Etymograph

English

luce

Luce comes from Old French lus ‘pike (fish)’, from Latin lūx ‘light’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lewk- ‘bright’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewk-1‘bright’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*léwks1‘something bright, white’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*louks1‘light’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElūx2‘light’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElūcius3‘a fish, probably the pike’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400lus3‘pike (fish)’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1603luce3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin lux
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin lucius
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English luce
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1603, Michel de Montaigne, The Essayes […]: “As wee hunt after beasts, so Tygers and Lyons…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewk-Wiktionary, Latin lux‘bright’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*léwksWiktionary, Latin lux‘something bright, white’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*louksWiktionary, Latin lux‘light’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElūxWiktionary, Latin lucius‘light’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElūciusWiktionary, English luce‘a fish, probably the pike’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400lusWiktionary, English luce‘pike (fish)’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1603luceWiktionary, English luce. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1603, Michel de Montaigne, The Essayes […]: “As wee hunt after beasts, so Tygers and Lyons…”

Linked words

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

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

through Proto-Indo-European *léwks ‘something bright, white’

loach, 11 more

through Latin lūx ‘light’

lux, 11 more

through Latin lūcius ‘a fish, probably the pike’

lucy

Today it means

noun The pike, Esox lucius, when fully grown.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “luce”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin lux, Latin lucius. 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- / luce

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