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- Dictionaryloon/luːn/
verb
- 1. act in a foolish or desultory way: informal British "he decided to loon around London"
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: any of several large birds (genus Gavia of the family Gaviidae) of Holarctic regions that feed on fish by diving and have their legs placed far back under the body for optimal locomotion underwater. Illustration of loon. Did you know?
LOON definition: 1. a large North American bird that eats fish 2. a person who is crazy, silly, or strange 3. a…. Learn more.
Loon definition: any of several large, short-tailed, web-footed, fish-eating diving birds of the genus Gavia, of the Northern Hemisphere.. See examples of LOON used in a sentence.
Learn the meanings and origins of 'loon' in British and American English. Find out how 'loon' can refer to a bird, a person, or a word.
- English
- Afrikaans
- Dutch
- Ingrian
- Middle Dutch
- Oromo
- Scots
Pronunciation
1. IPA(key): /ˈluːn/ 2. Rhymes: -uːn
Etymology 1
From Middle English louen, lowen (“rascal; rogue”), probably of Middle Dutch or Middle Low German origin. Compare Dutch loen (“simpleton”). Or, related to sense 2, due to the bird's loud cry. Folk etymology associates it slang-wise with lunatic, though the latter may have influenced it; see loony.
Etymology 2
Of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse lómr (“loon”), ultimately imitative of the bird's cry, particularly when it's in danger. Distantly related to lament, probably sharing Proto-Indo-European *leh₂-(expressive root).
Etymology
From Dutch loon, from Middle Dutch loon, from Old Dutch lōn.
Noun
loon (plural lone, diminutive loontjie) 1. wage
Pronunciation
1. IPA(key): /loːn/ 2. Hyphenation: loon 3. Rhymes: -oːn 4. Homophone: Loon
Etymology 1
From Middle Dutch loon, from Old Dutch lōn, from Proto-West Germanic *laun.
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the corresponding lemmaform.
Postposition
loon 1. Alternative spelling of loonna
References
1. Ruben E. Nirvi (1971) Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 276 2. Olga I. Konkova, Nikita A. Dyachkov (2014) Inkeroin Keel: Пособие по Ижорскому Языку, →ISBN, page 14
Etymology 1
From Old Dutch *lōn, from Old Dutch *lōn, from Proto-West Germanic *laun.
Etymology 2
Dative plural of lô.
Further reading
1. “loon (I)”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000 2. “loon (II)”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000 3. Verwijs, E., Verdam, J. (1885–1929) “loon”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN
Etymology
From Proto-Cushitic, from Proto-Afroasiatic. Cognates include Hadiyya laro, Saho laa, Afar láa, Somali lo', Boon loy, Burji láli, Gedeo lalo, Awngi əllwa, Blin ləwi, Xamtanga ləwa, Iraqw slee, Kw'adza hleko and Maay hliŋé.
Noun
loon 1. cattle
References
1. Oromo Dictionaryby Takilee Qinaaxxii
Etymology
Uncertain, but compare English loon.
Noun
loon (plural loons) 1. (Doric Scots) boy, young man
loon. a large North American bird that eats fish and makes a noise like a laugh Topics Birds c2. Want to learn more? Definition of loon noun in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.
a silly or foolish person:. Meaning, pronunciation and example sentences, English to English reference content.
