loose English · revision 5046

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=a. 1300|origins=non lauss}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /luːs/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|loos|alt=lous, loos]], [[bor|non|lauss|t=loose, free; dissolute]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from [[gem-pro|*lausaz]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) the source also of German los and Gothic laus “empty”,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[ine-pro|*lewH-|alt=*leu-|t=to loosen, divide, cut apart]].^(Etymonline) The Old Norse word is cognate with Old English lēas, the source of [[-less]], and it is related to [[lose]] and [[loss]].^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Not securely fixed: the early 13th century in Etymonline, probably before 1200 in the Ancrene Riwle in Barnhart.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Free from bonds, unbound, is from about 1300 (before 1300 in the OED).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Of clothes, slack, is from the mid-15th century,^(Etymonline) and not bundled from the late 15th.^(Etymonline) The sense “unchaste, immoral” is from the late 15th century (about 1470).^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) Not careful or exact is from the 17th century,^(Hoad 1986) and rambling, disconnected, from the 1680s.^(Etymonline) A ''loose end'' is from the 1540s, ''on the loose'' from 1749, and ''at loose ends'' from 1807.^(Etymonline) ''Loose cannon'' is from the late 19th century.^(Cresswell 2021) The verb, to set free or untie, is from about 1200, and of arrows from about 1400.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * early 13th century – not fixed.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1200 – verb, to set free.^(Etymonline)

+ * late 15th century – immoral.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1540s – a loose end.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1680s – rambling.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1749 – ''on the loose''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Not firmly fixed or fastened.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Free from [[confinement]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Of clothes, not fitting tightly.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Not tied or packed together.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Not exact: ''a loose translation''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(dated)'' Sexually immoral.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To set free or untie.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To shoot an arrow or [[missile]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[loosely]]

+ * [[looseness]]

+ * [[footloose]]

+ * [[loose-fitting]]

+ * [[loose-leaf]]

+ * [[loosen]]

+ * [[loose-tongued]]

+ * [[overloose]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[forlorn]]

+ * [[lyo-]]

+ * [[ly-]]

+ * [[-lysis]]

+ * [[lysis]]

+ * [[lose]]

+ * [[loss]]

+ * [[-less]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}