Etymograph

English

luft

Luft comes from German Luft ‘air’, from Proto-West Germanic *luftu ‘roof’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lewbʰ- ‘to peel, break off, damage’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewbʰ-1‘to peel, break off, damage’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lubʰ-tu-s1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*luftuz2‘roof’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*luftu2‘roof’reconstructed
  5. Old High Germanc. 750–1050luft2
  6. Middle High Germanc. 1050–1350luft2
  7. Germanc. 1650–presentLuft3‘air’
  8. Englishtodayluft3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *luftuz, which cites Kroonen
  2. 2 Wiktionary, German Luft
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English luft

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewbʰ-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *luftuz, which cites Kroonen‘to peel, break off, damage’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lubʰ-tu-sWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *luftuz, which cites Kroonenreconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*luftuzWiktionary, German Luft‘roof’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*luftuWiktionary, German Luft‘roof’reconstructed
  5. Old High Germanc. 750–1050luftWiktionary, German Luft
  6. Middle High Germanc. 1050–1350luftWiktionary, German Luft
  7. Germanc. 1650–presentLuftWiktionary, English luft‘air’
  8. EnglishtodayluftWiktionary, English luft

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *lewbʰ- ‘to peel, break off, damage’

love, believe, leave, left, library, belief, leaf, lodge, lobby, lib, libel, libido, lob, liber, libretto, lief, 17 more

through Proto-West Germanic *luftu ‘roof’

lift, loft

Today it means

noun A piece moved in front of a king to prevent a back-rank mate.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “luft”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *luftuz, German Luft. 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 *lewbʰ- / luft

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