los
English
Etymology 1
From Middle English lusk, from Old English lox, from Proto-West Germanic *luhs, from Proto-Germanic *luhsaz. Cognate with Scots los, Saterland Frisian Luks, Low German Luks, Dutch los, German Luchs, Luxembourgish Luuss.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /lɒs/
- (General American) IPA(key): /lɑs/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɒs
- Homophone: loss
Noun
los (plural loses)
- (obsolete) A medium-sized wildcat, most of them part of the genus Lynx.
- Synonym: lynx
- The los had been brought from a northern part of the United States.
- 1592, Thomas Thomasius, Thomae Thomasii Dictionarium tertio ... emendatum ... et longe auctius ... redditum.:
- A beaſt like unto a wolfe having many ſpottes, and being exceeding quicke of ſight: a wolfe like an hart, a Los or Lynx.
Etymology 2
From Middle English los, from Old English los, from Proto-Germanic *lusą, from Proto-Indo-European *lews-.
Noun
los (plural loses)
- Obsolete form of loss.
- 1673, [Joseph Hill], The Interest Of theſe United Provinces. Being a Defence of the Zeelanders Choice […], Middelburg: Printed by Thomas Berry, page [75]:
- If we come under France, we have not onely Spaine our enimie by Sea and Land (as we have ſhewne) but the los of our Spaniſh Trade, and the hazarding of our whole Levant Traffick: And if we rightly calculate, that amounts to no ſmall part of our Commerce.
Afrikaans
Aragonese
Synonyms
Asturian
Catalan
Pronoun
Usage notes
- -los is the full (plena) form of the pronoun. It is normally used after verbs ending with a consonant or ⟨u⟩.
Declension
Czech
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈlos]
- Rhymes: -os
Etymology 1
Inherited from Proto-Slavic *ȏlsь, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁el-.[1][2] Cognate with English elk, German Elch.
Declension
Etymology 2
Borrowed from German Los,[3][4] from Middle High German lōz, from Old High German hlōz, from Proto-West Germanic *hlaut, from Proto-Germanic *hlautaz, ablaut variant of *hlutą.
Declension
References
- "los¹" in Jiří Rejzek, Český etymologický slovník, electronic version, Leda, 2007
- Machek, Václav (1968) “los 1°”, in Etymologický slovník jazyka českého [Etymological Dictionary of the Czech Language], 2nd edition, Prague: Academia
- "los²" in Jiří Rejzek, Český etymologický slovník, electronic version, Leda, 2007
- Machek, Václav (1968) “los 2°”, in Etymologický slovník jazyka českého [Etymological Dictionary of the Czech Language], 2nd edition, Prague: Academia
Danish
Etymology 2
From Middle Low German los.
Inflection
Etymology 3
Derived from verb losse, itself from Middle Low German lossen.
Dutch
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /lɔs/
Audio (file) - Hyphenation: los
- Rhymes: -ɔs
Etymology 1
From Middle Dutch los, from Old Dutch *los, from Proto-West Germanic *lus (a-stem), from Proto-Germanic *lusaz. Cognate with Ripuarian Central Franconian loss, Luxembourgish lass, lues. Related with Dutch loos, the cognate of German los, lose, English loose.
Adjective
los (comparative losser, superlative meest los or lost)
- loose
- De losse kleding zat comfortabel.
- The loose clothing was comfortable.
- Zorg ervoor dat de schroeven goed vastzitten en niet los zijn.
- Make sure the screws are tightly fastened and not loose.
- Het kind hield de ballon stevig vast zodat hij niet los zou vliegen.
- The child held the balloon tightly so that it wouldn't fly loose.
- separate, individual
- Dit product is niet bestemd voor losse verkoop.
- This product is not intended to be sold individually.
Inflection
Inflection of los | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
uninflected | los | |||
inflected | losse | |||
comparative | losser | |||
positive | comparative | superlative | ||
predicative/adverbial | los | losser | het lost het loste | |
indefinite | m./f. sing. | losse | lossere | loste |
n. sing. | los | losser | loste | |
plural | losse | lossere | loste | |
definite | losse | lossere | loste | |
partitive | los | lossers | — |
Derived terms
Etymology 2
From Middle Dutch los, from Old Dutch *los, from Proto-Germanic *luhsuz, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *lewk- (“light, to shine”) or from a substrate language.[1]
Cognate with Old Saxon lohs, Old High German luhs, Old English lox, from a similar Germanic form also Swedish lodjur. Cognates outside Germanic include Ancient Greek λύγξ (lúnx), Lithuanian lūšis, Old Church Slavonic рꙑсь (rysĭ), Old Irish lug, Old Armenian լուսանունք (lusanunkʻ).
