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lew.

A French gold coin circulated in 15th-century Scotland.

3 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ljuː//luː/
  1. A French gold coin circulated in 15th-century Scotland.

    Scotland · obsolete
Where this word comes from

From corruption of French louis, from Louis, presumably Louis IX or Louis XI, who issued gold écus.

adj/ljuː//luː/
  1. Sunny; warm.

    obsolete
  2. Lukewarm, tepid.

    dialectal
  3. Alee: protected from the wind.

    dialectal
Where this word comes from

From Middle English lew, lewe, from Old English *hlēowe, *hlīewe (attested adverbially in hlēowe (“warmly”) and as ġehlēowe, ġehlīewe (“warm, sunny, sheltered”), unhlēowe (“not warm, chill”)), from Proto-West Germanic *hliwi, from Proto-Germanic *hliwjaz, *hlēwaz (“warm, lukewarm”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱal(w)e-, *ḱlēw- (“warm, hot”). Cognate with Old Norse hlýr (“warm, mild”), ( > Danish ly (“lukewarm”)), hlær, German lau, which are themselves akin to Old Norse hlé (“lee”), Danish læ (“shelter”). Compare lee.

noun/ljuː//luː/
  1. Warmth, heat.

    Scotland
  2. A shelter from the wind, particularly temporary structures raised by shepherds to protect their flocks.

    dialectal
Where this word comes from

From Middle English lew, lewe, from Old English *hlēowe, *hlīewe (attested adverbially in hlēowe (“warmly”) and as ġehlēowe, ġehlīewe (“warm, sunny, sheltered”), unhlēowe (“not warm, chill”)), from Proto-West Germanic *hliwi, from Proto-Germanic *hliwjaz, *hlēwaz (“warm, lukewarm”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱal(w)e-, *ḱlēw- (“warm, hot”). Cognate with Old Norse hlýr (“warm, mild”), ( > Danish ly (“lukewarm”)), hlær, German lau, which are themselves akin to Old Norse hlé (“lee”), Danish læ (“shelter”). Compare lee.

verb/ljuː//luː/
  1. To make warm or lukewarm.

    transitive
  2. To become warm.

    intransitive · obsolete
  3. To shelter from the wind.

    transitive
Where this word comes from

From Middle English lew, lewe, from Old English *hlēowe, *hlīewe (attested adverbially in hlēowe (“warmly”) and as ġehlēowe, ġehlīewe (“warm, sunny, sheltered”), unhlēowe (“not warm, chill”)), from Proto-West Germanic *hliwi, from Proto-Germanic *hliwjaz, *hlēwaz (“warm, lukewarm”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱal(w)e-, *ḱlēw- (“warm, hot”). Cognate with Old Norse hlýr (“warm, mild”), ( > Danish ly (“lukewarm”)), hlær, German lau, which are themselves akin to Old Norse hlé (“lee”), Danish læ (“shelter”). Compare lee.

adj/ljuː//luː/
  1. Weak.

  2. Sickly-looking, pale, wan.

Where this word comes from

Uncertain, but compare Old English ġelewed (“weakness, infirmity”) and limlǣweo (“limb-weak, lame”). Possibly related to Proto-Germanic *laiwą (“damage”); compare Old Norse læ (“venom, bane”).

intj/ljuː//luː/
  1. Alternative form of lo or look: a cry to look at something.

    alt-of · alternative · obsolete
Where this word comes from

Variant of lo (q.v.).

verb/ljuː//luː/
  1. Alternative form of lue: to sift, particularly while mining tin or silver.

    alt-of · alternative · dialectal · transitive
Where this word comes from

Variant of lue (q.v.).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.