look

English Online Dictionary. What means look‎? What does look mean?

English

Etymology

From Middle English loken, lokien, from Old English lōcian, from Proto-West Germanic *lōkōn. Further origin unknown, no certain cognates outside Germanic. Cognate with Scots luke, luik, leuk (“to look, see”), West Frisian lôkje, loaitsje (“to look”), Dutch loeken (“to look”), German Low German löken. Likely also related to German lugen (“to peek”), Alemannic German luege (“to look”), Yiddish לוגן (lugn). Possibly related to Sanskrit लोक् (lok, “to see, behold”) (from Proto-Indo-European *lewk- (“light”) in the sense of "illuminating" (cf. related word रुच् (ruc) "to shine, illuminate")).

Pronunciation

• enPR: lo͝ok, IPA^(key): /lʊk/
  • Homophone: luck (most of Northern England)
• (some Northern Enɡlish dialects, esp. Bolton, Geordie) IPA^(key): /luːk/ (formerly more widespread)
  • (Liverpool variant) IPA^(key): [luːx]
• (Scotland, Northern Ireland) IPA^(key): /lʉk/
  • Homophone: Luke
• Rhymes: -ʊk, -uːk

Verb

look (third-person singular simple present looks, present participle looking, simple past and past participle looked)

1. To try to see, to pay attention to with one’s eyes.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:look

   1. (intransitive) As an intransitive verb, often with "at".

      Troponyms: glance; see also Thesaurus:stare
   2. (transitive, colloquial) As a transitive verb, often in the imperative; chiefly takes relative clause as direct object.
3. To appear, to seem.
4. (copulative) To give an appearance of being.
5. (intransitive, often with "for") To search for, to try to find.
6. To face or present a view.
   • 1769, Benjamin Blayney (editor), King James Bible, Oxford standard text, Ezekiel, xi, 1,

     Moreover the spirit lifted me up, and brought me unto the east gate of the LORD's house, which looketh eastward:
7. To expect or anticipate.
   • 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Fairie Queene, Book VI, Canto XI, 1750, The Works of Edmund Spenser, Volume 4, page 139,
8. (transitive) To express or manifest by a look.
9. (transitive, often with "to") To make sure of, to see to.
10. (dated, sometimes figurative) To show oneself in looking.
11. (transitive, archaic or dialectal) To check, to make sure (of something).
12. (transitive, obsolete) To look at; to turn the eyes toward.
13. (transitive, obsolete) To seek; to search for.
    • c. 1552–1599, Edmund Spenser, unidentified sonnet,

      Looking my love, I go from place to place,
      Like a young fawn that late hath lost the hind;
      And seek each where, where last I saw her face,
      Whose image yet I carry fresh in mind.

14. (transitive, obsolete) To influence, overawe, or subdue by looks or presence.
    • 1692, John Dryden, Cleomenes the Spartan Hero, a Tragedy, Act 3, Scene 1, 1701, The Comedies, Tragedies, and Operas Written by John Dryden, Esq, Volume 2, page 464,

      A Spirit fit to start into an Empire,
      And look the World to Law.
16. (baseball) To look at a pitch as a batter without swinging at it.

Conjugation

Derived terms

Translations

Interjection

look

1. Pay attention.

Synonyms

Translations

Noun

look (plural looks)

1. The action of looking; an attempt to see.

2. (often plural) Physical appearance, visual impression.
3. A facial expression.

Derived terms

Descendants

• → Dutch: look
• → French: look
• → Romanian: look
• → Spanish: look
• → Italian: look

Translations

See also

• cinéma du look

References

• “look”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• kolo, kool

Chinese

Etymology

From English look.

Pronunciation

Noun

look

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) look; physical appearance; visual impression; style; outfit

References

• English Loanwords in Hong Kong Cantonese

Dutch

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch look, from Old Dutch *lōk, from Proto-Germanic *laukaz. Compare Low German look, Look, German Lauch, English leek, Danish løg, Swedish lök. More at leek.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /loːk/
• Hyphenation: look
• Rhymes: -oːk
• Homophone: Look

Noun

look n or m (plural loken, diminutive lookje n)

1. any plant of the genus Allium; leek

Derived terms

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /loːk/
• Hyphenation: look
• Rhymes: -oːk

Verb

look

1. singular past indicative of luiken

Etymology 3

Borrowed from English look.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /luk/
• Hyphenation: look
• Rhymes: -uk

Noun

look m (plural looks)

1. a look, (clothing) style, appearance

Derived terms

• horrorlook

Etymology 4

Related to luiken, cognate with English lock.

Noun

look m (plural loken, diminutive lookje n)

1. a gap, space between barrels or between the strings in rope
2. a section, division (archaic)

Anagrams

• kool

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English look.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /luk/

Noun

look m (plural looks)

1. a style; appearance; look

   Je trouve que son nouveau look ne lui va pas du tout. ― I think his new look doesn't suit him at all.

Derived terms

• relooker
• relooking

Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English look.

Pronunciation

Noun

look m (plural looks)

1. (informal) look; outfit, style (a set of clothing with accessories)

   Synonym: visual

   Amei seu look. ― I love your outfit.

Romanian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English look.

Noun

look n (plural lookuri)

1. look

Declension

Spanish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English look.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈluk/ [ˈluk]
• Rhymes: -uk

Noun

look m (plural looks)

1. (informal) a look; style, appearance

Usage notes

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.

Further reading

• “look”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

Tagalog

Alternative forms

• looc — obsolete, Spanish-based spelling
• luok — nonstandard

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *luquk (“bay”). Compare Ilocano luek, Kapampangan lauk, Cebuano luok, Tausug luuk, and Malay teluk.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog)
  • IPA^(key): /loˈʔok/ [loˈʔok̚]
    • Rhymes: -ok
  • IPA^(key): /ˈloʔok/ [ˈloː.ʔok̚] (obsolete)
    • Homophone: Looc
• Syllabification: lo‧ok

Noun

loók (Baybayin spelling ᜎᜓᜂᜃ᜔)

1. (geography) bay (body of water)

   Synonym: baiya

   Look ng Maynila ― Manila Bay

2. middle part of a bay

Derived terms

See also

Further reading

• “look”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018

Anagrams

• loko