Noun
los m (plural lossen, diminutive losje n)
- (dated) lynx (specifically the Eurasian lynx, Lynx lynx)
- Synonym: lynx
Alternative forms
- losch (obsolete)
Derived terms
- pardellos
References
- Philippa, Marlies, Debrabandere, Frans, Quak, Arend, Schoonheim, Tanneke, van der Sijs, Nicoline (2003–2009) “lynx”, in Etymologisch woordenboek van het Nederlands (in Dutch), Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press
Anagrams
Dutch Low Saxon
Etymology
From Middle Low German and Old Saxon lōs, from Proto-West Germanic *laus, cognate with Dutch los and English loose.
Pronunciation
- Rhymes: -ɔs
French
Etymology
Inherited from Old French los, from Latin laus, probably via the nominative singular form.[1]
Related terms
References
- “los”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
- Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002) “laus”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), volume 5: J L, page 211
German
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /loːs/ (standard)
- IPA(key): /lɔs/ (regionally; chiefly as interjection or when meaning “going on”)
Etymology 1
From Middle High German and Old High German lōs. Compare English loose.
Adjective
los (strong nominative masculine singular loser, comparative loser, superlative am losesten)
- (colloquial or dated) Alternative form of lose (“loose”)
Adverb
los (only used in combination with a verb)
- rid of, free of
- Ich bin meine Erkältung los. ― I've gotten rid of my cold.
- off, out, used to indicate leaving motion.
- Morgen fahren wir los. ― Tomorrow we head out.
- Ich muss los. ― I have to go.
- going on
- Hier ist einiges los. ― There's a lot going on here.
- Was ist los? ― What's going on? / What's up? / What's wrong?
- (colloquial, regional, Westphalia, Lower Saxony) open
- Die Tür stand los. ― The door stood open.
Interjection
los
- come on!, let's go!
- Los! An die Arbeit! ― Come on! Let's get to work!
- (motor racing) Go!
Related terms
- gelosen
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Indonesian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈlɔs]
- Hyphenation: los
Noun
los (first-person possessive losku, second-person possessive losmu, third-person possessive losnya)
Noun
los (first-person possessive losku, second-person possessive losmu, third-person possessive losnya)
Further reading
- “los” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.
Ladino
Masurian
Etymology
Inherited from Old Polish los.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈlɔs]
- Syllabification: los
Noun
los m inan
- fate (presumed cause, force, principle, or divine will that predetermines events)
- fate (effect, consequence, outcome, or inevitable events predetermined by this cause)
- lottery ticket
Mauritian Creole
References
- Baker, Philip & Hookoomsing, Vinesh Y. (1987). Dictionnaire de créole mauricien. Morisyen – English – Français
Middle Dutch
Etymology
From Old Dutch *los, from Proto-West Germanic *laus (“loose, free”).
Inflection
Adjective | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural | ||
Nominative | Indefinite | los | losse | los | losse |
Definite | losse | losse | |||
Accusative | Indefinite | lossen | losse | los | losse |
Definite | losse | ||||
Genitive | loss | losser | loss | losser | |
Dative | lossen | losser | lossen | lossen |
Descendants
- Dutch: los
- Limburgish: lósj
Further reading
- “los”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
- Verwijs, E., Verdam, J. (1885–1929) “los (I)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN, page I
Middle English
Etymology
From Old English los.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /lɔs/, /lɔːs/
References
- “lō̆s, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Norwegian Bokmål
Etymology
Borrowing from Low German lots (short form of lotsman); compare with German Lotse.
References
- “los” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Norwegian Nynorsk
Occitan
Pronunciation
Audio (file)
Old English
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *lusą (“loss”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewHs- (“to cut loose; sever; lose”). Cognate with Old Norse los (“looseness; breaking up”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /los/
Declension
Derived terms
Old French
Etymology
See the verb loer (“to laud”).
Noun
los oblique singular, m (oblique plural los, nominative singular los, nominative plural los)
- glory; positive reputation
Descendants
- French: los
Old High German
Etymology
From Proto-West Germanic *laus, see also Old English lēas, Old Norse lauss.
Old Polish
Etymology
Borrowed from Old High German hlōz. First attested in the 14th century.
