loon
English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈluːn/
Audio (US) (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)
Translations
References
- “loon” in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.
Etymology 2
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)
- (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 […].
- 1634, William Wood, New Englands Prospect, I:
Synonyms
- (bird of order Gaviiformes): diver
Derived terms
Translations
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References
- Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Massachusetts, G.&C. Merriam Co., 1967
Afrikaans
Dutch
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /loːn/
audio (file) - Hyphenation: loon
- Rhymes: -oːn
Etymology 1
From Middle Dutch loon, from Old Dutch lōn.
Synonyms
Derived terms
- arbeidsloon
- belonen
- hongerloon
- leefloon
- loondienst
- loonkosten
- loonlijst
- loonslaaf
- loonstrook
- loonwerk
- loonzakje
- minimumloon
- verlonen
Descendants
- Afrikaans: loon
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the main entry.
Ingrian
Middle Dutch
Etymology 1
From Old Dutch *lōn, from Proto-Germanic *launaz.
Inflection
This noun needs an inflection-table template.
Derived terms
Descendants
- Dutch: loon
- Limburgish: loean
Etymology 2
Dative plural of lô.
Inflection
This noun needs an inflection-table template.
Descendants
- Dutch: Loon, (compounded) Borgloon