Where does “League” come from?
League comes from English leake, Old Norse lœkr, Proto-Germanic lōkiz, and Proto-Indo-European roots leg-, leǵ-, leg-, and -yeti, though the original meaning remains uncertain.
Ancestry of “League”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | lege | league; one's subjects or vassals; those under... |
| 2 | Anglo-Norman | lige | liege; liegeman; vassal |
| 3 | Old French | liege | liege, servant; liege, free |
| 4 | Vulgar Latin | levius | comparative degree of leviter |
| 5 | Latin | lēvis | — |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | leɣʷis | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁léngʰus | lightweight |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁lengʷʰ- | light |