loath
/loʊθ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.67 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Averse, disinclined; reluctant, unwilling. Always followed by a verbal phrase.
Example Sentences
- "I was loath to return to the office without the Henderson file."
- "Then ſaid Faint-heart, Deliver thy Purſe; but he making no haſte to do it (for he was loth to loſe his Money,) Miſtrust ran up to him, and thruſting his hand into his Pocket, pull'd out thence a bag of Silver."
- "Frankville, whoſe only Fault was raſhneſs, grew almoſt wild at the Recital of ſo unexpected a Misfortune, he knew not for a good while what to believe, loath he was to ſuſpect the Count, but loather to ſuſpect Camilla, yet flew into extremities of Rage againſt both, by turns: […]"
- ""And thereupon I pledge thee," said the young nobleman, "which on any other argument I were loth to do—thinking of Ned as somewhat the cut of a villain.""
- "Of all the people in the world our countrymen are the loathest to give away their money without some reasonable quid pro quo; […]"
- "If I to wed the girl am loth / A breach 'twill surely be—"
Etymology
From Middle English lōth (“loath; averse, hateful”), from Old English lāð, lāþ (“evil; loathsome”), or Old Norse leið, leiðr (“uncomfortable; tired”) from Proto-Germanic *laiþaz (“loath; hostile; sad, sorry”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂leyt- (“to do something abhorrent or hateful”). The word is cognate with Danish led (“disgusting, loathsome; nasty”), Dutch leed (“sad; (Belgium) angry”), French laid (“ugly; morally corrupt”), Catalan lleig (“ugly”), Icelandic leiður (“annoyed, vexed; sad; (archaic or poetic) annoying, wearisome”), Italian laido (“filthy, foul; obscene”), Old Frisian leed, Old High German leid (Middle High German leit, modern German leid (“uncomfortable”), Leid (“grief, sorrow, woe; affliction, suffering; harm, injury; wrong”)), Old Saxon lêð, lēth (“evil person or thing”), Swedish led (“bored; tired; (archaic) disgusting, loathsome; evil”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *h₂leyt-, lōth, lāð, leið, *laiþaz
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /loʊθ/
- British English: /ləʊθ/
Usage
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antonym(s) of