Wordwyrt

loosely

/ˈluːsli/LOO-slee
/ˈlusli/LOO-slee

Meaningin a loose way

Common meaning: in a loose way (inferred)

Journey through time

  1. Proto-Indo-European*lu-‘cut off, separate, loosen’source
  2. Old Norse (Icelandic)lauss‘loose’source
  3. Middle Englishlaussource
  4. Englishloose‘slack, free’
  5. Englishformed in English from looseloosely‘in a loose way (inferred)’ · today

Sources & notes

Inferred source: no dictionary we use has an entry for this exact word. Its history is worked out from closely related, listed words in the same family, and we are trusting that link, so bear that in mind. Inferred meaning: in a loose way. It can be inferred from any of: loose.

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Formed in English from loose + -ly (inferred: this exact word is not listed in our dictionaries).

Source words

  • lauss Old Norse (Icelandic) · source word “loose, free”

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