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loaf1 
Audio Help [lohf] Pronunciation Key
Audio Help [lohf] Pronunciation Key –noun, plural loaves
Audio Help [lohvz] Pronunciation Key.
Audio Help [lohvz] Pronunciation Key. | 1. | a portion of bread or cake baked in a mass, usually oblong with a rounded top. |
| 2. | a shaped or molded mass of food, as of sugar or chopped meat: a veal loaf. |
| 3. | British.
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[Origin: bef. 950; ME lo(o)f, OE hlāf loaf, bread; c. G Laib, ON hleifr, Goth hlaifs]
] | Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
Loaf
To learn more about Loaf visit Britannica.com
| © 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |
loaf2
Audio Help [lohf] Pronunciation Key
Audio Help [lohf] Pronunciation Key –verb (used without object)
–verb (used with object)
| 1. | to idle away time: He figured the mall was as good a place as any for loafing. |
| 2. | to lounge or saunter lazily and idly: We loafed for hours along the water's edge. |
| 3. | to pass idly (usually fol. by away): to loaf one's life away. |
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
| loaf 1
Audio Help (lōf) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. loaves (lōvz)
[Middle English lof, from Old English hlāf.] Word History: Loaf, lord, and lady are closely related words that testify to bread's fundamental importance in the Middle Ages. Curiously, though bread was a staple food in many Indo-European cultures, loaf and its cognates occur only in the Germanic languages, and lord and lady only in English. Loaf derives from Old English hlāf, "bread, loaf of bread," related to Gothic hlaifs, Old Norse hleifr, and Modern German Laib, all of which mean "loaf of bread." Hlāf survives in Lammas, originally Hlāfmaesse, "Loaf-Mass," the Christian Feast of the First Fruits, traditionally celebrated on August 1. A lord, Old English hlāford, was a compound meaning "loaf-ward, keeper of bread," because a lord maintains and feeds his household and offers hospitality. Similarly, lady derives from Old English hlǣfdige, which became lady by 1382. The -dige comes from dæge, "kneader," and is related to our dough. A lady, therefore, is "a kneader of bread, a breadmaker." Lord and lady both retain vestiges of their original meanings, although England's aristocrats have not been elbow deep in flour, let alone dough, for several centuries. |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
| loaf 2
Audio Help (lōf) Pronunciation Key
intr.v. loafed, loaf·ing, loafs To pass time at leisure; idle. [Probably back-formation from loafer.] |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
loaf (n.)
O.E. hlaf "bread, loaf," from P.Gmc. *khlaibuz (cf. O.N. hleifr, Swed. lev, Ger. Laib, Goth. hlaifs), of uncertain origin, perhaps connected to O.E. hlifian "to raise higher, tower," on the notion of the bread rising as it bakes, but it is unclear whether "loaf" or "bread" is the original sense. O.C.S. chlebu, Finn. leipä, Lith. klepas probably are Gmc. loan words. Meaning "chopped meat shaped like a bread loaf" is attested from 1787.
| Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper |
loaf (v.)
1835, Amer.Eng., back-formation from loafer (1830), which often is regarded as a variant of land loper (1795), a partial loan-translation of Ger. Landläufer "vagabond," from Land "land" + Läufer "runner," from laufen "to run" (see leap). But OED finds this "not very probable." Loafer, the type of shoe, is attested from 1939, originally a brand name (Fortnum and Mason Ltd., London).
| Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper |
| loaf | |
noun | |
| 1. | a shaped mass of baked bread that is usually sliced before eating [syn: loaf of bread] |
| 2. | a quantity of food (other than bread) formed in a particular shape; "meat loaf"; "sugar loaf"; "a loaf of cheese" |
verb | |
| 1. | be lazy or idle; "Her son is just bumming around all day" |
| 2. | be about; "The high school students like to loiter in the Central Square"; "Who is this man that is hanging around the department?" |
| WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University. |
loaf
see half a loaf is better than none.
