lozenge

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈlɒzɪnd͡ʒ/ (UK); /ˈlɑzɪnd͡ʒ/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It comes from Middle English losonge, lozenge,^[2][3][4] from Old French losenge (“rhombus; windowpane; small square cake”),^{[2][3][5][4][6]} of disputed origin.^[5] It is probably from a pre-Roman word for “flat stone”, Iberian or Gaulish *lausa,^[3][5][6] the source of Spanish losa and Portuguese lousa “slab”.^[3][5] The American Heritage Dictionary calls it perhaps of Celtic origin.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A plane figure with four equal sides and two acute and two obtuse angles; a diamond shape, especially in heraldry (1320–30).^[3][5][7]

Semantic evolution

From the late 14th century the word named a diamond-shaped cake or wafer,^[5][7] and from 1530 a small tablet of medicine and sugar held in the mouth to dissolve,^[7][5] originally diamond-shaped.^[7][6] The related French words often meant flattery, perhaps from the fulsome epitaphs on flat tombstones;^[5] Chaucer has losenger “flatterer”.^[5]

Timeline

• 1320 – losonge, a diamond shape.^[3]
• 1330 – lozenge.^[3]
• about 1430 – a diamond-shaped garnish.^[7]
• 1530 – a medicated tablet.^[7][5]
• 1696 – a diamond-shaped shield for a woman's arms.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A small, often medicated sweet that is dissolved slowly in the mouth to soothe the throat; a pastille or troche.
2. A four-sided figure shaped like a diamond; a rhombus that is not a square.
3. Something of this shape, especially a heraldic charge or the shield bearing a woman's arms.

Related words

• lozengy
• rhombus
• diamond

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press