# lout

> English word · Noun · IPA /laʊt/ · frequency rank #81,522

## Definitions
1. A troublemaker, often violent; a rude violent person; a yob.
2. A clownish, awkward fellow; a bumpkin.

## Etymology
Of dialectal origin, likely derived from Middle English louten (“to bow, bend low, stoop over”), from Old English lūtan (“to bow, bend forward, stoop”), from Proto-West Germanic *lūtan, from Proto-Germanic *lūtaną (“to bow down, lout”).
Alternatively, derived from Middle English louten (“to hide, lurk”), from Old English lūtian (“to lurk, skulk”), from Proto-West Germanic *lūtēn (“to be hidden, be concealed”). Compare Old Norse lútr (“stooping”), Gothic 𐌻𐌿𐍄𐍉𐌽 (lutōn, “to deceive”).
Non-Germanic cognates are probably Old Church Slavonic лоудити (luditi, “to deceive”), Serbo-Croatian lud and Albanian lut (“to beg, pray”).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/lout