English word origin

Etymology of los

Inherited from Middle English lusk, from Old English lox, from Proto-West Germanic *luhs, from Proto-Germanic *luhsaz. Cognate with Scots los, Saterland Frisian Luks, Low German Luks, Dutch los, German Luchs, Luxembourgi

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

A medium-sized wildcat, most of them part of the genus Lynx.

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

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inherited-form mentionluskenm
Inherited-form mentionloxang
Inherited-form mention*luhsgmw-pro
Inherited-form mention*luhsazgem-pro
Cognate mentionlossco
Cognate mentionLuksstq
Cognate mentionlössnds
Cognate mentionlosnl
Cognate mentionLuchsde
Cognate mentionLuchslb

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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      "name": "etymid",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "wildcat"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "yesno",
      "args": {
        "1": "",
        "2": "i",
        "3": "I"
      },
      "expansion": "I"
    },
    {
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      "expansion": "Inherited"
    },
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      "name": "inh",
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      "expansion": "Middle English lusk"
    },
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        "3": "lusk"
      },
      "expansion": "Inherited from Middle English lusk"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "lox"
      },
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    },
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        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*luhs"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *luhs"
    },
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      "name": "inh",
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        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*luhsaz"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *luhsaz"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sco",
        "2": "los"
      },
      "expansion": "Scots los"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "Luks"
      },
      "expansion": "Saterland Frisian Luks"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nds",
        "2": "löss",
        "3": "Luks"
      },
      "expansion": "Low German Luks"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "los"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch los"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Luchs"
      },
      "expansion": "German Luchs"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "lb",
        "2": "Luchs",
        "3": "Luuss"
      },
      "expansion": "Luxembourgish Luuss"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "lusk",
      "lusk#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "lox",
      "lox#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*luhs",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/luhs"
    ],
    [
      "*luhsaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/luhsaz"
    ],
    [
      "los",
      "los#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "Luks",
      "Luks#Saterland_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "Luks",
      "löss#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "los",
      "los#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "Luchs",
      "Luchs#German"
    ],
    [
      "Luuss",
      "Luchs#Luxembourgish"
    ]
  ],
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

noun

Obsolete form of loss.

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

Inherited from Middle English los, from Old English los, from Proto-Germanic *lusą, from Proto-Indo-European *lews-.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inherited-form mentionlosenm
Inherited-form mentionlosang
Inherited-form mention*lusągem-pro
Inherited-form mention*lews-ine-pro

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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    },
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      },
      "expansion": "Old English los"
    },
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      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *lusą"
    },
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      "name": "inh",
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        "3": "*lews-"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *lews-"
    }
  ],
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    [
      "los",
      "los#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "los",
      "los#Old_English"
    ],
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    ],
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    ]
  ],
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  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
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        "Obsolete form of loss."
      ],
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗

noun

Alternative form of loos (“praise; fame; reputation”).

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

No narrative was extracted for this section. Available source templates and references appear below; no ancestor chain has been invented to fill the gap.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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  "lexical": [
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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 los →

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-bG9z