English word origin

Etymology of loch

From Middle English lough, borrowed from Scottish Gaelic loch. Doublet of lay, Looe, and lough.

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 2 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 lake. · A bay or arm of the sea.

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

From Middle English lough, borrowed from Scottish Gaelic loch. Doublet of lay, Looe, and lough.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inherited-form mentionloughenm
Derivation mentionlochgd
Doublet mentionlayen
Doublet mentionLooeen
Doublet mentionloughen

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "dercat",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "sga",
        "3": "cel-pro",
        "4": "ine-pro"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "lough"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English lough"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gd",
        "3": "loch"
      },
      "expansion": "Scottish Gaelic loch"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "lay",
        "3": "Looe",
        "4": "lough",
        "id1": "lake"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of lay, Looe, and lough"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "lough",
      "lough#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "loch",
      "loch#Scottish_Gaelic"
    ],
    [
      "lay",
      "lay#English:_lake"
    ],
    [
      "Looe",
      "Looe#English"
    ],
    [
      "lough",
      "lough#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A lake.",
        "A bay or arm of the sea."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Ireland",
        "Scotland"
      ],
      "recordId": "b789411e823dd619fbd977b63de75204ceac2895493736ce0c8d2ac4ae373cc4",
      "rawRecordSha256": "6512fb15f7ba45d86afe685343a7242642ecd052fbd8722543fa8ee937e8374c",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 47443
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

noun

Alternative form of lohoch (“medicine taken by licking”).

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

See lohoch.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [],
  "links": [
    [
      "lohoch",
      "lohoch#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of lohoch (“medicine taken by licking”)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative"
      ],
      "recordId": "6c10d26810f2319ce9a435d29ed9ed79dad4f92da8ee76c6eda5aed93fda9a21",
      "rawRecordSha256": "35c384ee90c4e7eb51ed7c5ce8f1ff03f587a91ab63233f066c9fddb9b264f04",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 47444
    }
  ],
  "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 loch →

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-bG9jaA