Where does “-laus” come from?

-laus (Norwegian Bokmål) comes from Old Norse -lauss, from Proto-Germanic -lausaz, from Proto-Germanic lausaz, from Proto-Indo-European lewH- — louse.

Ancestry of “-laus”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Norse-lauss—
2Proto-Germanic-lausaz-less, lacking, devoid of
3Proto-Germaniclausazloose, free; empty, devoid; false, untrue
4Proto-Indo-EuropeanlewH-louse

Words derived from “-laus”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European lewH- →Every word from Proto-Germanic lausaz →Every word from Proto-Germanic -lausaz →