lout
pronunciation
How to pronounce lout in British English:
UK [laʊt]
How to pronounce lout in American English:
US [laʊt]
-
- Noun:
- an awkward stupid person
Word Origin
- lout (n.)
- 1540s, "awkward fellow, clown, bumpkin," perhaps from a dialectal survival of Middle English louten (v.) "bow down" (c. 1300), from Old English lutan "bow low," from Proto-Germanic *lut- "to bow, bend, stoop" (cognates: Old Norse lutr "stooping," which might also be the source of the modern English word), from PIE *leud- "to lurk" (cognates: Gothic luton "to deceive," Old English lot "deceit), also "to be small" (see little). Non-Germanic cognates probably include Lithuanian liudeti "to mourn;" Old Church Slavonic luditi "to deceive," ludu "foolish." Sense of "cad" is first attested 1857 in British schoolboy slang.
Example
- 1. She 's a good lawyer , lout her fees are astronomical .
- 2. I can 't guarantee I 'll be there on time , lout I 'll try .
- 3. This lout guards the crypt like a cerberus .
- 4. Some of the films on tv would scare the heel lout of adults as well as children .
- 5. His aunt pursed her lips in contempt , and said : " you great clumsy , country lout . How can I afford , with all my family , to buy you new books five times a month ? "