English
lown
Lown comes from Old Norse logn ‘windstillness’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *lewk- ‘bright’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewk-‘bright’reconstructed
- Proto-Norsec. 200–800 CE*lugnareconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350logn‘windstillness’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lune
- Englishearliest quotation 1826lown
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewk-‘bright’reconstructed
- Proto-Norsec. 200–800 CE*lugnareconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350logn‘windstillness’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lune
- Englishearliest quotation 1826lown
Earliest quotation: 1826, Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine:: “Ye may hear him, on a lown day, at…”
The story
From Middle English lune, borrowed from Old Norse logn (‘windstillness’), from Proto-Norse *lugna, meaning "place where the water is smooth", ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lewk- (‘bright’), referring to shining water. Germanic cognates include Icelandic lón, Danish lyn (‘lightning’), Swedish lugn (‘calm water’).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *lewk- ‘bright’
light, link, low, los, lucy, ounce, lunar, luna, lea, illumination, lux, illuminate, lucid, luminous, translucent, lumen, lynx, luce, luminosity, lumia, lum, lune, leucine, luminescent, luminary, luminal, loach, 74 more
Today it means
noun Calm, tranquillity.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *lewk- / lown