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Loon
Definitions
- 1 A municipality of Bohol, Philippines.
- 1 A crazy or deranged person; a lunatic. slang
"An electric fire came next, followed by an umbrella and then a colander. "This bowl will carry no water," he muttered. "Some loon hath pierced it with holes.""
- 2 Any of various birds, of the order Gaviiformes, of North America and Europe that dive for fish and have a short tail, webbed feet and a yodeling cry. Canada, US
"The Loone is an ill ſhap'd thing like a Cormorant; but that he can neyther goe nor flye; he maketh a noiſe ſometimes like a Sovvgelders horne."
- 3 large somewhat primitive fish-eating diving bird of the Northern Hemisphere having webbed feet placed far back; related to the grebes wordnet
- 4 An idler, a lout. obsolete
"The diuell damne thee blacke, thou cream-fac'd Loone: Where got'ſt thou that Gooſe-looke."
- 5 a worthless lazy fellow wordnet
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 A boy, a lad. Scotland, Ulster
- 7 a person with confused ideas; incapable of serious thought wordnet
- 8 A harlot; mistress. Scotland
- 9 A simpleton. Scotland
- 10 An English soldier of an expeditionary army in Ireland. Ireland, historical
- 11 A round area of pavement that protrudes from one side of a road to accommodate turning vehicles with a wide turning circle.
Etymology
From Middle English louen, lowen (“rascal; rogue”), probably of Middle Dutch or Middle Low German origin. Compare Dutch loen (“simpleton”). Or, related to etymology 2, due to the bird's loud cry. Folk etymology associates it slang-wise with lunatic, though the latter may have influenced it; see loony.
Of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse lómr (“loon”), ultimately imitative of the bird's cry, particularly when it's in danger. Distantly related to lament, probably sharing Proto-Indo-European *leh₂- (expressive root).
See also for "loon"
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