los

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

Translingual

Symbol

los

1. (international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Loniu.

See also

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Loniu terms

English

Etymology 1

Inherited 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.

Alternative forms

• losse

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /lɒs/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /lɑs/
• Rhymes: -ɒs
• Homophone: loss

Noun

los (plural loses)

1. (obsolete) A medium-sized wildcat, most of them part of the genus Lynx.

   Synonym: lynx

Etymology 2

Inherited from Middle English los, from Old English los, from Proto-Germanic *lusą, from Proto-Indo-European *lews-.

Noun

los (plural loses)

1. Obsolete form of loss.

Etymology 3

Noun

los (uncountable)

1. Alternative form of loos (“praise; fame; reputation”).

Anagrams

• LOS, LSO, sol, SOL, SLO, OSL, OLS

Achang

Etymology

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ləʔ (“to come”).

Pronunciation

• (Myanmar) /lɔ˧˩/
• (Lianghe) [lɑʔ⁵⁵]
• (Luxi) [la³¹]
• (Xiandao) [lɔ⁵⁵]

Verb

los

1. to come

Further reading

• Inglis, Douglas, Sampu, Nasaw, Jaseng, Wilai, Jana, Thocha (2005) A preliminary Ngochang–Kachin–English Lexicon‎^[2], Payap University, page 74

Afrikaans

Etymology

Inherited from Dutch lossen.

Verb

los (present los, present participle losende, past participle gelos)

1. to leave, abandon

Aragonese

Etymology

Derived from Latin illos (“those ones”).

Pronoun

los

1. them (masculine direct object)

Synonyms

• es

Asturian

Alternative forms

• llos (archaic)

Etymology

Inherited from Latin illōs, from ille.

Article

los m pl (masculine sg el, feminine sg la, neuter sg lo, feminine plural les)

1. (definite) the

Catalan

Pronunciation

• (Central) IPA^(key): /lus/
• (Valencia) IPA^(key): /los/

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin illōs; cf. els.

Pronoun

los (enclitic, contracted 'ls, proclitic els)

1. them (masculine, direct or indirect object)

   perdoneu-los ― forgive them

   doneu-los una moneda ― give them a coin

2. them (feminine, indirect object only)

   digueu-los la veritat ― tell them the truth

Usage notes

• -los is the full (plena) form of the pronoun. It is normally used after verbs ending with a consonant or ⟨u⟩.

Declension

Etymology 2

Inherited from Latin illōs, from ille.

Article

los m pl

1. masculine plural of lo

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈlos]
• Rhymes: -os

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *ȏlsь. Cognate with English elk, German Elch.

Noun

los m anim

1. elk (British), moose (U.S.)

Declension

Etymology 2

Borrowed from German Los, from Middle High German lōz, from Old High German hlōz, from Proto-West Germanic *hlaut, from Proto-Germanic *hlautaz, ablaut variant of *hlutą.

Noun

los m inan

1. lottery ticket

Declension

References

Further reading

• “los”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “los”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989

Danish

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Norse lauss.

Adjective

los

1. loose

Etymology 2

Derived from Middle Low German los, from Old Saxon lohs, from Proto-West Germanic *luhs.

Noun

los c (singular definite lossen, plural indefinite losser)

1. lynx

Inflection

Etymology 3

Deverbal from losse, itself from Low German lossen, from Middle Low German lossen, from the adjective los (“loose”) and thus related to Etymology 1 above.

Noun

los n (singular definite losset, plural indefinite los)

1. to unload something
2. kick

Inflection

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lɔs/
• Hyphenation: los
• Rhymes: -ɔs

Etymology 1

Inherited from Middle Dutch los, from Old Dutch *los, from Proto-West Germanic *lus (a-stem), from Proto-Germanic *lusaz, related to *lausaz.

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)

1. loose

2. separate, individual

Declension

Derived terms

Descendants

• Berbice Creole Dutch: losi
• → Papiamentu: lòs, los

Etymology 2

Inherited 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. Doublet of lynx.

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)

1. (dated) lynx (specifically the Eurasian lynx, Lynx lynx)

   Synonym: lynx

Alternative forms

• losch (obsolete)

Derived terms

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

los

1. inflection of lossen:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
   3. imperative

References

Anagrams

• sol

Dutch Low Saxon

Etymology

Inherited from Middle Low German and Old Saxon lōs, from Proto-West Germanic *laus, cognate with Dutch los and English loose.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɔs

Adjective

los

1. open

Franco-Provençal

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin illōs.

