loch

See also: Loch, lòch, lôch, łöch, and Łoch

English

WOTD – 30 November 2018

Pronunciation

Alfred de Bréanski, Loch Ness (19th–20th century), from a private collection. Loch Ness, a loch (etymology 1) in the Scottish Highlands, UK, is reputedly inhabited by the Loch Ness monster.

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /lɒx/, /lɒk/
(General American) IPA^(key): /lɑx/, /lɑk/
Audio (AU) (file)
Rhymes: -ɒx, -ɒk
Homophone: lough

Etymology 1

From Middle English lough, borrowed from Scottish Gaelic loch,[1] ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lókus (“pond; pool”). Doublet of lough and Looe.

Noun

loch (plural lochs)

(Ireland, Scotland) A lake.
- 1802 November 1, “Account of the Drainage of the Lochs at Leuchars and Cotts, in the County of Moray”, in The Farmer’s Magazine: A Periodical Work, Exclusively Devoted to Agriculture, and Rural Affairs, volume III, number XII, Edinburgh: Printed by D. Willison, for Archibald Constable, [...], OCLC 185027273, pages 453–454:
  The greater part of Leuchars Loch belonged to the Inneses of Leuchars, Cotts to the Inneses of Innes; and while thus poſſeſſed, many unſucceſsful attempts to drain both, by canals, to the river Loſſie, ſeem to have been made. […] [A] very ordinary fall of rain raiſes it [the river] far beyond its natural bounds; and the immediate conſequence of ſuch floods, was, the ſpeat-water flowing into thoſe lochs, by the canal, and covering the adjacent meadows.
- 1840, John Colquhoun, “Loch-fishing”, in The Moor and the Loch: […], Edinburgh: William Blackwood & Sons; London: T[homas] Cadell, OCLC 558389688, page 56:
  But, enchanting as are the woodland banks of the quiet stream, there is to me a higher and yet more powerful charm in the solitary wildness or savage grandeur of the Highland loch.
- 1855, Philip Gilbert Hamerton, “Notes [on the poem The Isles of Loch Awe]”, in The Isles of Loch Awe and Other Poems of My Youth, London: W. E. Painter, […], OCLC 4008043, page 91:
  This book may possibly fall into the hands of tourists in the Highlands; and if it should induce any one to visit the Isles of Loch Awe, a few words on my part may save him a good deal of trouble. The inns are so badly situated that no visitors but sportsmen and painters ever think of staying long at Loch Awe. The hotel at Dalmally is an old inconvenient house, three miles from the loch, and wants rebuilding. The inn at Cladich is a mile from the loch, and the footpath in wet weather is almost impassable.
- 1903 September 11, “The Late Mr. James M. Gale”, in W[illiam] H[enry] Maw and J[ames] Dredge [Jr.], editors, Engineering: An Illustrated Weekly Journal, volume LXXVI, London: Offices for advertisements and publication—35 & 36, Bedford Street, Strand, W.C., ISSN 0013-7782, OCLC 741850108, page 351, column 2:
  Mr. [James M.] Gale's scheme for doubling the [water] supply was carried through both Houses of Parliament, and was at once put into construction. It especially included the raising of the boundaries of the loch, and it brought into assistance and use other lochs in the Loch Katrine area; and Glasgow and its suburbs are now supplied with water as no other community in the kingdom is supplied.
- 2010 January, Rick Emmer, “Into the Limelight”, in Loch Ness Monster: Fact or Fiction? (Creature Science Investigation), New York, N.Y.: Chelsea House Publishers, Infobase Publishing, →ISBN, page 28:
  […] Marmaduke Wetherell was hired by the Daily Mail newspaper to lead a search for the lair of the Loch Ness Monster. […] To everyone's surprise, within a few days of the start of his search, Wetherell came across a huge, four-toed footprint along the shoreline of the loch. This was just the sort of sensational story the newspaper was hoping for.
(Ireland, Scotland) A bay or arm of the sea.
- 1865, James G[lass] Bertram, “Fish Life and Growth”, in The Harvest of the Sea: A Contribution to the Natural and Economic History of the British Food Fishes, London: John Murray, […], OCLC 8304871, page 28:
  It is well known, for instance, that the superiority of the herrings caught in the inland sea-lochs of Scotland is owing to the fish finding there a better feeding-ground than in the large and exposed open bays. Look, for instance, at Lochfyne: the land runs down to the water's edge, and the surface water or drainage carries with it rich food to fatten the loch, and put flesh on the herring; and what fish is finer, I would ask, than a Lochfyne herring?
- 2010, Martyn S. Stoker; Charles R. Wilson; John A. Howe; Tom Bradwell; David Long, “Paraglacial Slope Instability in Scottish Fjords: Examples from Little Loch Broom, NW Scotland”, in J[ohn] A. Howe, W. E. N. Austin, M. Forwick, and M. Paetzel, editors, Fjord Systems and Archives (Geological Society Special Publication; no. 344), London: Published by The Geological Society, →ISBN, page 227, column 1:
  Little Loch Broom is a NW trending sea loch situated approximately 10 km west of Ullapool […]. The flanks of the loch are characterized by rugged headlands backed by mountains such as An Teallach to the south and Beinn Ghobhlach to the north.

