Online Etymology Dictionary

-latry: suffix meaning "worship of," in use in native formations from 19c. (e.g. bardolatry), from Gk. -latreia "worship, service paid to the gods, hired labor," related to latron "pay, hire," latris "servant, worshipper."
-less: the suffix meaning "lacking" is from O.E. -leas, from leas "free (from), devoid (of), false, feigned," from P.Gmc. *lausaz (cf. Du. -loos, Ger. -los "less," O.N. lauss "loose, free, vacant, dissolute," M.Du. los, Ger. los "loose, free," Goth. laus "empty, vain"). Related to loose and lease.
-ling: dim. suffix, early 14c., from O.E. -ling a nominal suffix (not originally dim.), from P.Gmc. *-linga-; attested in historical Gmc. languages as a simple suffix, but probably representing a fusion of the suffixes represented by Eng. -le (cf. icicle, thimble, handle), O.E. -ol, -ul, -el; and -ing, suffix indicating "person or thing of a specific kind or origin; in masc. nouns also "son of" (cf. farthing, atheling, O.E. horing "adulterer, fornicator"). Both these suffixes had occasional dim. force, but this was only slightly evident in O.E. -ling and its equivalents in Gmc. languages except O.N., where it commonly was used as a diminutive suffix, especially in words designating the young of animals (e.g. gæslingr "gosling"). Thus it is possible that the diminutive use that developed in Middle English is from Old Norse.
-lite: comb. form meaning "stone," from Fr. -lite, variant of -lithe, from Gk. lithos "stone."
-logy: "a speaking, discourse, treatise, doctrine, theory, science," from Gk. -logia (often via Fr. -logie or M.L. -logia), from root of legein "to speak;" thus, "the character or department of one who speaks or treats of (a certain subject);" see lecture.
-lysis: scientific/medical suffix meaning "loosening, dissolving, dissolution," from Gk. lysis "a loosening, setting free, releasing, dissolution," from lyein "to unfasten, loose, loosen, untie" (see lose). A Fr. back-formation gave Eng. -lyze for forming verbs from nouns in -lysis.
L.A.: abbreviation for Los Angeles, attested from 1949.
L.L.: contraction of L. legum "of laws, in degrees;" e.g. L.L.D., which stands for Legum Doctor "Doctor of Laws." Plural abbreviations in L. formed by doubling the letter.
l.s.d.: abbreviation of British currency units, from L. librae, soldi, denarii, Roman equivalent of "pounds, shillings, pence."
la: musical note (sixth note of the diatonic scale), early 14c., see gamut.
la-di-da: mocking of affected gentility, c.1883, in derisive imitation of "swell" way of talking.
la-la: nonsense refrain in songs, probably from O.E. la, a common exclamation; but la-la is imitative of babbling speech in many languages (cf. Gk. lalage "babble, prattle," Skt. lalalla "imitation of stammering" L. lallare "to sing to sleep, lull," Ger. lallen "to stammer," Lith. laluoti "to stammer").
label: c.1320, "narrow band or strip of cloth," from O.Fr. label, lambel "ribbon, fringe" (Fr. lambeau "strip, rag, shred, tatter"), possibly from Frank. *labba (cf. O.H.G. lappa "flap"), from P.Gmc. *lapp- (see lap (n.)). Sense of "strip attached to a document to hold a seal" evolved in M.E. (c.1380), and general meaning of "tag, sticker, slip of paper" is from 1679. Meaning "circular piece of paper in the center of a gramophone record" (1907), containing information about the recorded music, led to meaning "a recording company" (1952). The verb meaning "to affix a label to" is from 1601; fig. sense of "to categorize" is from 1853.
labial: "pertaining to the lips," 1594, from M.L. labialis, from L. labium "lip" (see lip). Lips of the female pudendum called labia from 1634.
labonza: "belly," 1950s, probably from dialectal pronunciation of It. la pancia "the belly," from L. pantex (gen. panticis) "belly" (see paunch).
