Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

-lock

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.51 in modern English

Syllables
-lock
IPA
10
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars

Meaning

suffix

Action or proceeding, practice, ritual

Etymology

From Middle English -lok, -lak, -lac, from Old English -lāc (suffix denoting activity or action), from Proto-Germanic *-laikaz, suffixed form of Proto-Germanic *laiką (“play, sport, fight, activity”), *laikaz (“game, dance, hymn, sport”) (Old English lāc), from Proto-Indo-European *leyg- (“to bounce, shake, tremble”). Cognate to Old Norse -leikr. The etymology of the suffix is the same as that of the noun lāc "play, sport", also "sacrifice, offering", corresponding to obsolete Modern English lake (dialectal laik) "sport, fun, glee, game", cognate to Gothic laiks "dance", Old Norse leikr "game, sport" and Old High German leih "play, song, melody" (> Old French lai "song, lyric, poem, lay"), obsolete or dialectal German Leich. Old English līcian ("to please", Modern English like) is from the same root. In modern English, the noun has been reintroduced through the cognate Swedish lek as a specialist term referring to mating behaviour.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: -lok, -lāc, *-laikaz, *laiką, *leyg-

Frequently Paired Words

bedlock

Questions

What does -lock mean?
Action or proceeding, practice, ritual
Where does -lock come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce -lock

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “-lock”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “-lock”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “-lock” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.