"turf, stretch of grass," 1548,
laune "glade, open space between woods," from M.E.
launde, from O.Fr.
lande "heath, moor," from Gaul. (cf. Breton
lann "heath"), or from its Gmc. cognate, source of Eng.
land (q.v.). The
-d perhaps mistaken for an affix and dropped. Sense of "mowed grassy ground" first recorded 1733;
lawn mower dates from 1869.