Contextualizebeta

luck

noun
/lʌk/UK/lʌk/US/lʊk/

Etymology

From Middle English luk, lukke, related to Old Frisian luk (“luck”), West Frisian gelok (“luck”), Saterland Frisian Gluk (“luck”), Dutch geluk (“luck, happiness”), Low German luk (“luck”), German Glück (“luck, good fortune, happiness”), Danish lykke (“luck”), Swedish lycka (“luck”), Icelandic lukka (“luck”). According to the OED, it may be related to lock. A loanword into English in the 15th century (probably as a gambling term) from Middle Dutch luc, a shortened form of gheluc (“good fortune”), whence Modern Dutch geluk. Middle Dutch luc, gheluc has parallels with Middle High German lücke, gelücke (Modern German Glück). The word occurs only from the 12th century, apparently first in Rhine Frankish. Perhaps from a Frankish *galukki. The word enters standard Middle High German during the 13th century, and spreads to English and Scandinavian in the Late Middle Ages. Its origin seems to have been regional or dialectal, and there were competing German words such as gevelle or schick, or the Latinate fortūne from Latin fortūna. Its etymology is unknown, although there are numerous proposals as to its derivations from a number of roots. Use as a verb in American English is late (1940s), but there was a Middle English verb lukken (“to chance, to happen by good fortune”) in the 15th century.

  1. derived from *galukki✻
  2. derived from luc
  3. inherited from luk

Definitions

  1. Something that happens to someone by chance, a chance occurrence.

    • The raffle is just a matter of luck.
    • Gilbert had some bad luck yesterday — he got pick-pocketed and lost fifty dollars.

  2. A superstitious feeling that brings fortune or success.

    • He blew on the dice for luck.
    • I wish you lots of luck for the exam tomorrow.
    • Shepard: We better get moving. Dr. Warren: Good luck, Commander. Dr. Manuel: Luck won't save you.

  3. Success.

    • I tried for ages to find a pair of blue suede shoes, but didn't have any luck.
    • He has a lot of luck with the ladies. Perhaps it's because of his new motorbike.
  4. ›+ 3 more definitions

    1. The results of a random number generator.

      • The creators of tool-assisted speedruns often manipulate luck to get the most favorable results in order to save the most time.

    2. To find something through good fortune

      To find something through good fortune; used with into, on, onto or upon.

      • I lucked upon a seat, settled in, nodded off and 20 minutes later heard my name being called by the admitting nurse.
      • But then I lucked on a backpackers' lodge lying half-hidden behind some trees right next to the road. It was a considerable relief to both my mind and my muscles.

    3. A surname transferred from the given name.

The neighborhood

Derived

as luck may have it, as luck would have it, bad luck, beginner's luck, be in luck, best of British luck, best of luck, better luck next time, break luck, chuck-a-luck, devil's luck, down on one's luck, down upon one's luck, dumb luck, fisherman's luck, good luck, hard luck, hard-luck, hard-luck story, here's luck, ill luck, ill-luck, just my luck, lady luck, luck ball, luckbox, luck dragon, lucker, luckful, luckless, luckling, luck of the devil, luck of the draw, luck of the Irish, luck out, luck penny, lucksome, lucky, lucky break, make one's own luck · +23 more

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at luck. 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.

01luck02brings03bring04supply05available06readily07easily08anxiety09concern10happiness

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

10 hops · closes at luck

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