last

last
\ \ [OE] Modern English has three separate words last, two of which are related. The adjective, meaning ‘after all others’, originated in prehistoric Germanic as the superlative form of late; its modern Germanic relatives include German letzt and Dutch laatst. The verb last ‘continue’ goes back to a prehistoric Germanic *laistjan ‘follow a track’, which also produced modern German leisten ‘perform, afford’. This was derived from *laisti-, as was ultimately the noun last, which in Old English meant ‘footprint’ (‘shoemaker’s model foot’ is a secondary development). The general semantic thread ‘following a track’ can be traced back further via Germanic *lais- (a variant of which gave English learn) to Indo-European *leis- (source of Latin dēlīrāre, literally ‘deviate from a straight track’, from which English gets delirious [18]).
\ \ Cf.⇒ DELIRIOUS, LATE, LEARN

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат
Synonyms:
, , , , / , , , , / , , , / , , ,


Look at other dictionaries:

  • Last.FM — URL last.fm Slogan the social music revolution Ko …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Last.fm — Motto the social music revolution Kommerziell …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Last — (l[.a]st), a. [OE. last, latst, contr. of latest, superl. of late; akin to OS. lezt, lazt, last, D. laatst, G. letzt. See {Late}, and cf. {Latest}.] 1. Being after all the others, similarly classed or considered, in time, place, or order of… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Last — (v. althochdt. hlast = Ladung) bezeichnet: in der Physik und Technik ein Maß für die Kraft, die auf etwas wirkt, siehe Belastung (Physik) im Bauwesen die Massen, die ein Bauwerk tragen kann, siehe Nutzlast (Bauwesen) etwas von einem Träger… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Last — (l[.a]st), adv. [See {Last}, a.] 1. At a time or on an occasion which is the latest of all those spoken of or which have occurred; the last time; as, I saw him last in New York. [1913 Webster] 2. In conclusion; finally; lastly. [1913 Webster]… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Last — Last, n. [As. hl[ae]st, fr. hladan to lade; akin to OHG. hlast, G., D., Dan., & Sw. last: cf. F. laste, last, a last, of German or Dutch origin. See {Lade}.] 1. A load; a heavy burden; hence, a certain weight or measure, generally estimated at… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Last — Last, n. [AS. l[=a]st trace, track, footstep; akin to D. leest a last, G. leisten, Sw. l[ a]st, Dan. l[ae]st, Icel. leistr the foot below the ankle, Goth. laists track, way; from a root signifying, to go. Cf. {Last}, v. i., {Learn}, {Delirium}.]… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Last — Last, v. t. To shape with a last; to fasten or fit to a last; to place smoothly on a last; as, to last a boot. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Last — Last, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Lasted}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Lasting}.] [OE. lasten, As. l[ae]stan to perform, execute, follow, last, continue, fr. l[=a]st, l[=ae]st, trace, footstep, course; akin to G. leisten to perform, Goth. laistjan to follow. See… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Last — (l[.a]st), 3d pers. sing. pres. of {Last}, to endure, contracted from lasteth. [Obs.] Chaucer. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Last.fm — Infobox Website name = Last.fm favicon = caption = url = [http://www.last.fm/ www.last.fm] commercial = Yes type = Music, Statistics Community registration = Free, or subscribe for £1.50 per month ($3 USD) owner = CBS Interactive language =… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”