Etymograph

English

loin

Loin comes from Middle English loyne, and goes back to Vulgar Latin *lumbea.

  1. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*lumbea1reconstructed
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400loigne1
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500loyne1
  4. Englishtodayloin1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English loin

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*lumbeaWiktionary, English loinreconstructed
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400loigneWiktionary, English loin
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500loyneWiktionary, English loin
  4. EnglishtodayloinWiktionary, English loin

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *lendʰ- ‘kidney, waist’

land, lawn, lend, lasagna, lomas, 10 more

through Latin lumbus

lumbar, loma, 5 more

Today it means

noun The part of the body (of humans and quadrupeds) at each side of the backbone, between the ribs and hips.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “loin”. 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 / Vulgar Latin *lumbea / loin

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