English
lig
Lig comes from Old English liċġan ‘to lie, be situated, be at rest, remain’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *legʰ-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*legʰ-1‘to lie’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*liggjan1‘to lie, rest’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150liċġan2‘to lie, be situated, be at rest, remain’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500liggen2
- Englishearliest quotation 1596lig2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Old English licgan
- 2 Wiktionary, English lig
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1596, Edmund Spenser, Book VI, Canto IV: “His limbes would rest, ne lig in ease embost”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*legʰ-Wiktionary, Old English licgan‘to lie’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*liggjanWiktionary, Old English licgan‘to lie, rest’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150liċġanWiktionary, English lig‘to lie, be situated, be at rest, remain’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500liggenWiktionary, English lig
- Englishearliest quotation 1596ligWiktionary, English lig. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1596, Edmund Spenser, Book VI, Canto IV: “His limbes would rest, ne lig in ease embost”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- ‘to lie’
law, low, college, legal, fellow, lawyer, lay, layer, legacy, log, loyal, colleague, delegation, delegate, lex, collegiate, ledge, litter, lawless, lair, lees, legate, leaguer, leal, collegium, underlay, lagan, lias, 22 more
through Old English liċġan ‘to lie, be situated, be at rest, remain’
Today it means
verb To lie; be in a prostrate or recumbent position.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “lig”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Old English licgan. 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- / lig