Where does “loafer” come from?

loafer (English) comes from Old English lāf, from Proto-West Germanic laibu, from Northern Sami láibut, from Northern Sami láibi, from Proto-Samic lājpē, from Proto-Germanic hlaibaz — bread.

loafer (English): An idle person; A shoe with no laces, resembling...

Definitions

  1. An idle person; A shoe with no laces, resembling...

Ancestry of “loafer”, step by step

loafer traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Old English lāf

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishlāfremnant, remainder; remainder, residue, what is...
2Proto-West Germaniclaiburemainder
3Northern Samiláibutto bake bread
4Northern Samiláibibread
5Proto-Samiclājpēbread
6Proto-Germanichlaibazbread

via Spanish lobo

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Spanishlobowolf; drunkenness
2Old Spanishlobowolf
3LatinLupusA Roman cognomen
4Proto-Italiclukʷos—
5Proto-Indo-Europeanwĺ̥kʷoswolf

Words derived from “loafer”

Every word from Proto-Germanic hlaibaz →Every word from Proto-Samic lājpē →Every word from Northern Sami láibi →