English
lull
Lull comes from Proto-Indo-European *leh₂- ‘to bark, howl’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leh₂-‘to bark, howl’root as named · steps between not traced
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lullen
- Englishearliest quotation 1590lull
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leh₂-‘to bark, howl’root as named · steps between not traced
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lullen
- Englishearliest quotation 1590lull
Earliest quotation: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book II, Canto V: “To lull him soft a sleepe”.
The story
Originally, perhaps expressive in origin from la-la-la or lu-lu-lu sounds made in calming a child.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *leh₂- ‘to bark, howl’
loom, latent, lament, lethargic, laika, alastor, lethe, loll, 16 more
Today it means
noun A period of rest or soothing.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *leh₂- / lull