lofe
English
Etymology 1
Inherited from Middle English lofe, lof (“praise, price”), from Old English lof (“praise, glory, repute, song of praise, hymn”), from Proto-West Germanic *lob, from Proto-Germanic *lubą (“praise, permission”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewbʰ- (“to love, like”). Cognate with Scots lofe (“an offer”), North Frisian lof (“praise”), Dutch lof (“praise, glory, commendation”), German Lob (“praise, commendation, tribute”), Icelandic lof (“praise”).
Alternative forms
- loff, loave
Noun
lofe (plural lofes)
- (West Midlands and Northern England) An offer; choice; an opportunity; chance.
- 1869, Gibson, Alexander Craig, The Folk-Speech of Cumberland and Some Districts Adjacent, page 212:
- "Yance I hed t' lofe an' I'd luck to say no, an' I niver hed t' lofe ageàn."—Said by an elderly spinster.
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Etymology 2
Inherited from Middle English loven (“to praise, set a price on”), from Old English lofian (“to praise, exalt, appraise, value, set a price on”), from Proto-West Germanic *lobōn, from Proto-Germanic *lubōną (“to praise, vow”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewbʰ- (“to love, like”).
Cognate with Scots loave (“to offer at a price”), North Frisian lowe (“to vow, swear”), Dutch loven (“to praise, bless, commend”), German loben (“to praise, laud, commend”), Icelandic lofa (“to promise, praise, allow”).
Alternative forms
- loff, loave, love
Verb
lofe (third-person singular simple present lofes, present participle lofing, simple past and past participle lofed)
- (transitive, UK dialectal or obsolete) To praise; commend.
- (transitive, West Midlands and Northern England) To offer; offer at a price; expose for sale.
- 1899, Dickinson, William; Prevost, Edward William; Brown, Simon Dickson, A Glossary of the Words and Phrases Pertaining to the Dialect of Cumberland, page 202:
- Ah'd lofed him it an' he wadn't tak 't.
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References
- Wright, Joseph (1902) The English Dialect Dictionary, volume 3, Oxford: Oxford University Press, page 640
Anagrams
- floe
French
Pronunciation
- Homophones: lofent, lofes
Verb
lofe
- inflection of lofer:
- first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
- second-person singular imperative
Middle English
Noun
lofe (plural lofes)
- Alternative spelling of lof
- c. 1175, “Dominica in Quadragessima”, in Belfour, Algernon Ikey, editor, Twelfth Century Homilies in MS Bodley 343, published 1909, lines 12–14, page 48:
- Æt þam ytemestan, broðor mine, hér æfter fyliȝæð þeo mongung be þare ælmessæn lofe.
- In conclusion, my brethren, after this comes an exhortation in praise of charity.
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Noun
lofe
- Alternative form of love (“love”)
Verb
lofe
- Alternative form of loven (“to love”)