English
lair
Lair comes from Old English leġer ‘couch, bed’, from Proto-Germanic *legrą ‘a lying, a place where one lies’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- ‘to lie’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*legʰ-1‘to lie’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*legrą1‘a lying, a place where one lies’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150leġer1‘couch, bed’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500leir1
- Englishearliest quotation 1820lair1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English lair
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1820, John Clare, Address to Plenty in Winter: “Then would I in Plenty's lap, For the first…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*legʰ-Wiktionary, English lair‘to lie’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*legrąWiktionary, English lair‘a lying, a place where one lies’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150leġerWiktionary, English lair‘couch, bed’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500leirWiktionary, English lair
- Englishearliest quotation 1820lairWiktionary, English lair. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1820, John Clare, Address to Plenty in Winter: “Then would I in Plenty's lap, For the first…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- ‘to lie’
low, college, legal, law, lie, fellow, lawyer, legacy, log, loyal, lay, layer, colleague, delegation, litter, delegate, lex, ledger, collegiate, ledge, lees, lawless, legate, lig, leal, collegium, lias, underlay, lagan, 22 more
through Proto-Germanic *legrą ‘a lying, a place where one lies’
Another origin of lair
- Old Norsec. 800–1350leir‘clay, mud’
- Englishtodaylair
Today it means
noun A place inhabited by a wild animal, often a cave or a hole in the ground.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “lair”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- / lair