loon

See also: Loon and lo-on

English

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈluːn/
  • (file)
  • Rhymes: -uːn

Etymology 1

From Middle English louen, lowen (rascal; rogue), probably of Middle Dutch or Middle Low German origin. Compare Dutch loen (simpleton). Or, related to sense 2, due to the bird's loud cry.[1] Folk etymology associates it slang-wise with lunatic, though the latter may have influenced it; see loony.

Noun

loon (plural loons)

  1. An idler, a lout.
  2. (chiefly Scotland, Ulster) A boy, a lad.
  3. (chiefly Scotland) A harlot; mistress.
  4. (chiefly Scotland) A simpleton.
  5. (slang) A crazy or deranged person.
  6. (Ireland, historical) An English soldier of an expeditionary army in Ireland.
Synonyms
Translations
See also

References

  1. loon” in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.

Etymology 2

Common loon with chick

Of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse lómr (loon), ultimately imitative of the bird's cry, particularly when it's in danger. Distantly related to lament, probably sharing Proto-Indo-European *leh₂- (expressive root).

Noun

loon (plural loons)

  1. (US, Canada) Any of various birds, of the order Gaviiformes, of North America and Europe that dive for fish and have a short tail, webbed feet and a yodeling cry.
    • 1634, William Wood, New Englands Prospect, I:
      The Loone is an ill ſhap'd thing like a Cormorant; but that he can neyther goe nor flye […].
Synonyms
  • (bird of order Gaviiformes): diver
Derived terms
Translations

References

  • Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Massachusetts, G.&C. Merriam Co., 1967

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch loon, from Middle Dutch loon, from Old Dutch lōn.

Noun

loon (plural lone, diminutive loontjie)

  1. wage

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /loːn/
  • (file)
  • Hyphenation: loon
  • Rhymes: -oːn

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch loon, from Old Dutch lōn.

Noun

loon n (plural lonen, diminutive loontje n)

  1. wage, pay, reward
Synonyms
Derived terms
Descendants

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the main entry.

Verb

loon

  1. first-person singular present indicative of lonen
  2. imperative of lonen

Ingrian

Postposition

loon

  1. at

Middle Dutch

Etymology 1

From Old Dutch *lōn, from Proto-Germanic *launaz.

Noun

lôon m or n

  1. wage, payment for services or work
  2. reward
  3. value
Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Derived terms
Descendants
  • Dutch: loon
  • Limburgish: loean

Etymology 2

Dative plural of .

Noun

lôon ?

  1. Borgloon (a city)
  2. Loon (a county)
Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Descendants
  • Dutch: Loon, (compounded) Borgloon

Further reading

  • loon (I)”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
  • loon (II)”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
  • loon”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, 1929

Scots

Noun

loon (plural loons)

  1. (Doric) boy, young man
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