Online Etymology Dictionary

lottery (n.): 1560s, "arrangement for a distribution of prizes by chance," from Italian lotteria, from lotto "lot, portion, share," from same root as Old English hlot (see lot). Compare Middle French loterie, from Middle Dutch loterje, from lot (n.).
Lottie: also Lotta, fem. proper name, a diminutive of Charlotte.
lotto (n.): 1778, "type of card game," from French loto and directly from Italian lotto "a lot," from Old French lot "lot, share, reward, prize," from Frankish or some other Germanic source (compare Old English and Old Frisian hlot; see lot (n.)). Meaning "a lottery, a game of chance" is attested from 1787.
lotus (n.): 1540s, from Latin lotus, from Greek lotos, name used for several plants before it came to mean Egyptian white lotus (a sense attested in English from 1580s); perhaps from a Semitic source (compare Hebrew lot "myrrh"). The yogic sense is attested from 1848. Lotus-eaters (1812) are from Greek lotophagoi, mentioned in "Odyssey," book IX.
louche (adj.): "dubious, disreputable," 1819, from French louche "squinting," from Old French lousche, lois (12c.) "cross-eyed, squint-eyed, lop-sided," from Latin lusca, fem. of luscus "one-eyed," of unknown origin.
loud (adj.): Old English hlud "noisy, making noise, sonorous," from West Germanic *khluthaz "heard" (source also of Old Frisian and Old Saxon hlud, Middle Dutch luut, Dutch luid, Old High German hlut, German laut "loud"), from PIE past participle *klutos- (source also of Sanskrit srutah, Greek klytos "heard of, celebrated," Armenian lu "known," Welsh clod "praise"), from root *kleu- "to hear" (see listen (v.)).

Application to colors first recorded 1849. The adverb is from Old English hlude, from Proto-Germanic *khludai (source also of Dutch luid, German laut). Paired with clear since at least c. 1650.
loudly (adv.): c. 1400, from loud + -ly (2).
loudmouth (n.): also loud-mouth, "loud or talkative person," 1872, from loud (adj.) + mouth (n.).
loudness (n.): Old English hludnis "loudness, clamor;" see loud + -ness.
loudspeaker (n.): also loud-speaker, 1884, from loud (adj.) + speaker.
lough (n.): "a lake, pool," early 14c., Anglo-Celtic, representing a northern form of Irish and Gaelic loch, Welsh llwch, from PIE root *laku- (see lake (n.1)).
Louis: masc. proper name, from French Louis, from Old French Loois, probably via Medieval Latin Ludovicus, a Latinization of Old High German Hluodowig, literally "famous in war" (cognate with Clovis; for etymology, see Ludwig). Louis Quatorze (1855) refers to styles reminiscent of the time of King Louis XIV of France (1643-1715).
Louise: also Louisa, fem. proper name, fem. of Louis.
Louisiana: named 1682 by French explorer la Salle for Louis XIV of France. The name originally applied to the entire Mississippi basin.
lounge (v.): "to loll idly," c. 1500, Scottish, of uncertain origin, perhaps [Barnhart] from French s'allonger (paresseusement) "to lounge about, lie at full length," from Old French alongier "lengthen," from Latin longus "long" (see long (adj.)). Another etymology traces it through obsolete lungis (n.) "slow, lazy person" (c. 1560), from Middle French longis, a generic application of Longinus, supposed to be the name of the centurion who pierced Christ's side with a spear in John xix:34. Popular etymology associated the name directly with long (adj.). Related: Lounged; lounging.
lounge (n.): "comfortable drawing room," 1881, from lounge (v.); in the sense of "couch on which one can lie at full length," it is attested from 1830. Lounge lizard is by 1917, perhaps from 1912, a term of contempt, originally in reference to men who hung around in tea rooms to flirt.
loupe (n.): "watchmaker's magnifier," 1909, from French loupe.
lour (v.): "to frown," late 13c. variant of lower (v.2). Related: Loured; louring.
louse (n.): "parasitic insect infecting human hair and skin," Old English lus, from Proto-Germanic *lus (source also of Old Norse lus, Middle Dutch luus, Dutch luis, Old High German lus, German Laus), from PIE *lus- "louse" (source also of Welsh lleuen "louse"). Slang meaning "obnoxious person" is from 1630s. The plural lice (Old English lys) shows effects of i-mutation. The verb meaning "to clear of lice" is from late 14c.; to louse up "ruin, botch" first attested 1934, from the literal sense (of bedding), from 1931. Grose ["Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue," 1785] has louse ladder "A stitch fallen in a stocking."
