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lukewarm

adj
/ˌluːkˈwɔːm/UK/ˌlukˈwɔɹm/US

Etymology

From Middle English leukwarm, lukewarm (“lukewarm, tepid”), equivalent to luke (“lukewarm”) + warm. Compare Saterland Frisian luukwoarm (“lukewarm”), German Low German luukwarm (“lukewarm”); first element is related to Dutch leuk (“lukewarm”), as in leukwater (“lukewarm water”). Compare also West Frisian lijwarm (“lukewarm”), Afrikaans louwarm (“lukewarm”), German Low German lowarm, luwarm (“lukewarm”), German lauwarm (“lukewarm”). First element believed to be an alteration of Middle English lew (“tepid”) (> English dialectal lew), from Old English *hlēowe (“warm, sunny”), from Proto-Germanic *hliwjaz, *hlēwaz, *hlūmaz, *hleumaz (“warm”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱal(w)e-, *ḱel(w)e-, *k(')lēw- (“warm, hot”). Cognate with Dutch lauw (“tepid”), German lau (“lukewarm”), Faroese lýggjur (“warm”), Swedish ljum (“lukewarm”), ljummen (“lukewarm”) and ly (“warm”), Danish lummer (“muggy”), Danish and Norwegian lunken (“tepid”), dialectal Swedish ljummen (“lukewarm”).

  1. derived from *ḱal(w)e-✻
  2. derived from *hliwjaz✻
  3. derived from *hlēowe✻ — “warm, sunny”
  4. derived from lew
  5. inherited from leukwarm

Definitions

  1. Between warm and cool.

    • Wash it in lukewarm water.
    • My curry is lukewarm.

  2. Unenthusiastic (about a proposal or an idea).

    • The suggestion met with only a lukewarm response.
    • The centre-vestibule "open" type of coach, which met with a very lukewarm reception when first introduced over half-a-century ago, is now used in increasing numbers as a non-dining vehicle.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for lukewarm. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

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