Etymologically
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lofty

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈlɒfti/, /ˈlɔːfti/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English loft + -y,[2][3][4][5] the noun being taken in its sense in the phrase “on loft”, aloft;[6] the Shorter Oxford and the ODE see the influence of that adverb.[4][7] In Middle English it was lofti, also lofte.[8] Loft is from Old English loft (“sky, air”), from Old Norse lopt (“air, sky, upper room”),[2][6][9] from Proto-Germanic *luftuz (“air, sky”),[2][10][11] the source also of lyft, Dutch lucht, German Luft and Gothic 𐌻𐌿𐍆𐍄𐌿𐍃 (luftus, “air”).[2][11][12] A verb derived from the Germanic noun, borrowed through Old Norse, gave English lift.[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of high rank, noble; also of things, rich or ornate: about 1426, in Audelay's poems.[8] Etymonline dates the sense "exalted, of high rank" to the early 15th century, and finds the word as a surname in the early 14th.[2][8] The OED's first quotation, for "haughty, proud", is from about 1485, in the Digby play of Mary Magdalene.[6]

Semantic evolution

The OED notes that the word occurs first in figurative uses, and that even in its literal sense it has always had an emotional or rhetorical colour.[6] By the mid 16th century it meant exalted in dignity or character, and was used of aims directed to high objects (1548) and of an elevated style (1565).[6] The literal sense "very high, towering" appears in 1590, in Spenser's Faerie Queene,[6] or in the 1580s according to Etymonline,[2] and Shakespeare used it of majestic sound (1598).[6] Obsolete uses include lofty tricks, acrobatic feats (1603–1786), and a lofty wind or sea, a high one (1600–1745).[6] Johnson (1755) gave first "high; hovering; elevated in place", then "sublime; elevated in sentiment".[13] In Derbyshire dialect it meant massive or superior;[14][6] since 1909 it has also described wool or fabric that is bulky and springy.[6] As a nickname for a very tall man, or ironically a very short one, Lofty is recorded in Australia from 1916[15] and in the OED from 1933.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 1426 – of high rank, noble.[8]
  • c. 1485 – haughty, proud.[6]
  • 1548 – exalted in dignity or character; of aims, directed to high objects.[6]
  • 1565 – of style or speech, elevated, sublime.[6]
  • 1590 – very high, towering.[6] Etymonline dates the literal sense to the 1580s.[2]
  • 1598 – of sound, majestic.[6]
  • 1909 – of wool or fabric, bulky and springy.[6]
  • 1916 – noun, a nickname for a very tall or very short man.[15] The OED dates it to 1933.[6]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of great height; towering: the lofty ceilings of the old station.[16][3][6]
  2. Noble or exalted in character or aims: lofty principles.[16][3][6]
  3. Haughty or supercilious: He answered the reporters with a lofty smile.[16][3][6]
  4. Of speech or writing, elevated in style; sublime or grand.[6][13]
  5. Of wool or fabric, bulky and springy.[6]

Noun

  1. (informal) A nickname for a very tall person, or ironically for a short one.[6][15]

Word family

  • loftily
  • loftiness
  • overlofty
  • unlofty

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b c d Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  10. ^ a b Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
  11. ^ a b Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
  12. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill
  13. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  14. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
  15. ^ a b c Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
  16. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins