Lace and Delicious Come From the Same Latin Word
Lace is a delicate openwork fabric. Its Latin root meant a snare, and it produced some surprising relatives.
Lace is a fine openwork fabric, and also a cord for fastening a shoe. Latin *laqueus* meant a noose or snare, and the cord sense came first — lace was something that tied. The same root gives *delicious* and *delight*, through *delicere*, to entice or lure, since a snare and a temptation do the same job. *To lace* a drink with spirits is from the 1600s, from the idea of threading something through.
- An openwork fabric. *Lace curtains.*
- A fastening cord. *Shoe laces.*
- To add spirits. *Laced with rum.*
- Delicious — the same root. *Delicious.*
- Latin — *laqueus*, a snare. *The root.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | lace | Lace. |
| Plural | laces | Laces. |
| Verb | lace | Lacing. |
| Adjective | lacy | Lacy. |
| Latin | laqueus | A snare. |
- The collar was trimmed with lace.Fabric.
- Tie your laces.Cord.
- Coffee laced with brandy.Verb.
The laqueus family
- Lace — something that ties
- Lasso — a rope noose, through Spanish
- Delight — from being lured away
- Delicious — from the same enticing
- Latch — from a separate root, despite the resemblance
Old French *laz*, from Latin *laqueus*, a noose or snare.
Are lace and delicious related?
Yes. Both come from Latin laqueus, a snare, through the verb delicere meaning to entice or lure away.
Which sense of lace came first?
The cord. Lace meant something that ties before it named the decorative openwork fabric.