Etymograph

English

lax

Lax comes from Middle English lax ‘salmon’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *laḱs-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*laḱs-1‘salmon, trout’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lahsaz1‘salmon’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*lahs1‘salmon’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150leax1‘salmon’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lax1‘salmon’
  6. Englishtodaylax1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English lax

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*laḱs-Wiktionary, English lax‘salmon, trout’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lahsazWiktionary, English lax‘salmon’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*lahsWiktionary, English lax‘salmon’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150leaxWiktionary, English lax‘salmon’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500laxWiktionary, English lax‘salmon’
  6. EnglishtodaylaxWiktionary, English lax

Linked words

through Proto-West Germanic *lahs ‘salmon’

lox

Another origin of lax

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)leg-s-ós‘weak, faint’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElaxus‘wide, roomy, loose’
  3. Englishtodaylax

Today it means

noun A salmon.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “lax”. 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 *laḱs- / lax

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