Nearby Words

lob

[lob] Origin

lob

1[lob] verb, lobbed, lob·bing, noun
verb (used with object)
1.
Tennis. to hit (a ball) in a high arc to the back of the opponent's court.
2.
to fire (a missile, as a shell) in a high trajectory so that it drops onto a target.
3.
Cricket. to bowl (the ball) with a slow underhand motion.
4.
to throw (something) slowly in an arc.
verb (used without object)
5.
Tennis. to lob a ball.

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Lob is one of our favorite verbs.
So is bowdlerise. Does it mean:
to spend time idly; loaf.
to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable.
noun
6.
Tennis. a ball hit in a high arc to the back of the opponent's court.
7.
Cricket. a ball bowled with a slow underhand motion.
8.
British Dialect. a slow, heavy, dull-witted person.

Origin:
1325–75; in earlier sense, to behave like a lob (Middle English lobbe, lob bumpkin, clumsy person, orig. pollack; Old English: spider; basic sense, something pendulous); cognate with Middle Low German, Middle Dutch lobbe dangling part, stockfish, etc.

lob·ber, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged

lob

2[lob]
noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
lob1 (lɒb)
 
n
1.  a ball struck in a high arc
2.  cricket a ball bowled in a slow high arc
 
vb , lobs, lobbing, lobbed
3.  to hit or kick (a ball) in a high arc
4.  informal to throw, esp in a high arc
 
[C14: probably of Low German origin, originally in the sense: something dangling; compare Middle Low German lobbe hanging lower lip, Old English loppe spider]

lob2 (lɒb)
 
n
short for lobworm
 
[C17 (in the sense: pendulous object): related to lob1]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

lob
"send up in a slow, high arc," 1824 (implied in lobbing), but the word existed 16c. in various senses suggesting "heavy, pendant, or floppy things," and is probably ult. from an unrecorded O.E. word; cf. E.Fris. lobbe "hanging lump of flesh," Du. lob "hanging lip, ruffle, hanging sleeve," Dan. lobbes
EXPAND
"clown, bumpkin."
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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