luff
pronunciation
How to pronounce luff in British English:
UK [lʌf]
How to pronounce luff in American English:
US [lʌf]
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- Noun:
- sailing close to the wind
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- Verb:
- sail close to the wind
- flap when the wind is blowing equally on both sides
Word Origin
- luff
- luff: see aloof
- luff (n.)
- c. 1200, in sailing, from Old French lof "spar," or some other nautical device, "point of sail," also "windward side," probably from Germanic (compare Middle Dutch lof "windward side of a ship" (Dutch loef), which might also be the direct source of the English word), from Proto-Germanic *lofo (cognates: Old Norse lofi, Gothic lofa "palm of the hand," Danish lab, Swedish labb "paw"), from PIE *lep- "to be flat" (see glove). As a verb from late 14c., from the noun.
Example
- 1. Art luff is not a marketing genius or guru .
- 2. Peter luff mp , chairman of the business and enterprise committee .
- 3. On a mainsail , the luff attaches to the mast .
- 4. Mr. robert luff executive vice president , chief technology officer nielsen media research .
- 5. Peter luff , the tory head of an influential commons committee , said reforms to the legal system for investigating companies should be considered in the wake of the inquiry .