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* As an English and Scottish surname, from the obsolete noun low (“mound, barrow”). * Also as an English and Scottish surname, from the adjective low. * Also as an English and Scottish surname of Norman origin, from Anglo-Norman leu (“wolf”). * Also as a Scottish surname, from a pet form of Lawrence. Compare Lowry. * As a German and Jewish surname, variant of Löwe, Lowe, Loew. * As a Chinese surname, variant of Lau, Lou; also Li, Luo.

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *légʰyeti Proto-Germanic *ligjaną Proto-Germanic *lēgaz Old Norse lágrbor. Middle English lāh English low From Middle English lah, loue, from Old Norse lágr (“low”), from Proto-Germanic *lēgaz (“low; flat”), from *ligjaną (“to lie; to lead”), from Proto-Indo-European *légʰyeti (“to be lying down”), from *legʰ- (“to lie”). Cognates Cognate with Scots laich (“low”), Saterland Frisian läich (“low”), West Frisian leech (“low”), Dutch laag (“low”), German Low German leeg, leeg' (“low; inferior”), West Flemish leeg (“lazy”), Danish lav (“low”), Faroese and Icelandic lágur (“low”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish låg (“low”), Finnish laaka (“flat”), Ingrian laaku (“gentle”); also Irish laigh, luigh (“to lie”), Manx lhie (“lie; lay”), Scottish Gaelic laigh (“lie; lay”), Faliscan 𐌋𐌄𐌂𐌄𐌕 (lecet, “he lies down”), Latin lectus (“bed”), South Picene 𐌅𐌄𐌉𐌀𐌕 (veiat, “to lie”), Ancient Greek λέχομαι (lékhomai, “to lie down”), Albanian lag (“band, encampment, troop”), Belarusian ляжа́ць (ljažácʹ, “to lie”), Bulgarian лежа́ (ležá, “to lie”), Czech ležet (“to lie”), Macedonian лежи (leži, “to lie”), Polish leżeć (“to lie”), Russian лежа́ть (ležátʹ, “to lie”), Serbo-Croatian лѐжати, lèžati (“to lie”), Slovene ležáti (“to lie”), Ukrainian лежа́ти (ležáty, “to lie”), Tocharian B lyäk- (“to lie”). More at lie.

From Middle English lough, from Old English hlōh, first and third person singular preterite of hliehhan (“to laugh”). More at laugh.

From Middle English lowen (“to low”), from Old English hlōwan (“to low; to bellow; to roar”), from Proto-Germanic *hlōaną (“to call; shout”), from Proto-Indo-European *kelh₁- (“to call”). Cognate with Dutch loeien (“to low”), Middle High German lüejen (“to roar”), dialectal Swedish lumma (“to roar”), Latin calō (“to call”), Ancient Greek καλέω (kaléō), Latin clāmō (“to shout, claim”). More at claim.

From Middle English lowe, loghe, from Old Norse logi (“fire, flame, sword”), from Proto-Germanic *lugô (“flame, blaze”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewk- (“light”). Cognate with Icelandic logi (“flame”), Swedish låga (“flame”), Danish lue (“flame”), German Lohe (“blaze, flames”), North Frisian leag (“fire, flame”), Old English līeġ (“fire, flame, lightning”). More at More at leye and More at light.

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- Proto-Indo-European *-éyti Proto-Indo-European *ḱley-der. Proto-Indo-European *ḱloy-wo-m Proto-Germanic *hlaiwą Proto-West Germanic *hlaiw Old English hlǣw Middle English lowe English low From Middle English lowe, from Old English hlāw, hlǣw (“burial mound”), from Proto-West Germanic *hlaiw. Obsolete by the 19th century, survives in toponymy as -low.

Apheretic form of allow.