Synonyms

(both senses): lough (Britain, Ireland)
(lake): lake
(bay or arm of the sea): bay, firth, sea loch

Hyponyms

estuary
fjord
strait

Derived terms

Terms derived from loch

Gare Loch
Loch Awe, Lochawe
Loch Carron
Loch Eil
Loch Etive
Loch Katrine
Loch Leven
Loch Lomond
Loch Long
Loch Ness
Loch Ness monster
lochside
Loch Tay
sea loch

Related terms

lochan (diminutive)
lough (Britain, Ireland)

Translations

lake, bay or arm of the sea

Bulgarian: е́зеро (bg) n (ézero)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 湖 (zh) (hú)
Finnish: järvi (fi)
Irish: loch (ga)
Macedonian: лох m (loh), езеро n (ezero)
Manx: logh
Scottish Gaelic: loch
Welsh: llwch (cy) m, llyn (cy) m

Etymology 2

See lohoch.

Noun

loch (plural lochs)

Alternative form of lohoch (“medicine taken by licking”)
- 1859, Al[fred François] Donné, “Of Professional Nurses”, in Mothers and Infants, Nurses and Nursing. […], Boston, Mass.: Phillips, Sampson and Company, OCLC 4303262, page 67:
  We may obtain, then, a just idea of the constitution of this liquid [milk], if we look upon it as a soft, liquid substance, a kind of loch,^* in which caseine, sugar, &c., are dissolved, and in which the fatty or oily substance is distributed in small, rounded atoms. [Footnote *: Loch, or lohoch, is an Arabian name for a medicine of a consistence between an electuary and a sirup, and usually taken by licking. […]]
- 1897, George du Maurier, “Part Seventh”, in The Martian: […] (Bell’s Indian and Colonial Library), London; Bombay: George Bell and Sons, OCLC 6984012, page 324:
  Uncle James had caught a cold too, so I went with Grissel; and found a chemist who'd been in France, and knew what a loch was and made one for me; […]
- 2011, Graeme Tobyn; Alison Denham; Margaret Whitelegge, “Hyssopus officinalis, Hyssop”, in The Western Herbal Tradition: 2000 Years of Medicinal Plant Knowledge, Edinburgh; London: Churchill Livingstone, →ISBN, page 195, column 2:
  [Rembert] Dodoens specifically recommends the preparation of a lohoch or loch – a 'licking medicine', of middle consistency, between a soft electuary and a syrup – for relief of obstruction, shortness of breath and an old, hard cough.

References

“loch”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Anagrams

HOCl, HOLC, OLHC, chol, ochl-

Cimbrian

Alternative forms

lòch (Sette Comuni)

Etymology

From Middle High German loch, from Old High German loh, from Proto-Germanic *luką (“lock”). Cognate with German Loch, Dutch lok, English lock, Icelandic lok.

Noun

loch n

(Luserna) hole

References

Patuzzi, Umberto, ed., (2013) Luserna / Lusérn: Le nostre parole / Ünsarne börtar / Unsere Wörter [Our Words], Luserna, Italy: Comitato unitario delle isole linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien

Czech

Etymology

Borrowed from German Loch (“hole”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈlox]
Rhymes: -ox

Noun

loch m inan

(colloquial) nick, slammer (prison)
Synonyms: kriminál, vězení

Declension

Declension of loch

	singular	plural
nominative	loch	lochy
genitive	lochu	lochů
dative	lochu	lochům
accusative	loch	lochy
vocative	lochu	lochy
locative	lochu	lochách, loších
instrumental	lochem	lochy

French

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /lɔk/

Etymology 1

Since late 17th century. Along with the obsolete lok, borrowed from English log directly and through Dutch log, from Middle English logge, logg, of uncertain but perhaps Scandinavian origin.

Noun

loch m (plural lochs)

(nautical) chip log, log
- 1698, Jean Bouguer, Traité complet de la navigation‎, page 136:
  L'on marque encore les toises que fait un Vaisseau par le loch qui est un morceau de bois d'environ un anpan de long, taillé comme le fond d'une barque, garni de plomb sous son fond pour luy servir de leste, auquel attache un ligne de menuë & fine marquée par toises, & pour s'en servir on jette le loch à la mer par la Poupe ou arriere du Vaisseau, & l'on file de la ligne jusqu'à ce que le loch soit hors du remore du Vaisseau, aprés l'on commence à compter les toises de la ligne que l'on file pendant une demy minute, & si l'on en file six toises le Navire fait un quart de lieuë par heure, si l'on en file 24 toises on fait une lieuë par heure, & si 48 toises on fait deux lieuës par heure, &c.
  We still mark the fathoms made by a Vessel by the log which is a piece of wood about an anpan in length, shaped like the bottom of a boat, lined with lead under its bottom to serve as ballast, to which is attached a slim and fine line marked in fathoms, and which is used by throwing the log in the sea from the Poop deck or stern of the Vessel, and the line is let slip up until the log is out of the delay of the Vessel, after which one starts to count the leagues on the line which is being let slip for a half a minute, and if six fathoms slip the Vessel is doing a quarter of a league per hour, if 24 fathoms slip it's doing one league per hour, and if 48 fathoms it's doing two leagues per hour, &c.

