Origin of the word "lake": Difference between revisions

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-The word ''lake'' has a complicated and, in part, an uncertain history due to a merging of inherited Middle English ''[https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/middle-english-dictionary/dictionary/MED24590/track?counter=1&search_id=23362984 lake]'', ("small stream of running water, pool, lake"), with Middle English ''lac'' ("lake"), which comes from Old French ''[[wiktionary:lac#Old_French|lac]]'' ("lake") or Latin ''[[wiktionary:lacus#Latin|lacus]]'' ("lake, pond, basin, reservoir").
+The word ''lake'' has a complicated and, in part, an uncertain history due to a merging of inherited Middle English ''[https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/middle-english-dictionary/dictionary/MED24590/track?counter=1&search_id=23362984 lāk(e]'' ("small stream of running water, pool, lake"), with Middle English ''lac'' ("lake"), which comes from Old French ''[[wiktionary:lac#Old_French|lac]]'' ("lake") or Latin ''[[wiktionary:lacus#Latin|lacus]]'' ("lake, pond, basin, reservoir").
 The Middle English ''lake'' ("stream, pool, lake") is related to Dutch ''[[wiktionary:laak#Dutch|laak]]'' ("stream, drainage ditch, pond"), Low German ''[[wiktionary:Lake#German_Low_German|Lake, Laak]]'' ("drainage, marshland"), German ''[[wiktionary:Lache#German|Lache]]'' ("puddle, pool"), Icelandic ''[[wiktionary:lækur#Icelandic|lækur]]'' ("stream"), and comes from the original reconstructed Proto-Indo-European root word ''[[wiktionary:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/leg-|*leg-]]'', which means ("to leak"). The descendants of this word follow more than one lineage. However, below shows the progression through the Germanic/English lineage. Words in '''bold''' shows the merging period:
 *Proto-Germanic ''[[wiktionary:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/lakō|*lakō]]'' → leak, drain, puddle, pool, lake (+ others)
 **Proto-West Germanic ''[[wiktionary:Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/laku|*laku]]'' → stream, pool or lake
 ***Old English: ''[[wiktionary:lacu#Old English|lacu]]'' → pool, pond, expanse of water, or lake
-****Middle English: '''''[https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/middle-english-dictionary/dictionary/MED24590/track?counter=1&search_id=23368488 lāke, lac]''''' → expanse of water, lake, pond, pool, reservoir (+ others)
+****Middle English: '''''[https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/middle-english-dictionary/dictionary/MED24590/track?counter=1&search_id=23368488 lac, lāk(e]''''' → expanse of water, lake, pond, pool, reservoir (+ others)
 *****English: ''[[wiktionary:lake#English|lake]]'' → a large, landlocked stretch of water or similar liquid
 From the original reconstructed Proto-Indo-European root word ''[[wiktionary:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/lókus|lókus]]'', which means ("pond, pool"), the descendants of this word follow the progression through the Italic/French lineage:
 *Proto-Italic ''[[wiktionary:Reconstruction:Proto-Italic/lakus|lakus]]'' → lake
 **Latin ''[[wiktionary:lacus#Latin|lacus]]'' → lake, pond, basin, reservoir
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 *****Norman ''[[wiktionary:lac#Norman|lac]]'' → lake (from {{w1|Jersey}})
-The displacement of Old French ''lai'' could have been assisted by influence from the early Middle English words ''lac, lace'', and the Old English word ''lacu'' (“pool, pond, lake”), as a result of ''lac's'' sudden spread in Old French. This was brought about following the annexation of English controlled Normandy into the kingdom of France in 1204. A full-out borrowing of the term from Middle English rather than from the Latin is also not an impossibility, as the earliest attestations of Old French ''lac'' are in the {{w1|Eadwine Psalter}} (written by Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Norman scribes in England) and {{w1|Erec and Enide}} (an Arthurian romance, whose author was heavily influenced by English, Anglo-Norman, and Celtic writings).<ref>''[[Wiktionary:lac#Old_French|Lac]]''. [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Wiktionary:Main_Page Wiktionary] Accessed 27 April, 2023.</ref>
+The displacement of Old French ''lai'' could have been assisted by influence from the early Middle English words ''lac, lace'', and the Old English word ''lacu'' ("pool, pond, lake"), as a result of ''lac's'' sudden spread in Old French. This was brought about following the annexation of English controlled Normandy into the kingdom of France in 1204. A full-out borrowing of the term from Middle English rather than from the Latin is also not an impossibility, as the earliest attestations of Old French ''lac'' are in the {{w1|Eadwine Psalter}} (written by Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Norman scribes in England) and {{w1|Erec and Enide}} (an Arthurian romance, whose author was heavily influenced by English, Anglo-Norman, and Celtic writings).<ref>''[[Wiktionary:lac#Old_French|Lac]]''. [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Wiktionary:Main_Page Wiktionary] Accessed 27 April, 2023.</ref>
-''Lake'' in the present instance is simply a large body of water that is completely surrounded by land, which easily describes all of the big lakes in the Lake District regardless of location.
+''Lake'' in the present instance is simply a large body of water that is completely surrounded by land, which easily describes all of the big lakes in the Lake District regardless of location. This could also be taken to mean any of the largest tarns, which in their own right are fairly large bodies of water surrounded by land, however, this can be a somewhat grey area and the crossover between lake and tarn, especially regarding size, is ambiguous.
 ==Dictionaries used==