Lake Definition

lāk

lakes

noun

An inland body of usually fresh water, larger than a pool or pond, generally formed by some obstruction in the course of flowing water.

Webster's New World

A scenic pond, as in a park.

American Heritage

A pool of oil or other liquid.

Webster's New World

A dark-red pigment prepared from cochineal.

Webster's New World

Its color.

Webster's New World

Synonyms:

verb

(chiefly dialectal) To leap, jump, exert oneself, play.

Wiktionary

To make lake-red.

Wiktionary

(obsolete) To play; to sport.

Wiktionary

Other Word Forms of Lake

Noun

Singular:

lake

Plural:

lakes

Origin of Lake

From Middle English lake (“lake, watercourse, body of water”), from Old English lacu (“lake, pond, pool, stream, watercourse”), from Proto-Germanic *lakō, *lōkiz (“stream, pool, water aggregation", originally "ditch, drainage, seep”), from Proto-Germanic *lekaną (“to leak, drain”), from Proto-Indo-European *leg-, *leǵ- (“to leak”). Cognate with Scots lake (“pond, pool, flowing water of a stream”), Dutch laak (“lake, pond, stream”), Middle Low German lāke (“standing water, water pooled in a riverbed”), German Lache (“pool, puddle”), Icelandic lækur (“stream, brook, flow”). See also leak, leach.

From Wiktionary
Despite their similarity in form and meaning, English lake is not related to Latin lacus (“hollow, lake, pond”), Scottish Gaelic loch (“lake”), Ancient Greek λάκκος (lákkos, “waterhole, tank, pond, pit”), all from Proto-Indo-European *lakʷ- (“lake, pool”). Instead, this root is represented by Old English lagu (“sea, flood, water, ocean”), through Proto-Germanic *laguz, *lahō (“sea, water”), perhaps related to Albanian lag (“to water, make wet, moisturize”). See lay.

From Wiktionary
From Middle English lake, lak, lac (also loke, laik, layke), from Old English lāc (“play, sport, strife, battle, sacrifice, offering, gift, present, booty, message”), from Proto-Germanic *laiką (“play, fight”), *laikaz (“game, dance, hymn, sport”), from Proto-Indo-European *loig-, *leig- (“to bounce, shake, tremble”). Cognate with Old High German leih (“song, melody, music”) and Albanian luaj (“I move, play”). More at lay.

From Wiktionary
From French laque (“lacquer”), from Persian لاک (lāk), from Hindi lakh, from Sanskrit laksha (“one hundred thousand”), referring to the number of insects that gather on the trees and make the resin seep out.

From Wiktionary
Middle English from Old French lac and from Old English lacu both from Latin lacus

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
From French laque lac¹

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
From Old English lachen

From Wiktionary
Compare lek.

From Wiktionary