labor (n.): c.1300, "exertion of the body," from O.Fr. labour (Fr. labeur), from L. laborem (nom. labor) "toil, pain, exertion, fatigue, work," perhaps originally "tottering under a burden," related to labere "to totter." The verb is c.1300, from M.Fr. labourer, from L. laborare, from labor. The verb in modern Fr., Sp., Port. means "to plow;" the wider sense being taken by the equivalent of Eng. travail. Meaning "body of laborers considered as a class" (usually contrasted to capitalists) is from 1839. Sense of "physical exertions of childbirth" is 1595, from Fr. en travail "in (childbirth) suffering" (see travail). Labor Day first marked 1882 in New York City.
laboratory: 1605, "building set apart for scientific experiments," from M.L. laboratorium "a place for labor or work," from L. laboratus, pp. of laborare "to work" (see labor). Shortened form lab first attested 1895.
laborious: 1390, "hard-working," from O.Fr. laborieux (12c.), from L. laboriosus "toilsome, wearisome, troublesome," from labor. Meaning "costing much labor" is from 1555.
labour: British spelling of labor (q.v.); for suffix, see -or. As short for "the British Labour Party" it is from 1906.
Labrador: large province of eastern Canada, probably from Port. lavrador "landholder," perhaps in ref. to 15c. Port. explorer Joao Fernandes, a landholder in the Azores. The name was first applied to Greenland. The breed of retriever dog so called from 1829.
labyrinth: 1387, from L. labyrinthus, from Gk. labyrinthos "maze, large building with intricate passages," esp. the structure built to hold the Minotaur, from a pre-Gk. language; perhaps related to Lydian labrys "double-edged axe," symbol of royal power, which fits with the theory that the labyrinth was originally the royal Minoan palace on Crete and meant "palace of the double-axe." Used in Eng. for "maze" early 15c., and in figurative sense of "confusing state of affairs" (1548).
lac: "red resinous substance," 1553, from Pers. lak, from Hindi lakh (Prakrit lakkha), from Skt. laksha, which according to Klein is lit. "one hundred thousand," in ref. to the insects that gather in great numbers on the trees and make the resin run out. But others say lakh is an alteration of Skt. rakh, from an IE root word for "color" [Webster]. Still another guess is that Skt. laksha is related to Eng. lax, lox "salmon," and the substance was perhaps originally so called from being somewhat the color of salmon.
lace: c.1230, from O.Fr. las "a net, noose, string" (Fr. lacs), from V.L. *lacium, from L. laqueum (nom. laqueus) "noose, snare" (It. laccio, Sp. lazo), a trapping and hunting term, probably from Italic base *laq- "to ensnare" (cf. L. lacere "to entice"). The "ornamental net pattern" meaning is first recorded 1555. Sense of "cord for tying" remains in shoelace. To lace coffee, etc., with a dash of liquor (1677) was originally used of sugar, and comes via the notion of "to ornament or trim." Laced mutton was "an old word for a whore" [Johnson]. Lace-curtain "middle class" (or lower-class with middle-class pretensions) usually is used in ref. to Irish-Americans.
lacerate: 1592, from L. laceratus, pp. of lacerare "tear to pieces, mangle," from lacer "torn, mangled," from PIE base *leq- "to rend" (cf. Gk. lakis "tatter, rag," lakizein "to tear to pieces;" Rus. lochma "rag, tatter, scrap;" Albanian lakur "naked").
lachrymose: 1661, "tear-like," from L. lacrimosus "tearful, sorrowful," from lacrima "tear," a dialect-altered borrowing of Gk. dakryma "tear," from dakryein "to shed tears," from dakry "tear," from PIE *dakru-/*draku- (see tear (n.)). Meaning "given to tears, tearful" is first attested 1727; meaning "of a mournful character" is from 1822. The -d- to -l- alteration in L. is the so-called "Sabine -L-," cf. L. olere "smell," from root of odor, and Ulixes, the L. form of Gk. Odysseus.