Noun
los m inan (related adjective losowy)
- lot (thing used for determining chances)
- 1930 [c. 1455], “Num”, in Ludwik Bernacki, editor, Biblia królowej Zofii (Biblia szaroszpatacka), 33, 54:
- Wyøczsim daycze szirsze a mnyeysim wøssze, wszitkim iakos los przipadnye (ut sors ceciderit)
- [Więcszym dajcie szyrsze a mniejszym węższe. Wszytkim jakoż los przypadnie (ut sors ceciderit)]
- 1939 [end of the 14th century], Ryszard Ganszyniec, Witold Taszycki, Stefan Kubica, Ludwik Bernacki, editors, Psałterz florjański łacińsko-polsko-niemiecki [Sankt Florian Psalter], Zakład Narodowy imienia Ossolińskich, z zasiłkiem Sejmu Śląskiego [The Ossoliński National Institute: with the benefit of the Silesian Parliament], pages 21, 19:
- Rozdzelili sobe odzene moie y na odzew moy pusczili loos (super vestem meam miserunt sortem)
- [Rozdzielili sobie odzienie moje i na odziew moj puścili los (super vestem meam miserunt sortem)]
- drawing lots (act of determining using lots)
- 1939 [end of the 14th century], Ryszard Ganszyniec, Witold Taszycki, Stefan Kubica, Ludwik Bernacki, editors, Psałterz florjański łacińsko-polsko-niemiecki [Sankt Florian Psalter], Zakład Narodowy imienia Ossolińskich, z zasiłkiem Sejmu Śląskiego [The Ossoliński National Institute: with the benefit of the Silesian Parliament], pages 77, 60:
- Y wirzuczil od oblicza gich pogani, y losem rozdzelil gim zemø (sorte divisit eis terram)
- [Y wyrzucił od oblicza jich pogany, i losem rozdzielił jim ziemię (sorte divisit eis terram)]
References
- Boryś, Wiesław (2005) “los”, in Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego (in Polish), Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie, →ISBN
- Sławski, Franciszek (1958-1965) “los”, in Jan Safarewicz, Andrzej Siudut, editors, Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego [Etymological dictionary of the Polish language] (in Polish), Kraków: Towarzystwo Miłośników Języka Polskiego
- Mańczak, Witold (2017) “los”, in Polski słownik etymologiczny (in Polish), Kraków: Polska Akademia Umiejętności, →ISBN
- Bańkowski, Andrzej (2000) “los”, in Etymologiczny słownik języka polskiego [Etymological Dictionary of the Polish Language] (in Polish)
- B. Sieradzka-Baziur, editor (2011–2015), “los”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN
Polish
Etymology
Inherited from Old Polish los. Doublet of lotto.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /lɔs/
- (Middle Polish) IPA(key): /ˈlɔs/
Audio (file) - Rhymes: -ɔs
- Syllabification: los
Noun
los m inan (related adjective losowy)
- (uncountable) fate (presumed cause, force, principle, or divine will that predetermines events)
- (countable) fate (effect, consequence, outcome, or inevitable events predetermined by this cause)
- Synonym: dola
- (countable) fate (event or a situation which is inevitable in the fullness of time; destiny)
- Synonym: przeznaczenie
- (countable) lot (slip of paper, or less often a die or ball, used in determining a question by chance, or without human choice or will)
- lottery ticket
- (Middle Polish) gambling
- Synonym: hazard
- (Middle Polish, figuratively) trick, ploy, ruse (action intended to deceive or swindle)
- Synonym: sztuczka
- (Middle Polish) cut, inheritance, property received by lot
- (Middle Polish) person of dialogue
Declension
Derived terms
- zdany na łaskę losu
- (obsolete) losem
- na los szczęścia
- ironia losu
- los szczęścia
- ofiara losu
- pełny los
- pusty los
- uśmiech losu
- wolny los
- wybraniec losu
- losować impf
- kusić los impf
- los zadrwił pf, los drwi impf
- pozostawić własnemu losowi pf, pozostawiać własnemu losowi impf
- wygrać los na loterii pf, wygrywać los na loterii impf
- wyzwać los pf, wyzywać los impf
- zostać na łasce losu pf, zostawać na łasce losu impf
- zostawić na pastwę losu pf, zostawiać na pastwę losu impf
Trivia
According to Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej (1990), los is one of the most used words in Polish, appearing 11 times in scientific texts, 7 times in news, 16 times in essays, 22 times in fiction, and 15 times in plays, each out of a corpus of 100,000 words, totaling 71 times, making it the 907th most common word in a corpus of 500,000 words.[1]
References
- Ida Kurcz (1990) “los”, in Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej [Frequency dictionary of the Polish language] (in Polish), volume 1, Kraków, Warszawa: Polska Akademia Nauk. Instytut Języka Polskiego, page 222
Further reading
- los in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
- los in Polish dictionaries at PWN
- Maria Renata Mayenowa, Stanisław Rospond, Witold Taszycki, Stefan Hrabec, Władysław Kuraszkiewicz (2010-2023) “los”, in Słownik Polszczyzny XVI Wieku [A Dictionary of 16th Century Polish]
- Samuel Bogumił Linde (1807–1814) “los”, in Słownik języka polskiego
- Aleksander Zdanowicz (1861) “los”, in Słownik języka polskiego, Wilno 1861
- J. Karłowicz, A. Kryński, W. Niedźwiedzki, editors (1902), “los”, in Słownik języka polskiego (in Polish), volume 2, Warsaw, page 764
Portuguese
Pronunciation
- (Brazil) IPA(key): /lus/
- (Rio de Janeiro) IPA(key): /luʃ/
- (Southern Brazil) IPA(key): /los/
- (Portugal) IPA(key): /luʃ/
Pronoun
los
- Alternative form of os (third-person masculine plural objective pronoun) used as an enclitic and mesoclitic following a verb form ending in a consonant (-z, -r and -s, but not -m); the consonant is elided and the preceding vowel takes an accent if necessary
Scots
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Middle English losse, from Old English lox, from Proto-West Germanic *luhs, from Proto-Germanic *luhsaz. Cognate with English los, Saterland Frisian Luks, Low German Luks, Dutch los, German Luchs, Luxembourgish Luuss.