Alternative forms

• les

Determiner

los m pl

1. masculine plural of lo (“the”)

Pronoun

los m pl (ORB, broad)

1. them (third-person plural masculine accusative)

See also

References

• les in DicoFranPro: Dictionnaire Français/Francoprovençal – on dicofranpro.llm.umontreal.ca
• los in Lo trèsor Arpitan – on arpitan.eu

Etymology 2

Noun

los (Old Dauphinois)

1. Alternative form of lèc (“lake”)

References

• Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002) “lacus”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, volume 5: J L, page 126

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French los, from Latin laus, probably via the nominative singular form.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lo/
• Homophones: lods (general), lot, lots (except regionally)

Noun

los m (plural los)

1. (obsolete) praise; acclaim

   Synonym: (modern) louange

Related terms

• louer

References

• “los”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /loːs/ (standard)
• IPA^(key): /lɔs/ (regionally; chiefly as interjection or when meaning “going on”)

Etymology 1

Inherited from Middle High German and Old High German lōs. Compare English loose.

Adjective

los (strong nominative masculine singular loser, comparative loser, superlative am losesten)

1. (colloquial or dated) Alternative form of lose (“loose”)

Adverb

los (only used in combination with a verb)

1. rid of, free of

   Ich bin meine Erkältung los. ― I've gotten rid of my cold.

2. off, out, used to indicate leaving motion.

   Morgen fahren wir los. ― Tomorrow we head out.

   Ich muss los. ― I have to go.

3. 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?

4. (colloquial, regional, Westphalia, Lower Saxony) open

   Die Tür stand los. ― The door stood open.

Interjection

los

1. come on!, let's go!

   Los! An die Arbeit! ― Come on! Let's get to work!

2. (motor racing) Go!

Derived terms

Related terms

• gelosen

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

los

1. singular imperative of losen

Indonesian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈlɔs]
• Hyphenation: los

Etymology 1

Shortening from losmen (“hostel”).

Noun

los (plural los-los)

1. hostel
2. longhouse

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Dutch loods (“pilot”).

Noun

los (plural los-los)

1. (navigation) pilot boat

Etymology 3

Borrowed from Dutch los (“loose”).

Adjective

los (comparative lebih los, superlative paling los)

1. (colloquial) loose, free

   Synonyms: lepas, bebas

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.

Interlingua

Pronoun

los

1. (accusative, dative) them, those

Ladino

Etymology

Inherited from Old Spanish los (“the; them”), from Latin illōs accusative plural masculine of ille.

Pronunciation

Article

los m pl (Hebrew spelling לוס, singular el, feminine las)

1. masculine plural of el (“the”) [ca. 1510]

Pronoun

los (Hebrew spelling לוס)

1. accusative of eyos; them [ca. 1510]

References

Mauritian Creole

Etymology

Derived from French loche (dialectal).

Noun

los

1. slug

References

• Baker, Philip & Hookoomsing, Vinesh Y. (1987). Dictionnaire de créole mauricien. Morisyen – English – Français

Middle Dutch

Etymology

Inherited from Old Dutch *los, from Proto-West Germanic *laus (“loose, free”).

Adjective

los

1. loose, free
2. free, not encumbered
3. having lost, robbed

Inflection

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

Alternative forms

• lose, losse

Etymology

Inherited from Old English los.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lɔs/, /lɔːs/

Noun

los (uncountable)

1. loss

Descendants

• English: loss
• Scots: los, lose, lois
• Yola: lass

References

• “lō̆s, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Middle Scots

Alternative forms

• loz

Etymology

Inherited 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.

Noun

los

1. lynx

References

• “los, n.”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC.

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

Borrowed from Low German lots (short form of lotsman); compare with German Lotse.

Noun

los m (definite singular losen, indefinite plural loser, definite plural losene)

1. (nautical) a pilot (person who guides ships in and out of a harbour)

References

• “los” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

Noun

los m (definite singular losen, indefinite plural losar, definite plural losane)

1. Alternative spelling of lós

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• Homophones: lòs, lås

Noun

los n (definite singular loset, indefinite plural los, definite plural losa)

1. Alternative spelling of lòs

Occitan

Etymology

Inherited from Latin illōs, from ille.

Pronunciation

Article

los (singular lo, feminine la, feminine plural las)

1. the; masculine plural definite article

Old Dutch

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *laus, from Proto-Germanic *lausaz.

Adjective

lōs

1. deceitful, malicious, false
2. empty, deserted
3. loose, unstable

Inflection

Derived terms

• lōsen

Descendants

• Middle Dutch: lôos
  • Dutch: loos
    • Afrikaans: los

References

• “lōs”, in Oudnederlands Woordenboek, 2012

Old English

Etymology

Inherited 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/

Noun

los n (nominative plural los)

1. loss
2. destruction

Declension

Strong a-stem:

Derived terms

• losian

Descendants

• Middle English: los, lose, losse
  • English: loss
  • Scots: los, lose, lois
  • Yola: lass

Old French

Etymology

See the verb loer (“to laud”).

