loaf

loaf
\ \ English has two words loaf. By far the older is ‘portion of bread’ [OE], which goes back to a prehistoric Germanic *khlaibaz. This also produced German laib and Danish lev ‘loaf’, and was borrowed, originally into Gothic, from an Old Slavic chleb (source of modern Russian and Polish chleb ‘bread, loaf’). Heavily disguised, loaf forms part of both lady and lord (which etymologically mean respectively ‘loafkneader’ and ‘loaf-guardian’), and it also contributed the first syllable to Lammas [OE], literally ‘loaf-mass’.
\ \ The verb loaf ‘dawdle, mooch’ [19] seems to have been a back-formation from loafer, which was probably adapted in 19th-century American English from German landläufer ‘vagabond’, a compound of land ‘land’ and läufer ‘runner’ (to which English leap is related).
\ \ Cf.⇒ LADY, LORD; LEAP

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • loaf — Ⅰ. loaf [1] ► NOUN (pl. loaves) ▪ a quantity of bread that is shaped and baked in one piece. ● half a loaf is better than no bread Cf. ↑half a loaf is better than no bread ● use one s loaf Cf. ↑ …   English terms dictionary

  • Loaf — Loaf, n.; pl. {Loaves}. [OE. lof, laf, AS. hl[=a]f; akin to G. laib, OHG. hleip, Icel. hleifr, Goth. hlaifs, Russ. khlieb , Lith. kl[ e]pas. Cf. {Lady}, {Lammas}, {Lord}.] Any thick lump, mass, or cake; especially, a large regularly shaped or… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • loaf — loaf; loaf·er·ish; loaf·ing·ly; loaf·er; …   English syllables

  • Loaf — Loaf, v. t. To spend in idleness; with away; as, to loaf time away. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • loaf — loaf1 [lōf] n. pl. loaves [lōvz] [ME lof < OE hlaf, akin to Ger laib, OHG hlaib, ON hleifr, Goth hlaifs] 1. a portion of bread baked in one piece, commonly of oblong shape and in a size convenient for table use 2. any mass of food shaped… …   English World dictionary

  • Loaf — Loaf, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Loafed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Loafing}.] [G. laufen to run, Prov. G. loofen. See {Leap}.] To spend time in idleness; to lounge or loiter about. Loafing vagabonds. W. Black. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • loaf — [n] block of something bun, cake, cube, dough, lump, mass, pastry, roll, slab, twist; concepts 436,457,460,461 loaf [v] be idle, lazy be inactive, be indolent, be slothful, be unoccupied, bum*, bum around*, dally, dillydally*, dream, drift, evade …   New thesaurus

  • loaf — index procrastinate Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • loaf — vb *idle, lounge, loll, laze Analogous words: rest, repose, relax (see corresponding nouns at REST): *saunter, stroll, amble Contrasted words: work, labor, toil, travail (see corresponding nouns at WORK) …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • loaf — The plural form of the noun is loaves; the third person singular of the verb is loafs …   Modern English usage

  • loaf|er — «LOH fuhr», noun. 1. a person who loafs; idler. 2. a) a shoe resembling a moccasin, but with sole and heel stitched to the upper. b) Loafer, a trademark for such a shoe …   Useful english dictionary

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