*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of lop

From Middle English loppe (“bough”); the verb is a back-formation from the noun.

3 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 3 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

That which is lopped from anything, such as branches from a tree.

verb

To cut off as the top or extreme part of anything, especially to prune a small limb off a shrub or tree, or sometimes to behead someone. · To hang downward; to be pendent; to lean to one side. · To allow to hang down.

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

From Middle English loppe (“bough”); the verb is a back-formation from the noun.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Inherited-form mentionloppeenm · bough
Inspect preserved source fields

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

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        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:loppe"
      },
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    },
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        "2": "enm",
        "3": "loppe",
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        "id": "bough"
      },
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    },
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        "3": "enm:loppe"
      },
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    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "loppe",
      "loppe#Middle_English:_bough"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
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      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "That which is lopped from anything, such as branches from a tree."
      ],
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    },
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      "glosses": [
        "To cut off as the top or extreme part of anything, especially to prune a small limb off a shrub or tree, or sometimes to behead someone.",
        "To hang downward; to be pendent; to lean to one side.",
        "To allow to hang down."
      ],
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

A flea.

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

From Middle English loppe (“flea, spider”), from Old English loppe (“spider, silk-worm, flea”), from Proto-Germanic *luppǭ (“flea, sandflea", originally, "jumper”), from Proto-Germanic *luppijaną (“to jump, dart”). Cognate with Danish loppe (“flea”), Swedish loppa (“flea”). Compare also Middle High German lüpfen, lupfen (“to raise”, obsolete also “to rise”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "loppe",
        "4": "",
        "5": "flea, spider"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English loppe (“flea, spider”)"
    },
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        "1": "en",
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      },
      "expansion": "Old English loppe (“spider, silk-worm, flea”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
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        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*luppǭ",
        "4": "",
        "5": "flea, sandflea\", originally, \"jumper"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *luppǭ (“flea, sandflea\", originally, \"jumper”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*luppijaną",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to jump, dart"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *luppijaną (“to jump, dart”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "loppe",
        "3": "",
        "4": "flea"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish loppe (“flea”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "loppa",
        "3": "",
        "4": "flea"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish loppa (“flea”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gmh",
        "2": "lüpfen"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle High German lüpfen"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "loppe",
      "loppe#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "loppe",
      "loppe#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*luppǭ",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/luppǭ"
    ],
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      "*luppijaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/luppijaną"
    ],
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      "loppe",
      "loppe#Danish"
    ],
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      "loppa",
      "loppa#Swedish"
    ],
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      "lüpfen",
      "lüpfen#Middle_High_German"
    ],
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      "lupfen",
      "lupfen#Middle_High_German"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
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      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A flea."
      ],
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
noun

(usually offensive) A disabled person, a cripple. · Any of several breeds of rabbits whose ears lie flat.

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

Back-formation from lopsided.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "lopsided",
      "lopsided#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
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        "(usually offensive) A disabled person, a cripple.",
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      ],
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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 lop →

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-bG9w