Origin:
before 950; Middle English lo(o)f, Old English hlāf loaf, bread; cognate with German Laib, Old Norse hleifr, Gothic hlaifs
before 950; Middle English lo(o)f, Old English hlāf loaf, bread; cognate with German Laib, Old Norse hleifr, Gothic hlaifs
Dictionary.com Unabridged
verb (used without 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.
verb (used with object)
3.
to pass idly (usually followed by away ): to loaf one's life away.
Related forms
un·loaf·ing, adjective
Synonyms
2. loll, idle.
2. loll, idle.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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|
Link To loaf
00:10
Loaf
is always a great word to know.
So is callithumpian. Does it mean:
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
loaf1 (ləʊf) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n , pl loaves | |
| 1. | a shaped mass of baked bread |
| 2. | any shaped or moulded mass of food, such as cooked meat |
| 3. | slang the head; sense: use your loaf! |
| [Old English hlāf; related to Old High German hleib bread, Old Norse hleifr, Latin libum cake] | |
| loaf2 (ləʊf) | |
| —vb (foll by away) | |
| 1. | (intr) to loiter or lounge around in an idle way |
| 2. | to spend (time) idly: he loafed away his life |
| [C19: perhaps back formation from | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
loaf
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.
loaf
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."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Example sentences
Alternatively, roll the dough into a loaf and chop off slices.
With a loaf of bread or a mound of rice, this becomes a meal without much work.
Grab a loaf of their ciabatta or focaccia, and you'll have a filling meal on your hands.
The price of eight-cent loaves was not increased, but the size of the loaf has been decreased.
Idioms & Phrases
Nearby Words
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