lower English · revision 3440
15 Oct 2026, 19:44 by bogdan “New entries from the en10k word list (mom … vote)” current version
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+ {{homograph|1|less high; let down}}
+
+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=c. 1200|origins=en low}}
+
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: UK /ˈləʊ.ə/, US /ˈloʊ.ɚ/^(Roach et al. 2011)
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ The adjective is Middle English lahre, later lower, the comparative of [[low]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) with the suffix [[-er]].^(SOED 2002) The verb is from the adjective;^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) the older verb for “to cause to descend” was [[m|enm|lahghenn]], from ''low'', used into the 18th century.^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ Less high; an inferior: about 1200, as lahre.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ Used in contrast to ''upper'' or ''higher'', as in ''the lower deck'' or ''the lower house'', the adjective is from 1590.^(OED 1989) As an adverb it is from the 1540s.^(Etymonline) The verb meant “to make lower, reduce” in the early 16th century,^(SOED 2002) and “to descend, sink” from about 1600;^(Etymonline) “to let down, cause to descend” is from the 1650s^(Etymonline) or 1659.^(OED 1989) ''Lower class'' is from 1772, and ''the Lower 48'', the contiguous American states, by 1961, in Alaska.^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * c. 1200 – adjective, ''lahre''.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1540s – adverb.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1590 – contrasted with ''upper''.^(OED 1989)
+ * c. 1600 – verb, to sink.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1659 – verb, to let down.^(OED 1989)
+ * 1772 – ''lower class''.^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Adjective===
+ # Situated below a similar thing: ''the lower lip''.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)
+ # Below another in rank, position or authority.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)
+ # Less advanced in development: ''lower organisms''.^(AHD)
+ # Earlier, older: ''the Lower Palaeolithic''.^(AHD)
+
+ ===Verb===
+ # To let, bring or move down.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)
+ # To reduce in value, degree or quality; to diminish.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)
+ # To reduce in standing; to [[degrade]].^(AHD)^(HTOED)
+
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[lowermost]]
+ * [[lower class]]
+ * [[lowercase]]
+ * [[lower house]]
+
+ {{homograph|2|frown, look threatening}}
+
+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=inherited|attested=early 13th century|origins=gml lūren}}
+
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: UK /ˈlaʊ.ə/, US /laʊr/, /ˈlaʊ.ɚ/^(Roach et al. 2011)
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ The frowning is a variant of [[lour]], Middle English louren, luren “to frown, scowl; to lurk”,^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966)^(AHD 2000) from an unrecorded Old English *lūrian or from its cognates [[gml|lūren]] and Middle Dutch loeren “to lie in wait”,^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(Klein 1966) related to German [[m|de|lauern|t=to lurk]].^(Klein 1966) Its spelling has perhaps been assimilated to [[lower#1]].^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ To frown, scowl: the early 13th century.^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) The sense “to lurk” is from the mid-15th century.^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ Of the sky or weather, “to look dark and threatening”, it developed from the sense of a scowling face.^(AHD)^(Etymonline) The noun, a threatening look, is from the 14th century.^(MWU 2024)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * early 13th century – to frown.^(Etymonline)
+ * 14th century – noun, a scowl.^(MWU 2024)
+ * mid-15th century – to lurk.^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Verb===
+ # To look angry, sullen or threatening; to [[scowl]].^(AHD)^(Klein 1966)
+ # Of the sky or weather, to look dark and threatening.^(AHD)
+
+ ===Noun===
+ # A sullen or threatening look.^(AHD)^(MWU 2024)
+
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[lowering]]
+ * [[loweringly]]
+ * [[lowery]]
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[low]]
+ * [[lour]]
+ * [[lurk]]
+ * [[upper]]
+
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}