Etymology Explorer › Old Dutch

Where does “lock” come from?

lock (Old Dutch) comes from Frankish *lokk, from Proto-Germanic lukkaz, from Proto-Indo-European lugnó-, from Proto-Indo-European lewǵ- — to break, tear; to break, shatter.

Ancestry of “lock”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frankish*lokk—
2Proto-Germaniclukkazlock; curl
3Proto-Indo-Europeanlugnó-—
4Proto-Indo-Europeanlewǵ-to break, tear; to break, shatter
Every word from Proto-Indo-European lewǵ- →