lack (n.): c.1200, may have existed as unrecorded O.E. *lac, or been borrowed from M.Du. lak "deficiency, fault," from P.Gmc. *laka- (cf. O.N. lakr "lacking"). The verb is attested earlier, c.1175, but is considered to be from the noun. Lackluster first attested 1600 in "As You Like It." Combinations with lack- were frequent in 16c., e.g. lackland (1594), of a landless man; lack-Latin (c.1534), of an ignorant priest.
lackadaisical: 1768, from interjection lackadaisy "alas, alack" (1748), an alteration of lack-a-day (1695), from alack the day. Hence, "given to crying 'lack-a-day,' vapidly sentimental." Sense probably altered by infl. of lax.
lackey: 1529, "footman, running footman, valet," from M.Fr. laquais "foot soldier, footman, servant" (15c.), probably from O.Prov. lacai, from lecai "glutton, covetous," from lecar "to lick." Alternative etymology is via Fr. from Catalan alacay, from Arabic al-qadi "the judge." Yet another guess traces it through Sp. lacayo, from It. lacchè, from Mod.Gk. oulakes, from Turk. ulak "runner, courier." This suits the original sense better, but OED says It. lacchè is from French. Sense of "servile follower" appeared 1588. As a political term of abuse it dates from 1939 in communist jargon.
laconic: "concise, abrupt," 1589, from Gk. Lakonikos, from Lakon "person from Lakonia," the district around Sparta in southern Greece in ancient times, whose inhabitants were famous for their brevity of speech. When Philip of Macedon threatened them with, "If I enter Laconia, I will raze Sparta to the ground," the Spartans' reply was, "If."
lacquer: 1673, from Fr. lacre "a kind of sealing wax," from Port. lacre, unexplained variant of lacca "resinous substance," from Arabic lakk, from Pers. lak (see lac). The verb meaning "to cover or coat with laqueur" is from 1688.
lacrosse: 1718, Amer.Eng., from Canadian Fr. jeu de la crosse "game of the hooked sticks," from crosse "hooked stick," which is used to throw the ball, from P.Gmc. *kruk-. Originally a N.Amer. Indian game. The native name is represented by Ojibwa (Algonquian) baaga'adowe "to play lacrosse."
lactation: 1668, "process of suckling an infant," from Fr. lactation, from L. lactationem (nom. lactatio) "a suckling," from L. lactatus, pp. of lactare "suckle," from lac (gen. lactis) "milk," from PIE base *glact- (cf. Gk. gala, gen. galaktos "milk"). Meaning "process of secreting milk from the breasts" first recorded 1857; lactate (v.) in this sense is a back-formation from 1889. Lactic acid is from 1790; so called because it was obtained from sour milk. M.Ir. lacht, Welsh llaeth "milk" are loan words from Latin.
lactose: sugar from milk, 1858, from Fr., coined by Fr. chemist Marcelin-Pierre-Eugène Berthelot (1827-1907) from L. lac "milk" (see lactation) + suffix -ose.
lacuna: 1663, "blank or missing portion in a manuscript," from L. lacuna "hole, pit," dim. of lacus "pond, lake" (see lake (1)).
lad: c.1300, ladde "foot soldier," also "young male servant" (attested as a surname from c.1100), possibly from a Scand. language (cf. Norw. -ladd, in compounds for "young man"), but of obscure origin in any case. OED hazards a guess on M.E. ladde, plural of the pp. of lead (v.), thus "one who is led" (by a lord). Meaning "boy, youth, young man" is from c.1440. Scottish form laddie, a term of endearment, attested from 1546.
ladder: O.E. hlæder, from P.Gmc. *khlaidri (cf. O.Fris. hledere, M.Du. ledere, O.H.G. leitara, Ger. Leiter), from PIE base *khli- "to lean" (cf. Gk. klimax "ladder;" see lean (v.)). The belief that walking under one brings bad luck is attested from 1787, but its origin likely is more pragmatic than symbolic.
lade: O.E. hladan (past tense hlod, pp. gehladen) "to load, heap" (the general Gmc. sense), also "to draw water" (a meaning peculiar to Eng.), from P.Gmc. *khlad- (cf. O.N. hlaða, O.Fris. hlada, O.H.G. hladen, Ger. laden), from PIE *klat- (cf. Lith. kloti "to spread," O.C.S. klado "to set, place").
laden: 1590s, adj. from the original pp. of lade.
