luck English · revision 2704

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1481|origins=dum luc}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /lʌk/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|lucke]], luk,^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) probably [[bor|dum|luc]], a shortening of ghelucke “happiness, good fortune”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) modern Dutch geluk; its cognates include Middle High German gelücke and German Glück.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) 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.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline) Old Frisian lukk, Old Norse lukka, Danish lykke and Swedish lycka are borrowed from the same source.^(Barnhart 1988) The ultimate origin is unknown;^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) the New Oxford suggests a possible link with [[lock]].^(NODE 1998) Barnhart also allows a back-formation from lucky.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Fortune, good or bad, what happens by chance: 1481,^(OED 1989) before 1500 in Barnhart,^(Barnhart 1988) about 1500 in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) A Middle English verb lukken, “to happen, chance”, is from the mid-15th century.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==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.^(Cresswell 2021) People have wished each other ''good luck'' since the 1530s,^(Cresswell 2021) and ''good luck!'' as a salutation to someone setting off is from 1805.^(Etymonline) ''As luck would have it'' is from 1598.^(OED 1989) ''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.^(Etymonline) The idea “lucky at cards, unlucky in love” is already a commonplace in Swift's ''Polite Conversation'' (1738).^(Cresswell 2021) The modern verb, “to have good luck”, is a new formation, by 1945,^(Etymonline) and ''luck out'', “to succeed by luck”, is American, attested by 1946.^(Etymonline) ''Lucky'' is from about 1450, and ''luckless'' from 1563.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * mid-15th century – verb lukken, to happen.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1450 – ''lucky''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1481 – fortune good or ill.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1530s – ''good luck''.^(Cresswell 2021)

+ * 1598 – ''as luck would have it''.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1832 – ''down on one's luck''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1911 – ''push one's luck''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1946 – ''luck out''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The force that seems to make things happen by [[chance]], good or bad.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Good fortune; [[success]] by chance.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A person's fortune or lot: ''his luck ran out''.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(informal)'' To succeed or gain something by chance: ''luck out'', ''luck into''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[luckless]]

+ * [[potluck]]

+ * [[chuck-a-luck]]

+ * [[hard-luck]]

+ * [[lucky]]

+ * [[beginner's luck]]

+ * [[lady luck]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[unlucky]]

+ * [[weird]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In Shetland a separate verb ''luck'' meant “to entice, coax”.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}