Etymologically
Log in

luck

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 16:37. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English lucke, luk,[2][3] probably borrowed from Middle Dutch luc, a shortening of ghelucke “happiness, good fortune”,[4][2][5] modern Dutch geluk; its cognates include Middle High German gelücke and German Glück.[4][2] It is not found in Old English, and may have come into English as a gambling term, Low German being a frequent source of such terms in the 15th and 16th centuries.[2][5][4] Old Frisian lukk, Old Norse lukka, Danish lykke and Swedish lycka are borrowed from the same source.[2] The ultimate origin is unknown;[2][4] the New Oxford suggests a possible link with lock.[6] Barnhart also allows a back-formation from lucky.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Fortune, good or bad, what happens by chance: 1481,[7] before 1500 in Barnhart,[2] about 1500 in Etymonline.[4] A Middle English verb lukken, “to happen, chance”, is from the mid-15th century.[4][8]

Semantic evolution

The Old English word for what determines events was wyrd, the source of weird, and destiny and fate came later from French and Italian.[9] People have wished each other good luck since the 1530s,[9] and good luck! as a salutation to someone setting off is from 1805.[4] As luck would have it is from 1598.[7] Better luck next time is by 1802, down on one's luck from 1832, no such luck by 1835, in luck from 1857 and push one's luck from 1911.[4] The idea “lucky at cards, unlucky in love” is already a commonplace in Swift's Polite Conversation (1738).[9] The modern verb, “to have good luck”, is a new formation, by 1945,[4] and luck out, “to succeed by luck”, is American, attested by 1946.[4] Lucky is from about 1450, and luckless from 1563.[2]

Timeline

  • mid-15th century – verb lukken, to happen.[4]
  • c. 1450 – lucky.[2]
  • 1481 – fortune good or ill.[7]
  • 1530s – good luck.[9]
  • 1598 – as luck would have it.[7]
  • 1832 – down on one's luck.[4]
  • 1911 – push one's luck.[4]
  • 1946 – luck out.[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The force that seems to make things happen by chance, good or bad.
  2. Good fortune; success by chance.
  3. A person's fortune or lot: his luck ran out.

Verb

  1. (informal) To succeed or gain something by chance: luck out, luck into.

Word family

  • luckless
  • potluck
  • chuck-a-luck
  • hard-luck
  • lucky
  • beginner's luck
  • lady luck

Usage notes

In Shetland a separate verb luck meant “to entice, coax”.[10]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., 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 c d Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  10. ^ 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)