losian‘to be lost, perish’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500losen
- Englishearliest quotation 1610–1611lose
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Old Englishc. 450–1150los‘loss’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150losian‘to be lost, perish’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500losen
- Englishearliest quotation 1610–1611lose
Earliest quotation: 1610–1611, William Shakespeare, The Tempest: “He hath lost his fellows.”
The story
The modern pronunciation with /uː/ (instead of the /oʊ~əʊ/ that would be expected from Early Modern /ɔː/) is due to conflation with loose.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *lewh₁- ‘to cut off, release’
so, analysis, solution, solve, analyst, lease, sol, paralysis, soluble, dialysis, palsy, resolute, paralyze, paralytic, lysis, loess, 30 more
Today it means
verb To cease to have (something) in one's possession or capability.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old English los / lose