Where does “louken” come from?
louken (Middle English) comes from Old English lūcan, from Proto-West Germanic lūkan, from Proto-Germanic lūkaną, from Proto-Indo-European lewǵ- — to break, tear; to break, shatter.
louken (Middle English): to lock
Ancestry of “louken”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old English | lūcan | to close, lock; to lock; to pluck out, pull up |
| 2 | Proto-West Germanic | lūkan | to close, to shut |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | lūkaną | to close, to shut; Alternative form of *leukaną |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | lewǵ- | to break, tear; to break, shatter |
Words derived from “louken”