lousy (adj.): mid-14c., lousi, "infested with lice," from louse + -y (2). Figurative use as a generic adjective of abuse dates from late 14c.; sense of "swarming with" (money, etc.) is American English slang from 1843. Related: Lousiness.
lout (n.): 1540s, "awkward fellow, clown, bumpkin," perhaps from a dialectal survival of Middle English louten (v.) "bow down" (c. 1300), from Old English lutan "bow low," from Proto-Germanic *lut- "to bow, bend, stoop" (source also of Old Norse lutr "stooping," which might also be the source of the modern English word), from PIE *leud- "to lurk" (source also of Gothic luton "to deceive," Old English lot "deceit), also "to be small" (see little). Non-Germanic cognates probably include Lithuanian liudeti "to mourn;" Old Church Slavonic luditi "to deceive," ludu "foolish." Sense of "cad" is first attested 1857 in British schoolboy slang.
loutish (adj.): 1550s, from lout + -ish. Related: Loutishly; loutishness.
louver (n.): also louvre, early 14c., "domed turret-like structure atop a building to disperse smoke and admit light," from Old French lovier, of uncertain origin. One theory connects it to Medieval Latin *lodarium, which might be from a Germanic source (compare Old High German louba "upper room, roof;" see lobby). Another suggests it is from French l'ouvert, literally "the open place," from le, definite article, + past participle of ouvrir "to open." Meaning "overlapping strips in a window (to let in air but keep out rain)" first recorded 1550s. The form has been influenced by apparently unrelated French Louvre, the name of the palace in Paris, which is said to be so named because its builder, Philip Augustus, intended it as a wolf kennel. Related: Louvered.
lovable (adj.): also loveable, mid-14c., from love (v.) + -able. Related: Lovably.
love (n.): Old English lufu "love, affection, friendliness," from Proto-Germanic *lubo (source also of Old High German liubi "joy," German Liebe "love;" Old Norse, Old Frisian, Dutch lof; German Lob "praise;" Old Saxon liof, Old Frisian liaf, Dutch lief, Old High German liob, German lieb, Gothic liufs "dear, beloved").

The Germanic words are from PIE *leubh- "to care, desire, love" (source also of Latin lubet, later libet "pleases;" Sanskrit lubhyati "desires;" Old Church Slavonic l'ubu "dear, beloved;" Lithuanian liaupse "song of praise").
"Even now," she thought, "almost no one remembers Esteban and Pepita but myself. Camilla alone remembers her Uncle Pio and her son; this woman, her mother. But soon we shall die and all memory of those five will have left the earth, and we ourselves shall be loved for a while and forgotten. But the love will have been enough; all those impulses of love return the love that made them. Even memory is not necessary for love. There is a land of the living and a land of the dead and the bridge is love, the only survival, the only meaning." [Thornton Wilder, "Bridge of San Luis Rey," 1927]
Meaning "a beloved person" is from early 13c. The sense "no score" (in tennis, etc.) is 1742, from the notion of "playing for love," i.e. "for nothing" (1670s). Phrase for love or money "for anything" is attested from 1580s. Love seat is from 1904. Love-letter is attested from mid-13c.; love-song from early 14c. To fall in love is attested from early 15c. To be in love with (someone) is from c. 1500. To make love is from 1570s in the sense "pay amorous attention to;" as a euphemism for "have sex," it is attested from c. 1950. Love life "one's collective amorous activities" is from 1919, originally a term in psychological jargon. Love affair is from 1590s. The phrase no love lost (between two people) is ambiguous and was used 17c. in reference to two who love each other well (c. 1640) as well as two who have no love for each other (1620s).
love (v.): Old English lufian "to love, cherish, show love to; delight in, approve," from Proto-Germanic *lubojan (source also of Old High German lubon, German lieben), from root of love (n.). Related: Loved; loving. Adjective Love-hate "ambivalent" is from 1937, originally a term in psychological jargon.
love apple (n.): "tomato," 1570s, corresponding to French pomme d'amour, German liebesapfel, but the reason for the term remains obscure. One guess is that it is a corruption of Italian pomo de'Mori or Spanish pome dei Moro, literally "Moorish apple."
love bird (n.): 1590s, small species of West African parrot, noted for the remarkable attention mating pairs pay to one another; figurative sense of "a lover" is attested from 1911.
