loth

See also: Loth and lóð

English

Etymology 1

See loath.

Adjective

loth (comparative lother, superlative lothest)

1. (British) Alternative form of loath

   I was loth to return to the office without the Henderson file.

   • 1614 November 10 (first performance; Gregorian calendar), Beniamin Iohnson [i.e., Ben Jonson], Bartholmew Fayre: A Comedie, […], London: […] I[ohn] B[eale] for Robert Allot, […], published 1631, →OCLC, (please specify the page):

     If there bee never a Servant-monster i' the Fayre, who can helpe it, he sayes ; nor a nest of Antiques ?   Hee is loth to make Nature afraid in his Playes, like those that beget Tales, Tempests, and such like Drolleries, […]

   • 1678, John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress from This World, to That which is to Come: […], London: […] Nath[aniel] Ponder […], →OCLC; reprinted in The Pilgrim’s Progress (The Noel Douglas Replicas), London: Noel Douglas, […], 1928, →OCLC, page 166:

     Then ſaid Faint-heart, Deliver thy Purſe; but he making no haſte to do it (for he was loth to loſe his Money,) Miſtrust ran up to him, and thruſting his hand into his Pocket, pull'd out thence a bag of Silver.

   • 1822, [Walter Scott], chapter IV, in Peveril of the Peak. […], volume III, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC, page 82:

     "And thereupon I pledge thee," said the young nobleman, "which on any other argument I were loth to do—thinking of Ned as somewhat the cut of a villain."

   • 1875, Arthur Sullivan (music), W[illiam] S[chwenck] Gilbert (lyrics), Trial by Jury. A Novel and Original Dramatic Cantata, London: Walter Smith, […], →OCLC, page 15:

     If I to wed the girl am loth / A breach 'twill surely be—

   • 1881, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, “Alas, So Long!”, in Ballads and Sonnets, London: Ellis and White, […], →OCLC, stanza 2, pages 297–298, lines 9–13:

     Ah! dear one, I've been old so long, / It seems that age is loth to part, / Though days and years have never a song, / And, oh! have they still the art / That warmed the pulses of heart to heart?

   • 1951, Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Pardoner’s Tale”, in Nevill Coghill, transl., The Canterbury Tales: Translated into Modern English (Penguin Classics), Penguin Books, published 1977, →ISBN, page 274:

     And, as it happened, reaching up for a sup, / He took a bottle full of poison up / And drank; and his companion, nothing loth, / Drank from it also, and they perished both.

   • 1960 June, R. C. Riley, “The coastal branches of South-East Devon: Part Two”, in Trains Illustrated, page 344:

     Lyme Regis is such a delightful town that I was loth to leave it, […].

   • March 11 2022, David Hytner, “Chelsea are in crisis but there is no will to leave club on their knees”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     They recognise that a strong Chelsea is important for the collective brand. The league, meanwhile, is always loth to create a mess with points deductions, for example. Again, it is not good for the competition.

Usage notes

• The spelling loath is about four times as common as loth in Britain, and about fifty times as common in the United States. Loth had more currency in the US in the 19th century, appearing in Webster’s 1828 dictionary, but not the 1913 edition.
• The word should not be confused with the related verb loathe.

Derived terms

• lothly
• lothness

Etymology 2

From German Loth (obsolete), Lot, later also from Dutch lood, both specific usages of the word for ‘lead’. Doublet of lead.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ləʊt/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊt

Noun

loth (plural loths)

1. (now historical) A measure of weight formerly used in Germany, the Netherlands and some other parts of Europe, equivalent to half of the local ounce. [from 17th c.]
   • 1999, Paracelsus, “Opus Paramirum”, in Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, transl., Essential Readings, North Atlantic Books, page 100:

     It is not a matter of body but of virtues, which is why the fifth essence was invented, of which one loth is superior to the twenty pounds of the body from which it was extracted.

References

• “loth”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Anagrams

• HTOL, Holt, holt

Middle English

Alternative forms

• lothe

Etymology

From Old English lāþ (“hateful”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lɔːθ/

Adjective

loth (comparative lother)

1. loath (averse, disinclined)
2. loath (reluctant, unwilling)
   • 1470–1485 (date produced), Thomas Malory, “Capitulum Quintum”, in [Le Morte Darthur], book IV, [London: […] by William Caxton], published 31 July 1485, →OCLC, leaf 62, verso; republished as H[einrich] Oskar Sommer, editor, Le Morte Darthur […], London: David Nutt, […], 1889, →OCLC, page 124, lines 10–13:

     I durſt ſaye that of his age ther is not in this land a better knyghte than he is nor of better condycions and lothe to doo ony wronge / and loth to take ony wronge

     I daresay that there is not a knight of his age in this land better than he is, nor of better qualities and loth to do any wrong and loth to receive any wrong.

3. hateful, evil, abhorred
   • c. 1368, Geoffrey Chaucer, The Book of the Duchess, as recorded c. 1440–1450 in Bodleian Library MS. Fairfax 16, folio 130r:

     I have so many an ydel thoght / Purely for defaulte of slepe / That by my trouthe I take no kepe / Of noo thinge how hyt cometh or gooth / Ne me nys no thynge leve nor looth

     I have so many idle thoughts / Purely from lack of sleep / That I swear I take no heed / Of anything, whether it comes or goes, / And nothing is either dear to me or hated.

4. reluctant

Descendants

• English: loath, loth
• Yola: lotherwite

References

• “lōth, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Old Irish

Alternative forms

• lath

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *lutā.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈloθ/

Noun

loth f (genitive loithe, nominative plural latha)

1. mud
2. swamp, marsh

Inflection

Feminine ā-stem
	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	lothL	loithL	lothaH
Vocative	lothL	loithL	lothaH
Accusative	loithN	loithL	lothaH
Genitive	loitheH	lothL	lothN
Dative	loithL	lothaib	lothaib
Initial mutations of a following adjective: H = triggers aspiration L = triggers lenition N = triggers nasalization

Mutation

Old Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Nasalization
loth also lloth after a proclitic	loth pronounced with /l(ʲ)-/	unchanged
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

• G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “loth”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *luto-, *lutno-, from Proto-Indo-European *polH- (“animal young”), ultimately from *peh₂w- (“smallness”), see also Ancient Greek πῶλος (pôlos), English foal, Albanian pelë (“mare”), Old Armenian ուլ (ul, “kid, fawn”)).

Noun

loth f (genitive singular lotha, plural lothan)

1. foal
2. filly

References

• MacBain, Alexander, Mackay, Eneas (1911) “loth”, in An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language‎^[2], Stirling, →ISBN