Etymology Explorer › Middle Dutch

Where does “laken” come from?

laken (Middle Dutch) comes from Middle Dutch lac, from Old Dutch laka, from Proto-West Germanic laku, from Finnish lakritsi, from Swedish lakrits, from Late Latin liquiritia, from Ancient Greek γλυκύρριζα, from Ancient Greek γλυκύς.

Ancestry of “laken”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Dutchlacdeficiency
2Old Dutchlaka—
3Proto-West Germaniclakustream; pool, lake
4Finnishlakritsilicorice, liquorice
5Swedishlakritslicorice/liquorice
6Late Latinliquiritia—
7Ancient Greekγλυκύρριζαlicorice
8Ancient Greekγλυκύςsweet
9Proto-Hellenic*dlukús—

Words derived from “laken”

  • lakenhandelaar
  • laken
  • lakenlood
  • laken
Every word from Proto-Hellenic *dlukús →