Etymograph

English

leigh

Leigh comes from Old English lēah ‘clearing in a forest’, from Proto-Germanic *lauhaz ‘meadow’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lówkos.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lówkos1‘field, meadow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lauhaz1‘meadow’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*lauh2reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150lēah1‘clearing in a forest’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500legh1
  6. Englishtodayleigh1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English leigh
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old English leah

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lówkosWiktionary, English leigh‘field, meadow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lauhazWiktionary, English leigh‘meadow’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*lauhWiktionary, Old English leahreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150lēahWiktionary, English leigh‘clearing in a forest’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500leghWiktionary, English leigh
  6. EnglishtodayleighWiktionary, English leigh

Linked words

through Old English lēah ‘clearing in a forest’

lye

through Middle English legh

lea

Today it means

noun A meadow.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “leigh”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Old English leah. 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 *lówkos / leigh

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