Noun

los oblique singular, m (oblique plural los, nominative singular los, nominative plural los)

1. glory; positive reputation

Descendants

• French: los

Old High German

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-West Germanic *laus, see also Old English lēas, Old Norse lauss.

Adjective

lōs

1. loose

Old Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from Old High German hlōz, from Proto-West Germanic *hlaut. First attested in the 14th century.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (10^th–15^th CE) /lʲɔs/
• IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /lʲɔs/

Noun

los m inan (related adjective losowy)

1. (attested in Lesser Poland) lot (thing used for determining chances)
2. (attested in Lesser Poland) drawing lots (act of determining using lots)

Descendants

• Polish: los
• Silesian: los

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, Ewa Deptuchowa, Joanna Duska, Mariusz Frodyma, Beata Hejmo, Dorota Janeczko, Katarzyna Jasińska, Krystyna Kajtoch, Joanna Kozioł, Marian Kucała, Dorota Mika, Gabriela Niemiec, Urszula Poprawska, Elżbieta Supranowicz, Ludwika Szelachowska-Winiarzowa, Zofia Wanicowa, Piotr Szpor, Bartłomiej Borek, editors (2011–2015), “los”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN

Old Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Latin illōs accusative plural masculine of ille.

Article

los m pl (singular el, feminine las)

1. masculine plural of el (“the”)

Pronoun

los

1. accusative of ellos; them

Descendants

• Ladino: los, לוס
• Spanish: los

Polish

Etymology

Inherited from Old Polish los. Doublet of lotto.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɔs
• Syllabification: los

Noun

los m inan (related adjective losowy)

1. (uncountable) fate (presumed cause, force, principle, or divine will that predetermines events)
2. (countable) fate (effect, consequence, outcome, or inevitable events predetermined by this cause)

   Synonym: dola

3. (countable) fate (event or a situation which is inevitable in the fullness of time; destiny)

   Synonym: przeznaczenie

4. (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)
   1. lottery ticket
   2. (Middle Polish) gambling

      Synonym: hazard

   3. (Middle Polish, figuratively) trick, ploy, ruse (action intended to deceive or swindle)

      Synonym: sztuczka

5. (Middle Polish) cut, inheritance, property received by lot
6. (Middle Polish) person of dialogue

Declension

Derived terms

Descendants

• → Belarusian: лёс (ljos)

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.

References

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

Pronoun

los

1. 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

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Irish los, from Proto-Celtic *lustā, from the Proto-Indo-European root *lew- (“to divide, to split”). Cognate with Welsh llost.

Noun

los m (genitive singular lois)

1. purpose, intention
2. control
3. (obsolete) tail, end

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Shortening of a los.

Conjunction

los

1. in order to

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Borrowed from Russian лось (losʹ), from Proto-Slavic *ȏlsь. First attested in the 19th century.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lôs/

Noun

lȍs m (Cyrillic spelling ло̏с)

1. moose
2. elk

Declension

References

Further reading

• “los”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2025

Silesian

Etymology

Inherited from Old Polish los.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlɔs/
• Rhymes: -ɔs
• Syllabification: los

Noun

los m inan

1. fate (presumed cause, force, principle, or divine will that predetermines events)
2. lot (slip of paper used in determining a question by chance, or without human choice or will)

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

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *olsь.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lóːs/

Noun

lọ̑s m anim

1. elk, moose

Declension

Further reading

• “los”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU (in Slovene), 2014–2025

Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Old Spanish los (“the; them”), from Latin illōs accusative plural masculine of ille.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /los/ [los]
• Rhymes: -os
• Syllabification: los

Article

los m pl (singular el, feminine las)

1. masculine plural of el (“the”)

Related terms

Pronoun

los

1. accusative of ellos; them
2. accusative of ustedes (when referring to more than one man); you all (formal or (Latin America) informal)
3. plural masculine or neuter pronoun

See also

Anagrams

• sol

Swedish

Noun

los

1. indefinite genitive singular of lo

Anagrams

• Sol, sol

White Hmong

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Hmong-Mien *ləwX (“to come back”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lɒ˩/

Verb

los

1. to come, return (to one's home or to a place where one resides)

   Synonym: tuaj

Derived terms

References

• Heimbach, Ernest E. (1979) White Hmong — English Dictionary‎^[8], SEAP Publications, →ISBN.

Zazaki

Etymology

Compare Armenian լոշ (loš).

Noun

los (genitive singular losi)

1. lavash