louse

English

/laʊs/

noun
Definitions
  • A small parasitic wingless insect of the order Psocodea.
  • (colloquial) A contemptible person; one who is deceitful or causes harm.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English lous inherited from Old English lūs inherited from Proto-Germanic *lūs derived from Proto-Indo-European *lewH- (sever, untie, set free, separate, loosen, lose, cut, cut apart), *lewH- (sever, untie, set free, separate, loosen, lose, cut, cut apart).

Origin

Proto-Indo-European

*lewH-

Gloss

sever, untie, set free, separate, loosen, lose, cut, cut apart

Concept
Semantic Field

Basic actions and technology

Ontological Category

Action/Process

Emoji

Timeline

Distribution of cognates by language

Geogrpahic distribution of cognates

Cognates and derived terms