loch

[lok, lokh]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR loch ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Scot.

a lake.

a partially landlocked or protected bay; a narrow arm of the sea.

Nearby words

Origin of loch

1350–1400; Middle English (Scots) louch, locht < Scots Gaelic loch, Old Irish loch lake, cognate with Latin lacus, Old English lagu; see lake¹, lough

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for loch

People like me believe it's like the Loch Ness monster: widely spoken about, but nobody has seen it for years.
Mumbai Massacre Perpetrator's Sentence Affirmed|Dilip D’Souza|September 3, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Before he started singing, he was the guitarist for the band Loch Ness.
The World's 9 Best 'Idols'|The Daily Beast Video|April 9, 2010|DAILY BEAST
In “Inverness,” a botanist finds something like faith through an encounter with an obsessed Loch Ness Monster hunter.
Great Reads for the Holidays|Taylor Antrim|December 25, 2009|DAILY BEAST
We rounded the terrible headland, and were floating at ease that evening on the glassy surface of Loch Erribol.
Memoirs of Life and Literature|W. H. Mallock

From the road you perceive, skirting the loch on the other side, what seems a fringe of very small bushes.
Scottish Loch Scenery|Thomas A. Croal
Loch Leven has one lovely gracious memory of Mary in the days before everything was lost.
The Spell of Scotland|Keith Clark
You are aware that two ministers were left on board the Loch Earn.
The Wonders of Prayer|Various
It was certainly a lovely lake, and, with its nicely wooded islands dotting its surface, recalled memories of Loch Lomond.
From John O'Groats to Land's End|Robert Naylor and John Naylor

British Dictionary definitions for loch

loch

noun

a Scot word for lake 1

Also called: sea loch a long narrow bay or arm of the sea in Scotland

Word Origin for loch

C14: from Gaelic

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for loch

loch

late 14c., from Gaelic loch "lake, narrow arm of the sea," cognate with Old Irish loch "body of water, lake," Breton lagen, Anglo-Irish lough, Latin lacus (see lake (n.1)). The Loch Ness monster is first attested 1933.