English word origin

Etymology of lob

First attested late 16th c. in the sense "allow or cause to dangle, hang," from sense 2.

4 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 4 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

noun

A pass or stroke which arcs high into the air.

verb

To throw or hit a ball into the air in a high arc. · To throw. · To put, place. · To hit, kick, or throw a ball over another player in a game.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

First attested late 16th c. in the sense "allow or cause to dangle, hang," from sense 2.

This page abbreviates 2 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [],
  "links": [
    [
      "sense 2",
      "lob#Etymology_2"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A pass or stroke which arcs high into the air."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "8e080887f0be03f9fd1ff4939aba1c8d394eb3eaec1f5c487ba2211b6d4f6b57",
      "rawRecordSha256": "0900782b22f5d6534640c664f6f31bbad53848758f9583301c394ccbe8b2196b",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 19289
    },
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To throw or hit a ball into the air in a high arc.",
        "To throw.",
        "To put, place.",
        "To hit, kick, or throw a ball over another player in a game."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive",
        "colloquial"
      ],
      "recordId": "9898bb20724d06c81b836e784978229a137c5d6cd5ab8b9d2024b6ca31f30444",
      "rawRecordSha256": "d4dcbe88d766e34b5d6c260259036ff1fbfb46a041b6cbe6d0a80c0749bff4e4",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 19288
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 2,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

noun

A country bumpkin; a yokel. · A lump. · A nugget (of gold); (hence), a quantity of money; a haul; booty. · A clumsy person.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English lob (“a lazy lout, bundle of clothing”), from Old English *lobb, *lobbe word for lumpish or unwieldy things, from Proto-Germanic *lubbǭ (“that which hangs or dangles”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewbʰ-, *lep- (“to peel, skin”). Compare Danish lobbes (“bumpkin, clown”), Old English loppe (“spider”) (in the sense of something that hangs or dangles). Possibly influenced or borrowed through Welsh llob (“lump”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inherited-form mentionlobenm · a lazy lout, bundle of clothing
Inherited-form mention*lobbang
Inherited-form mention*lubbǭgem-pro
Inherited-form mention*lewbʰ-ine-pro
Cognate mentionlobbesda
Cognate mentionloppeang
Derivation mentionllobcy

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "lob",
        "t": "a lazy lout, bundle of clothing"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English lob (“a lazy lout, bundle of clothing”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "*lobb"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English *lobb"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*lubbǭ",
        "4": "",
        "5": "that which hangs or dangles"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *lubbǭ (“that which hangs or dangles”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*lewbʰ-"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *lewbʰ-"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "lobbes",
        "3": "",
        "4": "bumpkin, clown"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish lobbes (“bumpkin, clown”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "loppe",
        "3": "",
        "4": "spider"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English loppe (“spider”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "cy",
        "3": "llob",
        "4": "",
        "5": "lump"
      },
      "expansion": "Welsh llob (“lump”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "lob",
      "lob#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "*lobb",
      "Reconstruction:Old English/lobb"
    ],
    [
      "*lobbe",
      "Reconstruction:Old English/lobbe"
    ],
    [
      "*lubbǭ",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/lubbǭ"
    ],
    [
      "*lewbʰ-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/lewbʰ-"
    ],
    [
      "*lep-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/lep-"
    ],
    [
      "lobbes",
      "lobbes#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "loppe",
      "loppe#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "llob",
      "llob#Welsh"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A country bumpkin; a yokel.",
        "A lump.",
        "A nugget (of gold); (hence), a quantity of money; a haul; booty.",
        "A clumsy person."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "obsolete",
        "dialectal"
      ],
      "recordId": "0a6d00713d2709339cb68e84dab0dc738547636a7288792813579b4c88b25da7",
      "rawRecordSha256": "b1776562604e89a7f2da1ab96903569f605eeb9715cd40b157bfb12318d815f0",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 19290
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 2,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗

noun

A fish, the European pollock.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English lob (“pollock”), cognate with Middle Dutch and Middle Low German lobbe (“a type of small plump or stocky fish, cod”), Danish lubbe, from Old Norse lubba, ultimately from sense 2 in the sense of "clumsy, heavily or lumpily hanging."

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inherited-form mentionlobenm · pollock
Cognate mentionlubbeda
Derivation mentionlubbanon

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "lob",
        "t": "pollock"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English lob (“pollock”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "dum,gml",
        "2": "lobbe",
        "t": "a type of small plump or stocky fish, cod"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle Dutch and Middle Low German lobbe (“a type of small plump or stocky fish, cod”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "lubbe"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish lubbe"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "non",
        "3": "lubba"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse lubba"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "lob",
      "lob#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "Middle Dutch",
      "lobbe#Middle_Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "lobbe",
      "lobbe#Middle_Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "lubbe",
      "lubbe#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "lubba",
      "lubba#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "sense 2",
      "lob#Etymology_2"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A fish, the European pollock."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "2f74cbd3babd08ee030125fb3089392549ddc17d6edafeac3ec9ee64489fef19",
      "rawRecordSha256": "15a6126bfba2dada6fd8a6241ae994a33760881d4c5cab6ab515b10404723010",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 19291
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 4

Original entry ↗

noun

A long bob haircut.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Blend of long + bob.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Blend componentlongen
Blend componentboben

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "blend",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "long",
        "3": "bob"
      },
      "expansion": "Blend of long + bob"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "long",
      "long#English"
    ],
    [
      "bob",
      "bob#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A long bob haircut."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "86c7172fda542f27e2320db4de92c754d834c32f140ec59bee6fda41eca41aaa",
      "rawRecordSha256": "45602a35f0bb9e963e618497178939011173c96404118f4a5dd942b23f8ed88b",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 19292
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for lob →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-bG9i