Etymograph

English

louse

Louse comes from Middle English lous, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *lūs.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lūs1reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*lūs1reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150lūs1
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lous1
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1936louse1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English louse
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1936, Norman Lindsay, The Flyaway Highway: “‘Nor have I combed, washed or loused myself this…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lūsWiktionary, English lousereconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*lūsWiktionary, English lousereconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150lūsWiktionary, English louse
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lousWiktionary, English louse
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1936louseWiktionary, English louse. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1936, Norman Lindsay, The Flyaway Highway: “‘Nor have I combed, washed or loused myself this…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *lewH-

lorn, 3 more

Today it means

noun A small parasitic wingless insect of the order Psocodea.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “louse”. 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-Germanic *lūs / louse

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