Pronunciation
- (North Northern) IPA(key): /los/
References
- “los, n.” in the Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries.
Scottish Gaelic
Etymology 1
From Old Irish los, from Proto-Celtic *lustā, from the Proto-Indo-European root *lew- (“to divide, to split”). Cognate with Welsh llost.
Derived terms
- a los (“in order to”)
- air los (“for the purpose of; in search of”)
- an los (“in the intention of; bent on”)
- d' aon los (“intentional”)
- fo los (“under the control of”)
- los-leathann (“beaver”)
Etymology 2
Shortening of a los.
Serbo-Croatian

Etymology
Inherited from Proto-Slavic *ȏlsь.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /lôs/
Declension
Further reading
- “los” in Hrvatski jezični portal
Silesian
Etymology
Inherited from Old Polish los.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈlɔs/
- Rhymes: -ɔs
- Syllabification: los
Noun
los m inan
Declension
Further reading
- los in silling.org
- Henryk Jaroszewicz (2022) “los”, in Zasady pisowni języka śląskiego (in Polish), Siedlce: Wydawnictwo Naukowe IKR[i]BL, page 93
Slovene
Etymology
From Proto-Slavic *olsь.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /lóːs/
Inflection
Masculine anim., hard o-stem | |||
---|---|---|---|
nom. sing. | lós | ||
gen. sing. | lósa | ||
singular | dual | plural | |
nominative (imenovȃlnik) |
lós | lósa | lósi |
genitive (rodȋlnik) |
lósa | lósov | lósov |
dative (dajȃlnik) |
lósu | lósoma | lósom |
accusative (tožȋlnik) |
lósa | lósa | lóse |
locative (mẹ̑stnik) |
lósu | lósih | lósih |
instrumental (orọ̑dnik) |
lósom | lósoma | lósi |
Further reading
- “los”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran
Spanish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /los/ [los]
Audio (Colombia): (file) - Rhymes: -os
- Syllabification: los
Pronoun
los
- accusative of ellos and ustedes (when referring to more than one man); them, you all (formal or (Latin America) informal)
- plural masculine or neuter pronoun
- los que no hablan
- those who do not speak
See also
nominative | dative | accusative | disjunctive | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
first person | singular | yo | me | mí1 | |||
plural | masculine2 | nosotros | nos | nosotros | |||
feminine | nosotras | nosotras | |||||
second person | singular | tuteo | tú | te | ti1 | ||
voseo | vos | vos | |||||
formal3 | usted | le, se4 | lo/la5 | usted | |||
plural | familiar6 | masculine2 | vosotros | os | vosotros | ||
feminine | vosotras | vosotras | |||||
formal/general3 | ustedes | les, se4 | los/las5 | ustedes | |||
third person | singular | masculine2 | él | le, se4 | lo | él | |
feminine | ella | la | ella | ||||
neuter | ello7 | lo | ello | ||||
plural | masculine2 | ellos | les, se4 | los | ellos | ||
feminine | ellas | las | ellas | ||||
reflexive | — | se | sí1 |
- Not used with con; conmigo, contigo, and consigo are used instead, respectively
- Like other masculine Spanish words, masculine Spanish pronouns can be used when the gender of the subject is unknown or when the subject is plural and of mixed gender.
- Treated as if it were third-person for purposes of conjugation and reflexivity
- If le or les precedes lo, la, los, or las in a clause, it is replaced with se (e.g., Se lo dije instead of Le lo dije)
- Depending on the implicit gender of the object being referred to
- Used primarily in Spain
- Used only in rare circumstances
Anagrams
White Hmong
Etymology
From Proto-Hmong-Mien *ləwX (“to come back”).[1]
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /lɒ˩/
Derived terms
- los nag (“to rain”, literally “come rain”)
References
- Ratliff, Martha (2010) Hmong-Mien language history (Studies in Language Change; 8), Camberra, Australia: Pacific Linguistics, →ISBN, page 276.