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. |
loaf [ləuf] noun — plural loaves [louvz]
a shaped mass of bread
Example: a sliced loaf
loaf [ləuf] verbExample: a sliced loaf
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(with about or around) to pass time without doing anything in particular
Example: They were loafing about (the street).
See also: loaferExample: They were loafing about (the street).
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| Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary, © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd. |
Bread Loaf, VT Zip code(s): 05753
| U.S. Gazetteer, U.S. Census Bureau |
Loaf
La"dy\, n.; pl. Ladies. [OE. ladi, l[ae]fdi, AS. hl?fdige, hl?fdie; AS. hl[=a]f loaf + a root of uncertain origin, possibly akin to E. dairy. See Loaf, and cf. Lord.]1. A woman who looks after the domestic affairs of a family; a mistress; the female head of a household. Agar, the handmaiden of Sara, whence comest thou, and whither goest thou? The which answered, Fro the face of Sara my lady. --Wyclif (Gen. xvi. 8.). 2. A woman having proprietary rights or authority; mistress; -- a feminine correlative of lord. "Lord or lady of high degree." --Lowell. Of all these bounds, even from this line to this, . . . We make thee lady. --Shak. 3. A woman to whom the particular homage of a knight was paid; a woman to whom one is devoted or bound; a sweetheart. The soldier here his wasted store supplies, And takes new valor from his lady's eyes. --Waller. 4. A woman of social distinction or position. In England, a title prefixed to the name of any woman whose husband is not of lower rank than a baron, or whose father was a nobleman not lower than an earl. The wife of a baronet or knight has the title of Lady by courtesy, but not by right. 5. A woman of refined or gentle manners; a well-bred woman; -- the feminine correlative of gentleman. 6. A wife; -- not now in approved usage. --Goldsmith. 7. (Zo["o]l.) The triturating apparatus in the stomach of a lobster; -- so called from a fancied resemblance to a seated female figure. It consists of calcareous plates. Ladies' man, a man who affects the society of ladies. Lady altar, an altar in a lady chapel. --Shipley. Lady chapel, a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Lady court, the court of a lady of the manor. Lady court, the court of a lady of the manor. Lady crab (Zo["o]l.), a handsomely spotted swimming crab (Platyonichus ocellatus) very common on the sandy shores of the Atlantic coast of the United States. Lady fern. (Bot.) See Female fern, under Female, and Illust. of Fern. Lady in waiting, a lady of the queen's household, appointed to wait upon or attend the queen. Lady Mass, a Mass said in honor of the Virgin Mary. --Shipley. Lady of the manor, a lady having jurisdiction of a manor; also, the wife of a manor lord. Lady's maid, a maidservant who dresses and waits upon a lady. --Thackeray. Our Lady, the Virgin Mary.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Loaf
Lam"mas\, n. [AS. hl[=a]mmesse, hl[=a]fm[ae]sse, loaf mass, bread feast, or feast of first fruits; hl[=a]f loaf + m[ae]sse mass. See Loaf, and Mass religious service.] The first day of August; -- called also Lammas day, and Lammastide.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Loaf
Leap\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Leaped, rarely Leapt; p. pr. & vb. n. Leaping.] [OE. lepen, leapen, AS. hle['a]pan to leap, jump, run; akin to OS. [=a]hl?pan, OFries. hlapa, D. loopen, G. laufen, OHG. louffan, hlauffan, Icel. hlaupa, Sw. l["o]pa, Dan. l["o]be, Goth. ushlaupan. Cf. Elope, Lope, Lapwing, Loaf to loiter.]1. To spring clear of the ground, with the feet; to jump; to vault; as, a man leaps over a fence, or leaps upon a horse. --Bacon. Leap in with me into this angry flood. --Shak. 2. To spring or move suddenly, as by a jump or by jumps; to bound; to move swiftly. Also Fig. My heart leaps up when I behold A rainbow in the sky. --Wordsworth.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
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