Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “left coast” come from?

left coast (English) comes from English left, from Middle English left, from Middle English laft, from Old English læfd, from Old English lǣfan, from Frankish laibijan, from Proto-Germanic laibijaną, from Proto-Germanic lībaną — to leave, let; to want, desire; to let; leave...

Ancestry of “left coast”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishleftThe opposite of right; toward the west when one...
2Middle Englishleft—
3Middle Englishlaftpast participle of leave
4Old Englishlæfd—
5Old Englishlǣfanto leave
6Frankishlaibijanto leave; to leave behind
7Proto-Germaniclaibijanąto leave behind, to leave remaining
8Proto-Germaniclībanąto remain, to be left
9Proto-Indo-Europeanleyp-to stick; fat or sticky substance
10Proto-Indo-Europeanlēy-to leave, let; to want, desire; to let; leave...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European lēy- →