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Origin and history of loom

loom(n.)

weaving machine, early 13c. shortening of Old English geloma "utensil, tool," from ge-, perfective prefix, + -loma, an element of unknown origin (compare Old English andloman (plural) "apparatus, article of furniture"). Originally "implement or tool of any kind" (as in heirloom); thus, "the penis" (c. 1400-1600). Specific meaning "a machine in which yarn or thread is woven into fabric" is from c. 1400.

loom(v.)

1540s, "to come into view largely and indistinctly," of uncertain origin. According to OED perhaps from a Scandinavian or Low German source (compare dialectal Swedish loma, East Frisian lomen "move slowly"), which is perhaps from the root of lame (adj.). Early used also of ships moving up and down. Figurative use from 1590s. Related: Loomed; looming.

also from 1540s

Entries linking to loom

heirloom(n.)

early 15c., ayre lome, a hybrid from heir + loom (n.) in its original but now otherwise obsolete sense of "implement, tool," extended to mean "article." Technically, some piece of property that by will or custom passes down with the real estate. General sense of "anything handed down from generation to generation" is from 1610s.

lame(adj.)

Old English lama "crippled, lame; paralytic, weak," from Proto-Germanic *lama- "weak-limbed" (source also of Old Norse lami "lame, maimed," Dutch and Old Frisian lam, German lahm "lame"), literally "broken," from PIE root *lem- "to break; broken," with derivatives meaning "crippled" (source also of Old Church Slavonic lomiti "to break," Lithuanian luomas "lame").

In Middle English especially "crippled in the feet," but also "crippled in the hands; disabled by disease; maimed." Figurative sense of "imperfect" is from late 14c. Sense of "socially awkward" is attested from 1942. Noun meaning "crippled persons collectively" is in late Old English. To come by the lame post (17c.-18c.) was an old colloquialism in reference to tardy mails or news out-of-date.

hand-loom(n.)

1794, from hand (n.) + loom (n.).

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    Trends of loom

    adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

    More to explore

    tower
    Old English torr "tower, watchtower," from Latin turris "a tower, citadel, high structure" (also source of Old French tor, 11c., Modern French tour; Spanish, Italian torre "tower"), possibly from a pre-Indo-European Mediterranean language. Meaning "lofty pile or mass" is recorded
    predominate
    1590s, "to have or exert controlling power," from Medieval Latin praedominatus, past participle of *praedominare from Latin prae "before" (see pre-) + dominari "to rule, dominate, to govern," from dominus "lord, master," from domus "house" (from PIE root *dem- "house, household")
    hulk
    Old English hulc "light, fast ship" (glossing Latin liburna, but in Middle English a heavy, unwieldy one), probably from Old Dutch hulke and Medieval Latin hulcus, perhaps ultimately from Greek holkas "merchant ship," literally "ship that is towed," from helkein "to pull, draw, d
    stamen
    1625, Spigelus), from Latin stamen "stamen" (Pliny), literally "foundation in weaving, thread of the warp" in the upright loom...(related to stare "to stand"), from PIE *sta-men- (source also of Greek stēmōn "warp in the upright loom," also used by...
    ravel
    weavers to keep the warp of a proper width, and prevent it from becoming entangled when it is wound upon the beam of a loom...
    tacky
    A ribbon on the shopkeeper's counter, a curtain in the bolt, a shawl or bonnet, a bolt of cloth fresh from the loom may be...
    order
    Latin ordinem (nominative ordo) "row, line, rank; series, pattern, arrangement, routine," originally "a row of threads in a loom...
    brood
    Old English brod "offspring of egg-laying animals, hatchlings, young birds hatched in one nest," from Proto-Germanic *brod (source also of Middle Dutch broet, Old High German bruot, German Brut "brood"), etymologically "that which is hatched by heat," from *bro- "to warm, heat,"
    look
    Old English locian "use the eyes for seeing, gaze, look, behold, spy," from West Germanic *lokjan (source also of Old Saxon lokon "see, look, spy," Middle Dutch loeken "to look," Old High German luogen, German dialectal lugen "to look out"), a word of unknown origin. Breton lagud
    weave
    Old English wefan "to weave, form by interlacing yarn," figuratively "devise, contrive, arrange" (class V strong verb; past tense wæf, past participle wefen), from Proto-Germanic *weban (source also of Old Norse vefa, Middle Low German, Middle Dutch, Dutch weven, Old High German

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    Dictionary entries near loom
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