Etymograph

English

lea

Lea comes from Old English lēah ‘clearing in a forest’, from Proto-West Germanic *lauh ‘meadow’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lewk- ‘bright’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewk-1‘bright’root named by Wiktionary
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lówkos1‘field, meadow’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lauhaz1‘meadow’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*lauh1‘meadow’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150lēah1‘clearing in a forest’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500legh1
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1750lea1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English lea
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1750, Thomas Gray: “The curfew tolls the knell of parting day, The…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewk-Wiktionary, English lea‘bright’root named by Wiktionary
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lówkosWiktionary, English lea‘field, meadow’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lauhazWiktionary, English lea‘meadow’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*lauhWiktionary, English lea‘meadow’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150lēahWiktionary, English lea‘clearing in a forest’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500leghWiktionary, English lea
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1750leaWiktionary, English lea. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1750, Thomas Gray: “The curfew tolls the knell of parting day, The…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *lewk- ‘bright’

light, low, link, los, lucy, ounce, lunar, luna, illumination, lux, illuminate, lucid, luminous, translucent, lumen, lynx, luce, luminosity, lumia, lum, lune, loach, luminescent, luminary, luminal, leucine, 74 more

through Old English lēah ‘clearing in a forest’

lye

through Middle English legh

leigh

Another origin of lea

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500le
  2. Englishtodaylea

Today it means

noun An open field, meadow, pasture.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “lea”. 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 *lewk- / lea

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