Etymologically
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lock

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English has two nouns spelled lock: a device for fastening, and a tress of hair.[1][2] Both are Old English, and they may come from a root meaning “to bend”.[3][1]

Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /lɒk/, US /lɑːk/[4]

lock1 fastening

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English lok, inherited from Old English loc (“bolt, fastening; barrier, enclosure; agreement”),[2][1] from Proto-Germanic *lukaną, related to Old English lūcan (“to lock, close”),[1][2] also the source of Old Norse lok “fastening, lid”, Old Frisian lok “enclosure, prison”, Old High German loh “dungeon” and German Loch “hole”.[2][1][5] Barnhart suggests cognates in Greek lýgos “withe” and Lithuanian lùgnas “pliable”, on the idea of a fastening made by bending twigs.[1] The OED notes that the variety of meanings in the Germanic words suggests several independent formations from the root.[2] The verb is from the noun, perhaps reinforced by Old Norse loka, and replaced Old English lūcan.[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

An appliance for fastening a door or lid: about 750 in Barnhart, in Cynewulf's Elene;[1] about 900 in the OED.[6]

Semantic evolution

The Old English sense “barrier, enclosure” led to a barrier on a stream (about 1300)[2] and to the canal lock with gates and sluices for raising and lowering boats (1570s).[2][3] Under lock and key is from the early 14th century.[2] The firing mechanism of a gun is from the 1540s, probably from its likeness to a door latch,[2] hence lock, stock, and barrel, the whole thing (1806).[2][3] A hold in wrestling is from about 1600.[2] The verb, to fasten with a lock, is from about 1300,[1][2] to embrace closely from the mid-14th century,[2] and lock horns from 1839.[2] Locksmith is from 1440 and lockjaw from 1803.[1]

Timeline

  • c. 750 – a fastening.[1]
  • c. 1300 – a barrier on a river; verb, to lock.[2]
  • 1440 – locksmith.[1]
  • 1540s – the firing mechanism of a gun.[2]
  • 1570s – a canal lock.[2]
  • c. 1600 – a hold in wrestling.[2]
  • 1806 – lock, stock, and barrel.[2]
  • 1839 – lock horns.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A device worked by a key or code that keeps a door, lid or container closed.
  2. A section of a canal or river with gates, where the water level can be changed to raise or lower boats.
  3. A hold in wrestling that stops an opponent from moving.
  4. The mechanism that fires a gun.
  5. (informal) A certainty: a lock to win.

Verb

  1. To fasten with a lock.
  2. To shut in or keep out by locking: lock someone in.
  3. To become fixed so as not to move, or to hold firmly.

Word family

  • locker
  • locksmith
  • lockjaw
  • padlock
  • deadlock

lock2 hair

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English lok, inherited from Old English locc (“lock of hair, curl”),[2][1] from Proto-Germanic *lukkaz,[2][5] also the source of Old Frisian and Old Saxon lok, Dutch lok, German Locke and Old Norse lokkr.[2][1][5] It is of uncertain origin, perhaps from PIE *lugnós and related to Greek lýgos “pliant twig” and lygízein “to bend”, and Lithuanian lùgnas “flexible”.[2][1][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

One of the portions into which a head of hair or a beard divides, a tress: before 700 in the OED,[6] about 700 in Barnhart.[1]

Semantic evolution

The plural locks came to mean the hair of the head in general.[7][8] A tuft of wool or cotton is from about 1300,[6] and a small quantity of hay or straw from about 1440.[6] A lovelock or tress of false hair is from 1600.[6]

Timeline

  • a. 700 – a tress of hair.[6]
  • c. 1300 – a tuft of wool.[6]
  • c. 1440 – a small quantity of hay.[6]
  • 1600 – a lovelock.[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A piece of hair that hangs or curls together; a tress.
  2. (locks) The hair of a person's head.
  3. A tuft of wool or cotton.

Word family

  • lovelock
  • dreadlocks
  • reluctance

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins