Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “lock” come from?

Lock comes from Old English loc, from Proto-Germanic luką, from Proto-Indo-European lewg-, a root of uncertain meaning.

lock (English): Something used for fastening, which can only be...

Definitions

  1. Something used for fastening, which can only be...

Ancestry of “lock”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishloclock; that by which anything is closed; an...
2Old Englishstedeplace
3Proto-West Germanicstadiplace
4Proto-Germanicstadizplace, location
5Proto-Indo-Europeanstéh₂tisstanding, position
6Proto-Indo-European*steh₂-—

Words derived from “lock”

  • locking
  • locker
  • interlocking
  • deadlock
  • locksmith
  • gridlock
  • lockout
  • airlock
  • interlock
  • lockup
  • lockstep
  • flintlock
  • matchlock
  • Lockport
  • firelock
  • lockbox
  • lockjaw
  • headlock
  • footlocker
  • lockable
  • locknut
  • picklock
  • sidelock
  • relock
Every word from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- →