*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of lesk

Inherited from Middle English leske, probably from Old Norse ljóski, from Proto-Germanic *leuskô, though note Mercian Old English lēsca. Cognate with Swedish ljumske, Danish lyske.

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 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.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

The loin; flank. · The groin.

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

Inherited from Middle English leske, probably from Old Norse ljóski, from Proto-Germanic *leuskô, though note Mercian Old English lēsca. Cognate with Swedish ljumske, Danish lyske.

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.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "yesno",
      "args": {
        "1": "",
        "2": "i",
        "3": "I"
      },
      "expansion": "I"
    },
    {
      "name": "glossary",
      "args": {
        "1": "Inherited"
      },
      "expansion": "Inherited"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "leske",
        "4": "",
        "5": "",
        "lit": "",
        "pos": "",
        "tr": "",
        "ts": "",
        "id": "",
        "sc": "",
        "g": "",
        "g2": "",
        "g3": "",
        "nocat": "",
        "sort": ""
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English leske"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh+",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "leske"
      },
      "expansion": "Inherited from Middle English leske"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "non",
        "3": "ljóski"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse ljóski"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*leuskô"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *leuskô"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ang-mer",
        "2": "lēsca"
      },
      "expansion": "Mercian Old English lēsca"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "ljumske"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish ljumske"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "lyske"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish lyske"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "leske",
      "leske#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "ljóski",
      "ljóski#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "*leuskô",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/leuskô"
    ],
    [
      "lēsca",
      "lesca#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "ljumske",
      "ljumske#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "lyske",
      "lyske#Danish"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "The loin; flank.",
        "The groin."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "dialectal"
      ],
      "recordId": "5b5ab731aed1878ba2bf562c1cbcca13ce4291843ef2b6e30a55ae6b137f2f1d",
      "rawRecordSha256": "2e7efc462d65223a7bbf9add2ed4c448e0f530713a204fb27556ed54f42abdf9",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 1315882
    }
  ],
  "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 lesk →

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-bGVzaw