Etymology Explorer › German

Where does “lose” come from?

lose (German) comes from Old High German lōs, from Proto-West Germanic laus, from Proto-Germanic lausaz, from Proto-Indo-European lewH- — louse.

lose (German): loose, slack; inflection of losen: ##...

Definitions

  1. loose, slack; inflection of losen: ##...

Ancestry of “lose”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old High Germanlōsloose; free; lacking; sly, deceitful
2Proto-West Germaniclausloose, free
3Proto-Germaniclausazloose, free; empty, devoid; false, untrue
4Proto-Indo-EuropeanlewH-louse

Words derived from “lose”

  • loser
Every word from Proto-Indo-European lewH- →