loop

noun
/luːp/

Etymology

From Middle English loupe (“noose, loop”), earlier lowp-knot (“loop-knot”), of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse hlaup (“a run”), used in the sense of a "running knot", from hlaupa (“to leap”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *hlaupaną (“to leap, run”). Compare Swedish löp-knut (“loop-knot”), Danish løb-knude (“a running knot”), Danish løb (“a course”). More at leap. The verb is derived from the noun.

  1. derived from *hlaupaną — “to leap, run
  2. derived from hlaup
  3. inherited from loupe

Definitions

  1. A length of thread, line or rope that is doubled over to make an opening.

  2. The opening so formed.

  3. A shape produced by a curve that bends around and crosses itself.

    • Arches, loops, and whorls are patterns found in fingerprints.
  4. + 33 more definitions
    1. A process that returns to its beginning and then repeats itself in the same sequence.

      • feedback loop
      • time loop
      • An online feed that constantly “refills” manipulates the brain’s dopaminergic reward system in a similar way. These powerful dopamine-driven loops of endless “seeking” can become addictive.
    2. A ring road or beltway.

    3. An endless strip of tape or film allowing continuous repetition.

      • He can hang out in the back room of the local adult bookstore […] and hope for a stand-up blow-job through the glory hole in the partition of the two booths that show gay loops.
    4. A complete circuit for an electric current.

    5. A programmed sequence of instructions that is repeated until or while a particular…

      A programmed sequence of instructions that is repeated until or while a particular condition is satisfied.

    6. An edge that begins and ends on the same vertex.

    7. A path that starts and ends at the same point.

    8. A bus or rail route, walking route, etc. that starts and ends at the same point.

    9. A place at a terminus where trains or trams can turn round and go back the other way…

      A place at a terminus where trains or trams can turn round and go back the other way without having to reverse; a balloon loop, turning loop, or reversing loop.

      • In 1908 the line was extended to a station called Wood Lane, which was built on a terminal track loop so that trains could turn round and go back the other way, [...]
    10. A passing loop.

    11. A quasigroup with an identity element.

    12. A loop-shaped intrauterine device.

    13. An aerobatic maneuver in which an aircraft flies a circular path in a vertical plane.

    14. A small, narrow opening

      A small, narrow opening; a loophole.

      • And stop all sight-holes, every loop from whence / The eye of Reason may pry in upon us.
    15. Alternative form of loup (“mass of iron”).

    16. A flexible region in a protein's secondary structure.

    17. A sports league

      • Arellano formerly cavorted for the Galicias in the fast-paced National-American Soccer loop.
    18. The curved path of the ball bowled by a spin bowler.

    19. To form something into a loop.

    20. To fasten or encircle something with a loop.

    21. To fly an aircraft in a loop.

    22. To move something in a loop.

    23. To play something (such as a song or video) in a loop.

    24. To join electrical components to complete a circuit.

    25. To duplicate the route of a pipeline.

    26. To create an error in a computer program so that it runs in an endless loop and the…

      To create an error in a computer program so that it runs in an endless loop and the computer freezes up.

    27. To form a loop.

    28. To move in a loop.

      • The program loops until the user presses a key.
      • The outstanding Tom Palmer won a line-out and then charged into the heart of the Welsh defence, scrum-half Ben Youngs moved the ball swiftly right and Cueto's looping pass saw Ashton benefit from a huge overlap to again run in untouched.
    29. To place in a loop.

      • It found that trains often looped on their journey emit 14% to 20% more NOx and particulates than non-stop services.
    30. To have the teacher progress through multiple school years with the same students.

    31. A surname.

    32. The City Loop.

      • Does this train go through the Loop?
    33. Acronym of loss of offsite power.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at loop. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01loop02shape03boundary04limits05limit06converges07converge08iterative

A definitional loop anchored at loop. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

8 hops · closes at loop

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA