lus

Forms

lūs f (nominative plural lȳs) (strong consonant stem)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *lūs, from Proto-Germanic *lūs (“louse”).^[1][2][3] The word is shared by Old Norse lús, Middle Low German lūs and Old High German lūs (now German Laus).^[2][4][5] Outside Germanic it has been compared with the Celtic words for the louse, Welsh lleuen and the plural llau (“lice”), and Breton laou (“lice”);^[2][4] Köbler sets up a root Proto-Indo-European *lūs- (“louse”);^[6] Wiktionary gives Proto-Indo-European *lewH- (“louse”) only as a possibility.^[1]

It is a feminine root noun, like mūs, with a plural with i-umlaut (⟨lȳs⟩).^[7][8][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first dated record is in Bald's Leechbook (Royal 12 D. xvii, s. x med.), in a heading of the table of contents: Læcedomas twegen wiþ lusum “Two remedies against lice”.^[10][11]

Semantic evolution

The sense does not change: the word names the louse in the medical texts, which give salves against lice, and in Ælfric, who tells of the plague of hundes lūs, literally “dog's lice”, sent on Egypt.^[12][13] In the glossaries it renders Latin “pediculus” and “peducla”, and swīnes lūs “swine's louse” glosses “usia”.^[12][6] It also occurs in charter bounds, as on lusa beorg in a later copy of a charter of 933.^[14][11]

It lived on as Middle English lous, now English louse, whose plural lice continues lȳs.^[1][9]

Timeline

• s. x med. – Læcedomas twegen wiþ lusum in Bald's Leechbook (Royal 12 D. xvii).^[10][11]

Meanings

Noun

1. a louse.^[12][6][8]

Descendants

• Middle English lous (→ English louse; Scots louse; Scots loose)^[1]

Related words

• mūs

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 252
3. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
4. ^ a b de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. 369
5. ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. 207
6. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. lūs
7. ^ Hogg, Richard M.; Fulk, R. D. (2011), A Grammar of Old English, vol. 2: Morphology, Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, p. § 2.111
8. ^ a b Sweet, Henry (1896), The Student's Dictionary of Anglo-Saxon, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. 132
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ a b Gneuss, Helmut; Lapidge, Michael (2014), Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A Bibliographical Handlist of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, p. 412
11. ^ a b c Healey, Antonette diPaolo; Price Wilkin, John; Xiang, Xin, eds. (2009), Dictionary of Old English Web Corpus, Toronto: Dictionary of Old English Project
12. ^ a b c Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement, p. 648
13. ^ Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement, p. Suppl. 622
14. ^ The Electronic Sawyer: Online Catalogue of Anglo-Saxon Charters, revised ed. by S. E. Kelly and R. Rushforth, King's College London / University of Cambridge, esawyer.lib.cam.ac.uk, p. S 424