Loos

[ loos ]

/ lus /

noun

A·dolf

[ey-dolf; German ah-dawlf] /ˈeɪ dɒlf; German ˈɑ dɔlf/, 1870–1933, Austrian architect and writer.

Anita,1893–1981, U.S. writer.

Nearby words

lonk, lonnie, lons-le-saunier, lonsdale, lonsdale belt, Loos, loo mask, looby, looey, loof, loofah

Definition for loos (2 of 5)

loo

[ loo ]

/ lu /

noun, plural loos.

a card game in which forfeits are paid into a pool.

the forfeit or sum paid into the pool.

the fact of being looed.

verb (used with object), looed, loo·ing.

to subject to a forfeit at loo.

Origin of loo

1665–75; short for lanterloo < Dutch lanterlu < French lantur(e)lu, special use of meaningless refrain of an old song

Definition for loos (3 of 5)

loo

[ loo ]

/ lu /

noun, plural loos. British Informal.

toilet.

Origin of loo

First recorded in 1935–40; of uncertain origin

Definition for loos (4 of 5)

loo

[ loo ]

/ lu /

verb (used with or without object), looed, loo·ing, noun, plural loos. Chiefly Northern U.S.

low².

Definition for loos (5 of 5)

loo

⁴

[ loo ]

/ lu /

Scot.

noun, plural loos, verb (used with or without object), looed, loo·ing.

love.

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

Examples from the Web for loos

Our daily work was making reserve defences, trenches, deep dugouts, and machine-gun emplacements between Vermelles and Loos.
Q.6.a and Other places|Francis Buckley
They were the men who had surrendered from deep dugouts in the trenches between us and Loos and from the cellars of Loos itself.
Now It Can Be Told|Philip Gibbs
To reach them one had to pass through Maroc and along a road on the outskirts of Loos.
The Great War As I Saw It|Frederick George Scott
The Loos offensive was no exception, and for many days anxious thoughts and prayers had filled our hearts.
On the King's Service|Innes Logan

The British have taken four lines of German trenches for a distance of over five miles in the vicinity of Loos.
Trenching at Gallipoli|John Gallishaw

British Dictionary definitions for loos (1 of 4)

Loos

/ (German luːs) /

noun

Adolf (ˈadolf). 1870–1933, Austrian architect: a pioneer of modern architecture, noted for his plain austere style in such buildings as Steiner House, Vienna (1910)

British Dictionary definitions for loos (2 of 4)

loo

/ (luː) /

noun plural loos

British an informal word for lavatory (def. 1)

Word Origin for loo

C20: perhaps from French lieux d'aisance water closet

British Dictionary definitions for loos (3 of 4)

loo

/ (luː) /

noun plural loos

a gambling card game

a stake used in this game

Word Origin for loo

C17: shortened form of lanterloo, via Dutch from French lanterelu, originally a meaningless word from the refrain of a popular song

British Dictionary definitions for loos (4 of 4)

loo

/ (luː) /

verb

a variant spelling of lou

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 loos (1 of 2)

loo

n.1

"lavatory," 1940, but perhaps 1922, probably from French lieux d'aisances, "lavatory," literally "place of ease," picked up by British servicemen in France during World War I. Or possibly a pun on Waterloo, based on water closet.

Word Origin and History for loos (1 of 2)

loo

n.2

type of card game, 1670s, short for lanterloo (1660s), from French lanturelu, originally (1620s) the refrain of a popular comic song; according to French sources the refrain expresses a mocking refusal or an evasive answer and was formed on the older word for a type of song chorus, turelure; apparently a jingling reduplication of loure "bagpipe" (perhaps from Latin lura "bag, purse").

From its primary signification -- a kind of bagpipe inflated from the mouth -- the word 'loure' came to mean an old dance, in slower rhythm than the gigue, generally in 6-4 time. As this was danced to the nasal tones of the 'loure,' the term 'loure' was gradually applied to any passage meant to be played in the style of the old bagpipe airs. ["Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians," London, 1906]

The refrain sometimes is met in English as turra-lurra.

Loos

noun

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Definition for loos (2 of 5)

loo

noun, plural loos.

verb (used with object), looed, loo·ing.

Origin of loo

Definition for loos (3 of 5)

loo

noun, plural loos. British Informal.

Origin of loo

Definition for loos (4 of 5)

loo

verb (used with or without object), looed, loo·ing, noun, plural loos. Chiefly Northern U.S.

Definition for loos (5 of 5)

loo

noun, plural loos, verb (used with or without object), looed, loo·ing.

Examples from the Web for loos

British Dictionary definitions for loos (1 of 4)

Loos

noun

British Dictionary definitions for loos (2 of 4)

loo

noun plural loos

Word Origin for loo

British Dictionary definitions for loos (3 of 4)

loo

noun plural loos

Word Origin for loo

British Dictionary definitions for loos (4 of 4)

loo

verb

Word Origin and History for loos (1 of 2)

loo

Word Origin and History for loos (1 of 2)

loo