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English loch, from Scottish Gaelic loch.

Noun

loch m (plural lochs)

loch

Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish loch, from Proto-Celtic *loku, from Proto-Indo-European *lókus (compare Latin lacus, Old English lagu).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /l̪ˠɔx/
loch (GA) (file)
Homophone: luch (Connacht)

Noun

loch m (genitive singular locha, nominative plural lochanna)

lake

Declension

Declension of loch

Third declension

Bare forms:

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	loch	lochanna
Vocative	a loch	a lochanna
Genitive	locha	lochanna
Dative	loch	lochanna

Forms with the definite article:

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	an loch	na lochanna
Genitive	an locha	na lochanna
Dative	leis an loch don loch	leis na lochanna

Derived terms

lochán

Descendants

→ English: lough

Old Irish

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /l͈ox/

Etymology 1

From Proto-Celtic *loku, from Proto-Indo-European *lókus. Welsh llwch, Breton loc'h, and Cornish logh might be borrowed from Old Irish.[1]

Noun

loch n or m (genitive locho)

lake
inlet of the sea

Inflection

Neuter u-stem
	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	loch^N	loch^L	loch^L, locha
Vocative	loch^N	loch^L	loch
Accusative	loch^N	loch^L	loch
Genitive	locho^H, locha^H	locho^N, locha^N	loch^N
Dative	loch^L	lochaib	lochaib
Initial mutations of a following adjective: ^H = triggers aspiration ^L = triggers lenition ^N = triggers nasalization

Descendants

Irish: loch
- → English: lough
Manx: logh
Scottish Gaelic: loch
- → Middle English: lough, loch, louche; luh
  - English: loch
  - Scots: loch

Adjective

loch

black, dark

Inflection

o/ā-stem
Singular	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	loch	loch	loch
Vocative	loich* loch**	loch
Accusative	loch	loich
Genitive	loich	loiche	loich
Dative	loch	loich	loch
Plural	Masculine	Feminine/neuter
Nominative	loich	locha
Vocative	lochu locha†
Accusative	lochu locha†
Genitive	loch
Dative	lochaib
Notes	modifying a noun whose vocative is different from its nominative *modifying a noun whose vocative is identical to its nominative † not when substantivized

Mutation

Old Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Nasalization
loch also lloch after a proclitic	loch pronounced with /l(ʲ)-/	unchanged
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

References

Matasović, Ranko (2009), “Loku-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN

Polish

loch

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /lɔx/
Audio (file)
Rhymes: -ɔx
Syllabification: loch

Etymology 1

Borrowed from German Loch (“hole”), from Middle High German loch, from Old High German loh, from Proto-Germanic *luką (“lock; hole”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewg- (“to bend; turn”).

Noun

loch m inan (diminutive loszek)

dungeon (an underground prison or vault)
(colloquial, regional) cellar (esp. a pantry in the cellar)

Declension

Declension of loch

	singular	plural
nominative	loch	lochy
genitive	lochu	lochów
dative	lochowi	lochom
accusative	loch	lochy
instrumental	lochem	lochami
locative	lochu	lochach
vocative	lochu	lochy

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun

loch f pl

genitive plural of locha

Romanian

Etymology

From French loch.

Noun

loch n (plural lochuri)

loch

Declension

Declension of loch

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) loch	lochul	(niște) lochuri	lochurile
genitive/dative	(unui) loch	lochului	(unor) lochuri	lochurilor
vocative	lochule		lochurilor

Scots

Etymology

Borrowed from Scottish Gaelic loch.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /lɔx/

Noun

loch (plural lochs)

lake, loch, firth

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

From Old Irish loch, from Proto-Celtic *loku, from Proto-Indo-European *lókus.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ɫ̪ɔx], /ɫ̪ɔx/

Noun

loch f (genitive singular locha, plural lochan)

lake
arm of the sea
fjord

Derived terms

lochan (diminutive)
muc-locha

Descendants

→ Middle English: lough, loch, louche; luh
- English: loch
- Scots: loch

[1] “loch”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

[2] Matasović, Ranko (2009), “Loku-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN

loch

English

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Noun

Synonyms

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Etymology 2

Noun

References

Further reading

Anagrams

Cimbrian

Alternative forms

Etymology

Noun

References

Czech

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Further reading

French

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Noun

Etymology 2

Noun

Further reading

Irish

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Derived terms

Descendants

Old Irish

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Noun

Inflection

Descendants

Adjective

Inflection

Mutation

References

Polish

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Noun

Declension

Etymology 2

Noun

Further reading

Romanian

Etymology

Noun

Declension

Scots

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Derived terms

Descendants