Etymology Explorer › Middle Dutch

Where does “lake” come from?

lake (Middle Dutch) comes from Old Dutch *laca, from Proto-West Germanic laku, from Finnish lakritsi, from Swedish lakrits, from Late Latin liquiritia, from Ancient Greek γλυκύρριζα, from Ancient Greek γλυκύς, from Proto-Hellenic *dlukús.

Ancestry of “lake”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Dutch*laca—
2Proto-West Germaniclakustream; pool, lake
3Finnishlakritsilicorice, liquorice
4Swedishlakritslicorice/liquorice
5Late Latinliquiritia—
6Ancient Greekγλυκύρριζαlicorice
7Ancient Greekγλυκύςsweet
8Proto-Hellenic*dlukús—
Every word from Proto-Hellenic *dlukús →