lout

¹

[lout]

noun

1. an awkward, stupid person; clumsy, ill-mannered boor; oaf.

verb (used with object)

1. to flout; treat with contempt; scorn.

lout

²

[lout]

verb (used with or without object)

1. to bend, stoop, or bow, especially in respect or courtesy.

lout

¹

/ laʊt /

noun

1. a crude or oafish person; boor

lout

²

/ laʊt /

verb

1. archaic,  (intr) to bow or stoop

Word History and Origins

Origin of lout¹

First recorded in 1540–50; perhaps special use of lout ²

Origin of lout²

1250–1300; Middle English louten, Old English lūtan; cognate with Old Norse lūta; akin to little

Word History and Origins

Origin of lout¹

C16: perhaps from _lout ²

Origin of lout²

Old English lūtan; related to Old Norse lūta

Example Sentences

"The way it was twisted to make her out be a drunken, bigoted wee lout was one of the worst times of my life," recalls her father.

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"It's possible that their lout of a client insisted that the lawyers waste their meeting with general grievances about prosecutorial misconduct that already have been rejected by the courts," tweeted former U.S.

Read more on Salon

He’s a lout, he’s a slob, he’s a mess — and he is enormously fine company on the page.

Read more on New York Times

His name is Neil Gibson, in homage, one assumes, to the cyberpunk writers Neil Stephenson and William Gibson, even though he’s a lout and, to the best of my knowledge, Stephenson and Gibson are not.

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She despises what’s happening to her country, and she deplores some Russian soldiers who are drunks and louts.

Read more on New York Times

Related Words

• brute 
• buffoon 
• bumpkin 
• slob