Etymology
1. O.E.
locian "see, gaze, look, spy," from W.Gmc.
*lokjan (cf. O.S.
lokon, M.Du.
loeken, O.H.G.
luogen, Ger. dial.
lugen "to look out"), of unknown origin, perhaps cognate with Bret.
lagud "eye." In O.E., usually with
on; the use of
at began 14c. Meaning "to have a certain appearance" is from c.1400. Noun meaning "an act of looking" is c.1200; meaning "appearance of a person" is from c.1385. To
look down upon in the fig. sense is from 1711; to
look down one's nose is from 1921;
looker "attractive woman" is from 1893;
look-see (n.) "inspection" first recorded 1883. In
look sharp (1711)
sharp originally was an adv. "sharply."
Look after "take care of" is from 1375;
look into "investigate" is from 1586; to
not look back "make no pauses" is colloquial, first attested 1893.
Look up "research in books or papers" is from 1692.
Look-alike (n.) "someone who closely resembles another" is 1947, Amer.Eng.
Looking-glass first attested 1526.
Look-out "person who stands watch or acts as a scout" is from 1699.
2. Etymology tree
3. Proto-West Germanic *lōkōn
4. Old English lōcian
5. Middle English loken
6. English look
7. From Middle English loken, lokien, from Old English lōcian, from Proto-West Germanic *lōkōn. Further origin unknown, no certain cognates outside Germanic. Cognate with Scots luke, luik, leuk (“to look, see”), West Frisian lôkje, loaitsje (“to look”), Dutch loeken (“to look”), German Low German löken. Likely also related to German lugen (“to peek”), Alemannic German luege (“to look”), Yiddish לוגן (lugn). See: Middle English '
loken', Scots '
luke', Dutch '
loeken', German, old spelling '
lugen', Alemannic German '
luege'.
Verbs referencing "look"
Tok Pisin luk, Tok Pisin lukim, Sranan
luku, French
reluquer, Alemannic German
luege.