look

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English loken, earlier locon,^[2][3][4] inherited from Old English lōcian (“to see, gaze, look, spy”),^{[2][5][6][7][8]} from Proto-West Germanic *lōkōjan,^[7][9] cognate with Old Saxon lōkon (“to see, look, spy”) and Middle Dutch loeken (“to look”),^{[10][7][5][2]} and probably with a form on a 5th-century runic inscription from the Weser estuary.^[10] Old High German luogēn (“to look out, peep”) and German lugen come from the same Germanic base with a different consonant, which has been explained in several ways.^[10][7][5] The further origin is unknown,^{[10][5][7][2]} and Ayto calls the word surprisingly isolated for so common a verb.^[9] Klein suggests a link with Tocharian A läk- (“to see”) and with Old Cornish lagat and Breton lagad, both meaning "eye";^[11] Etymonline also mentions the Breton word as a suggested cognate.^[5] The noun, the act of looking, is formed from the verb in late Old English or early Middle English.^[5][10][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

To use one's eyes, to gaze or behold: Barnhart dates Old English lōcian to before 899, in Alfred's translation of Gregory's Pastoral Care,^[2] and the OED's first record is in the early Old English Metres of Boethius.^[10] The Middle English form locon is in the Peterborough Chronicle, before 1121, and loken about 1200; the modern spelling look is recorded from about 1350 and became usual in the early 1400s.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In Old English the verb was usually followed by on, and look at appears in the 14th century.^[5] The imperative was used to call attention from early on: Old English lōca nu translated Latin ecce, "behold",^[10] and Johnson (1755) listed look! as an interjection meaning "see! lo! behold!".^[12] The sense "to seek" is from about 1300, and "to have a certain appearance" from about 1400 in Etymonline,^[5] the 13th century in Hoad.^[7] Of buildings and the like, "to face in a certain direction" is from the late 14th century, and look like from the mid-15th.^[5] Phrasal uses followed: look after, take care of (late 14th century), look into, investigate (1580s), look forward (about 1600), look up something in a book (1690s), look down upon (1711) and look up to (1719).^[5] The noun moved from the act of looking to a glance expressing a feeling (14th century) and to a person's appearance (late 14th century);^[5][10] looks, in the plural, is recorded from about 1400 in the OED, the 1560s in Etymonline.^[10][5] From 1567 the noun was used of the appearance of things,^[10] and in fashion a look is a style of dress, from 1920 in the OED and 1938 in Etymonline.^[10][5]

Timeline

• before 899 – Old English lōcian, to use the eyes, look.^[2]
• before 1200 – noun, an act of looking, a glance.^[10][2]
• c. 1300 – to seek, search for.^[5]
• 14th century – look at.^[5]
• before 1393 – noun, a look expressing a feeling, in Gower.^[10]
• c. 1400 – to have a certain appearance; noun, a person's appearance.^[5][10]
• mid-15th century – look like, to resemble.^[5]
• 1580s – look into, to investigate.^[5]
• 1711 – look down upon, to regard as inferior, and look sharp.^[5]
• 1719 – look up to, to admire.^[5]
• 1920 – noun, a style in fashion.^[10]

Meanings

Verb

1. To turn one's eyes toward something in order to see it: She looked at the clock.^[13][4][10]
2. To turn one's attention to something; to consider: Let's look at the costs.^[13][4]
3. To seem, or to appear to be: The soup looks good.^[13][4][10]
4. To face in a given direction: The kitchen looks east.^[13][4][5]
5. To search, usually with for: He looked everywhere for his glasses.^[4][5]
6. To show by one's expression: She looked her disapproval.^[10][4]
7. To expect or hope to do something: We look to finish by Friday.^[13]

Noun

1. An act of looking; a glance: Take a look at this.^[4][10][13]
2. An examination or study: a closer look at the data.^[4][10]
3. An expression of the face or eyes: a look of surprise.^[10][4]
4. Appearance; in the plural, a person's appearance, especially good looks.^[10][4]
5. A style of dress or design: the new autumn look.^[10][5]

Interjection

1. Used to call attention: Look, I've told you already.^[5][12]

Word family

• look-alike
• lookee
• looker
• lookout
• look-see
• onlooker
• outlook
• overlook

Related words

• lo

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ 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)
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
7. ^ a b c d e f Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
12. ^ 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.
13. ^ a b c d e f Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins