Etymograph

English

lucky

Lucky comes from Middle English lukky, from luk ‘good fortune’, possibly from Middle Dutch luc ‘luck’.

  1. Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500luc1‘good luck, fortune’uncertain
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500luk2‘good fortune’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lukky3‘lucky’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1872lucky3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Middle English luk
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Middle English lukky
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English lucky
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1872, Laurence William M. Lockhart, Fair to see: “I thought my nephew a fool ; I now…”.

Lineage

  1. Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500lucWiktionary, Middle English luk‘good luck, fortune’uncertain
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lukWiktionary, Middle English lukky‘good fortune’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lukkyWiktionary, English lucky‘lucky’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1872luckyWiktionary, English lucky. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1872, Laurence William M. Lockhart, Fair to see: “I thought my nephew a fool ; I now…”

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Today it means

adj Favoured by luck; fortunate; having good success or good fortune.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “lucky”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Middle English luk, Middle English lukky. 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 / Middle Dutch luc / lucky