loord
English
Etymology
Likely from Middle French lourdin (“dull, obvious; clownish”) (related to lourdat (“dunce”), lourdade (“wench”)), from Middle French lourd (“heavy”), from Old French lourt, from Late Latin lurdus, possibly of Germanic origin. Cognate with Dutch loerd, French lourdant, Scottish Gaelic lurdan, this last apparently possessing a more knavish, roguish sense.
Another etymology mentioned by Samuel Johnson is that the word may derive from the Gascon town of Lourdes (earlier called Lorde or Lourde) in Southern France, at one time known for being home to unskillful robbers; the characterization of the robbers as unusually awkward and heavy lending to the preexisting Latin word.
Noun
loord (plural loords)
- (obsolete) A dull, stupid fellow; a lout.
- (obsolete) A lazy person; an idler
- 1579, Immeritô [pseudonym; Edmund Spenser], “Iuly. Aegloga Septima.”, in The Shepheardes Calender: […], London: […] Hugh Singleton, […], OCLC 606515406; reprinted as H[einrich] Oskar Sommer, editor, The Shepheardes Calender […], London: John C. Nimmo, […], 1890, OCLC 890162479, folio 26, recto:
- Spker, thous but a laeſie loord,
and rekes much of thy ſwinck,
That with fond terms, and weetleſſe words
to blere myne eyes doeſt thinke
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Anagrams
- dolor, drool