Where does “low-key” come from?
low-key (English) comes from English low, from English allow, from Middle English allowen, from Old French alouer, from Latin allocō, from Latin ad-, from Latin īn-, from Latin în — in.
low-key (English): Dark; characterised by dark tones and muted...
Definitions
- Dark; characterised by dark tones and muted...
Ancestry of “low-key”, step by step
low-key traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English low
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | low | Situated close to, or even below, the ground or... |
| 2 | English | allow | To grant, give, admit, accord, afford, or yield;... |
| 3 | Middle English | allowen | — |
| 4 | Old French | alouer | Alternative form of aloer |
| 5 | Latin | allocō | to hire |
| 6 | Latin | ad- | to; usually prefixed to verbs, in which cases it... |
| 7 | Latin | īn- | un-, non-, not |
| 8 | Latin | în | in, at, on, upon, from (space) |
| 9 | Latin | en | lookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | en | in |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁én | in |