losenge

English

Noun

losenge (plural losenges)

1. Early Modern form of lozenge.

Anagrams

• Gleeson

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old French losenge (“lozenge, rhombus”).

Alternative forms

• losange, losinge, lossenge, lozenge, lozingge

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlɔzɛnd͡ʒ(ə)/, /ˈlɔzand͡ʒ(ə)/

Noun

losenge (plural losenges)

1. lozenge, rhombus
2. (cooking) diamond-shaped cake

Descendants

• English: lozenge
• Scots: lozen

References

• “losenǧe, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 2

Verb

losenge

1. alternative form of losengen

Old French

Etymology 1

From Frankish *lausungu (“lie, deception, flattery”), from Proto-Germanic *lausungō (“release, removal, lack, emptiness, falsehood”). Cognate with Old English lēasung (“falsehood, fiction, hypocrisy, deception, deceitfulness, artice”) (modern English leasing (“lying, fraud, falsehood”)). See also Gothic 𐌻𐌰𐌿𐍃 (laus).

Alternative forms

• losange, lozenge, lozange, lousenge, loseinge, losainge

Noun

losenge oblique singular, f (oblique plural losenges, nominative singular losenge, nominative plural losenges)

2. flattery; especially in order to trick or deceive.

Descendants

• Middle French: losenge, losange

Etymology 2

Uncertain. Perhaps from a special use of Etymology 1 above referring to the shape of slab tombstones containing flattering epithets; or possibly from *lose (“flag-stone”), from Vulgar Latin *lausa. Alternatively from Arabic لَوْزِينَج (lawzīnaj, “a kind of almond confection, sometimes coming in a lozenge-like shape”), itself from Middle Persian [script needed] (lwcynk' /⁠lōzēnag⁠/).

Alternative forms

• loseigne, losinge, lozenge

Noun

losenge oblique singular, f (oblique plural losenges, nominative singular losenge, nominative plural losenges)

1. lozenge (shape)

Descendants

• Middle French: losange, losenge, lozenge
  • French: losange
    • → Portuguese: losango
• → Middle English: losenge, losange, losinge, lossenge, lozenge, lozingge
  • English: lozenge
  • Scots: lozen
• → Italian: losanga
• → Old Occitan: lausange
  • Catalan: losange
  • Occitan: lausange
• → Spanish: losange