Ladin: 1877, Rhaeto-Romanic dialect spoken in Switzerland and Tyrol, from L. Latinus "Latin."
lading: c.1500, from lade.
Ladino: 1889, Spanish mixed with Hebrew, Arabic, and other elements, written in Heb. characters, spoken by Sephardim in Turkey, Greece, etc. From Sp. Ladino "sagacious, cunning crafty," originally "knowing Latin, Latin," from L. Latinus. The Sp. word also has appeared in 19c. Amer.Eng. in its senses "vicious horse" and, in Central America, "mestizo, white person."
ladle: "large, long-handled spoon for deawing liquids," O.E. hlædel, from hladan "to load" (see lade) + -le, suffix expressing "appliance, tool" (cf. shovel). The verb is first recorded 1525.
lady: M.E. lafdi, lavede, ladi, from O.E. hlæfdige "mistress of a household, wife of a lord," lit. "one who kneads bread," from hlaf "bread" (see loaf) + -dige "maid," related to dæge "maker of dough" (see dey (1); also compare lord). Not found outside Eng. except where borrowed from it. Sense of "woman of superior position in society" is c.1200; "woman whose manners and sensibilities befit her for high rank in society" is from 1861 (ladylike in this sense is from 1580s). Meaning "woman as an object of chivalrous love" is from late 14c. Used commonly as an address to any woman since 1890s. Applied in O.E. to the Holy Virgin, hence many extended usages in plant names, etc., from gen. sing. hlæfdigan, which in M.E. merged with the nom., so that lady- often represents (Our) Lady's; e.g. ladybug (1699; cf. Ger. cognate Marienkäfer) which now is called ladybird beetle (1704) in Britain, through aversion to the word bug, which there has overtones of sodomy. Ladies' man first recorded 1784.
Laertes: king of Ithaca, father of Odysseus, Gk., lit. "gatherer of the people," from laos "people" + eirein "to fasten together."
lag (v.): "fail to keep pace," 1530, from earlier adj. meaning "last" (1514), e.g. lag-mon "last man," possibly from a Scand. source (cf. Norw. lagga "go slowly"), or some dialectal version of last, lack, or delay. First record of lag time is from 1956. Laggard is from 1702.
lager: 1858, Amer.Eng., short for lager beer (1853), from Ger. Lager-bier "beer brewed for keeping," from Lager "storehouse" (see lair) + Bier "beer."
lagniappe: "dividend, something extra," 1849, from New Orleans creole, of unknown origin though much speculated. Originally a bit of something given by New Orleans shopkeepers to customers. Said to be from Amer.Sp. la ñapa "the gift." Klein says this is in turn from Quechua yapa "something added, gift."
"We picked up one excellent word -- a word worth travelling to New Orleans to get; a nice, limber, expressive, handy word -- 'lagniappe.' They pronounce it lanny-yap. It is Spanish -- so they said." [Mark Twain, "Life on the Mississippi"]
lagoon: 1612, from Fr. lagune, from It. laguna "pond, lake," from L. lacuna "pond, hole," from lacus "pond" (see lake). Originally in ref. to the region of Venice; applied 1769 to the lake-like stretch of water enclosed in a South Seas atoll.
laic: 1562, from Fr. laique, from L.L. laicus, from Gk. laikos "of or belonging to the people," from laos "people" (see lay (adj.)).
laid: pp. of lay (v.). Laid-up "injured, sick," originally was a nautical term (1769) describing a ship moored in harbor. Laid off "temporarily unemployed" is from 1955. Laid-back "relaxed" is first attested 1973, perhaps in reference to the posture of highway motorcyclists.