Hold hands, you lovebirds. [Emil Sitka]
love child (n.): "child born out of wedlock," 1805, from love (n.) + child. Earlier was love brat (17c.).
loveless (adj.): early 14c., "feeling no love;" late 14c. "unloved," from from love (n.) + -less. Attested from mid-13c. as a surname. Related: Lovelessly; lovelessness.
lovelily (adv.): early 14c., from lovely + -ly (2).
loveliness (n.): mid-14c., "lovableness," from lovely + -ness.
lovelonging (n.): c. 1300, luue langing, from love (n.) + infinitive of long (v.).
lovelorn (adj.): also love-lorn, "pining for love," 1630s, from love (n.) + lorn. Perhaps coined by Milton.
lovely (adj.): Old English luflic "affectionate, loveable;" see love (n.) + -ly (1). The modern sense of "lovable on account of beauty, attractive" is from c. 1300, "applied indiscriminately to all pleasing material objects, from a piece of plum-cake to a Gothic cathedral" [George P. Marsh, "The Origin and History of the English Language," 1862].
lovemaking (n.): "courtship," mid-15c., from love (n.) + make. Phrase make love is attested from 1570s in the sense "pay amorous attention to;" as a euphemism for "have sex," it is attested from c. 1950.
lover (n.): early 13c., agent noun from love (v.). Old English had lufend for male lovers, lufestre for women. Meaning "one who has a predilection for" (a thing, concept, pursuit, etc.) is mid-14c. As a form of address to a lover, from 1911. Related: Loverly.
lovesick (adj.): also love-sick, 1520s, from love (n.) + sick (adj.).
lovesome (adj.): Old English lufsum "worthy of love," from love (v.) + -some (1). Early 13c. as "lovely," 1720 as "amorous." An old word that might be useful in its original sense. Related: Lovesomely; lovesomeness.
lovestruck (adj.): also love-struck, by 1762, from love (n.) + struck (see strike (v.)). Love stricken is attested from 1805.
lovey: affectionate pet name, 1731, from love (n.) + -y (3). Extended form lovey-dovey attested from 1819 (n.), 1847 (adj.).
loving (adj.): Old English lufenda (see love (v.)). Loving cup is attested from 1808. Lovingkindness was Coverdale's word.
lovingly (adv.): late 14c., from loving + -ly (2).
low (adj.): "not high," late 13c., from lah (late 12c.), "not rising much, being near the base or ground" (of objects or persons); "lying on the ground or in a deep place" (late 13c.), from Old Norse lagr "low," or a similar Scandinavian source (compare Swedish låg, Danish lav), from Proto-Germanic *lega- "lying flat, low" (source also of Old Frisian lech, Middle Dutch lage, Dutch laag "low," dialectal German läge "flat"), from PIE *legh- "to lie" (see lie (v.2)).

Meaning "humble in rank" is from c. 1200; "undignified" is from 1550s; sense of "dejected, dispirited" is attested from 1737; meaning "coarse, vulgar" is from 1759. In reference to sounds, "not loud," also "having a deep pitch," it is attested from c. 1300. Of prices, from c. 1400. In geographical usage, low refers to the part of a country near the sea-shore (c. 1300, as in Low Countries "Holland, Belgium, Luxemburg," 1540s). As an adverb c. 1200, from the adjective.
low (v.): Old English hlowan "make a noise like a cow," from Proto-Germanic *khlo- (source also of Middle Dutch loeyen, Dutch loeien, Old Low Franconian luon, Old High German hluojen), from imitative PIE root *kele- (2) "to shout" (see claim (v.)).
low (n.2): "hill," obsolete except in place names, Old English hlaw "hill, mound," especially "barrow," related to hleonian "to lean" (see lean (v.)). Compare Latin clivus "hill" from the same PIE root.
low (n.1): sound made by cows, 1540s, from low (v.).
low (adv.): early 13c., from low (adj.). Of voices or sounds, from c. 1300.
low key (adj.): also low-key, 1895, from low (adj.) + key (n.1), perhaps from the musical sense.
low-budget (adj.): 1939, originally of motion pictures; from low (adj.) + budget (n.).