Etymologically
Log in

lodge

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 14:48. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /lɒd͡ʒ/ (UK); /lɑd͡ʒ/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English logge, later lodge,[2][3] borrowed from Old French loge (“arbour, covered walk, hut”),[3][2][4] from Frankish *laubja (“shelter”), source also of German Laube (“bower, arbour”),[3][2][5] perhaps first a shelter of foliage, from the root of leaf.[3][5] It is a doublet of loge, loggia and lobby.[2][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A siege tower: lhoge, 1231;[2] a small, often temporary shelter or hut, 1290;[2][7] in surnames and place names from the mid-13th century.[3]

Semantic evolution

A hunter's cabin in a forest is from the late 14th century (1465 in the OED).[3][7] A gatekeeper's or gardener's house at the entrance of an estate is from 1500–20.[7][8] The modern spelling dates from about 1500.[3] A local branch of a society, especially of the Freemasons, is from 1686, developed from lodge, the workshop of a group of masons (mid-14th century).[2][3] In North America it was used of certain Native American dwellings from 1805.[3][9] The verb, to encamp an army, is from about 1200,[3] to provide with lodging from about 1300, and to dwell temporarily from the late 14th century.[3] To fix something, such as a bullet, in place is from the 1610s, and to deposit a complaint with an official from 1708.[3]

Timeline

  • 1231 – a siege tower.[2]
  • 1290 – a hut.[2]
  • c. 1300 – to provide lodging.[3]
  • c. 1500 – spelling lodge.[3]
  • 1686 – a Masonic lodge.[2]
  • 1708 – to lodge a complaint.[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A small house at the gate of an estate, used by a gatekeeper or gardener.
  2. A house or cabin used for hunting, skiing or other seasonal activities.
  3. A local branch of a society, such as the Freemasons.
  4. A Native American dwelling, such as a wigwam.

Verb

  1. To stay or provide with a place to sleep, especially for payment.
  2. To become or make fixed or embedded: the bullet lodged in his arm.
  3. To present a complaint, appeal or claim formally.

Word family

  • lodgeable
  • lodger
  • lodging
  • lodgement
  • sweat lodge
  • motor lodge

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin