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Origin and history of lurch

lurch(n.1)

"sudden pitch to one side," 1784, from earlier lee-larches (1765), a nautical term for "the sudden roll which a ship makes to lee-ward in a high sea, when a large wave strikes her, and bears her weather-side violently up, which depresses the other in proportion" ["Complete Dictionary of Arts and Sciences," London 1765]. This is perhaps from French lacher "to let go," from Latin laxus (see lax).

When a Ship is brought by the Lee, it is commonly occaſsioned by a large Sea, and by the Neglect of the Helm's-man. When the Wind is two or three Points on the Quarter, the Ship taking a Lurch, brings the Wind on the other Side, and lays the Sails all dead to the Maſt; as the Yards are braced up, ſhe then having no Way, and the Helm being of no Service, I would therefore brace about the Head ſails ſharp the other Way .... [John Hamilton Moore, Practical Navigator, 8th ed., 1784]

lurch(n.2)

"predicament," 1580s, from Middle English lurch (v.) "to beat in a game of skill (often by a great many points)," mid-14c. (implied in lurching), probably literally "to make a complete victory in lorche," an old game akin to backgammon, with a name of uncertain origin. Perhaps it is related to Middle English lurken, lorken "to lie hidden, lie in ambush" (Middle English Compendium; see lurk), or it may be from Old French lourche, from Middle High German lurz "left," also "wrong" [OED]. The immediate source of the transferred use in leave in the lurch "leave suddenly and unexpectedly in an embarrassing predicament" (1590s) would be cribbage.

lurch(v.)

1821, "to roll or sway suddenly to one side," from lurch (n.1). Meaning "walk with an uneven gait" is from 1851. Related: Lurched; lurching.

also from 1821

Entries linking to lurch

lax(adj.)

c. 1400, "loose" (in reference to bowels), from Latin laxus "wide, spacious, roomy," figuratively "loose, free, wide" (also used of indulgent rule and low prices), from PIE *lag-so-, suffixed form of root *sleg- "be slack, be languid."

In English, of rules, discipline, etc., from mid-15c. Related: Laxly; laxness. A transposed Vulgar Latin form yielded Old French lasche, French lâche. The laxists, though they formed no avowed school, were nonetheless condemned by Innocent XI in 1679.

lurk(v.)

c. 1300, lurken "to hide, lie hidden," probably from Scandinavian (compare dialectal Norwegian lurka "to sneak away," dialectal Swedish lurka "to be slow in one's work"), perhaps ultimately related to Middle English luren "to frown, lurk" (see lower (v.2)). From late 14c. as "move about secretly;" also "escape observation." Related: Lurked; lurking.

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    Trends of lurch

    adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

    More to explore

    prowl
    late 14c., prollen, "rove or wander in a stealthy manner, move about in search of something," a word of unknown origin, with no known cognates. Spelling with -w- is from 1500s (compare bowls), but the word was pronounced "prôll" till late 18c. Transitive meaning "go stealthily ov
    pitch
    "thick, tenacious, resinous substance obtained from tar or turpentine, wood tar," late 12c., pich, piche, from Old English pic "pitch," from a Germanic borrowing (compare Old Saxon and Old Frisian pik, Middle Dutch pik, Dutch pek, Old High German pek, German Pech, Old Norse bik)
    shift
    Middle English shiften, from Old English sciftan, scyftan "arrange, place, put in order" (a sense now obsolete), also "divide, separate, partition; distribute, allot, share" (now obsolete or provincial), from Proto-Germanic *skiftan (source also of Old Norse skipta "to divide, ch
    desert
    connection," from Late Latin desertare, frequentative of Latin deserere "to abandon, to leave, forsake, give up, leave in the lurch...
    desertion
    abandoning," noun of action from past-participle stem of Latin deserere "to abandon, to leave, forsake, give up, leave in the lurch...
    careen
    [To career is to move rapidly; to careen is to lurch from side to side, often while moving rapidly.]...
    motion
    late 14c., mocioun, "process of moving; change of place, continuous variation of position;" also "suggestion, proposal or proposition formally made," from Old French mocion "movement, motion; change, alteration" (13c., Modern French motion) and directly from Latin motionem (nomin
    tarry
    early 14c., tarien, "to delay in acting, procrastinate, retard" (transitive, a sense now obsolete), a word of uncertain origin. Some sources suggest a connection to Latin tardare "to delay." Others suggest some connection to the formally identical Middle English tarien "excite wr
    travel
    late 14c., "to journey," from travailen (1300) "to make a journey," originally "to toil, labor" (see travail). The semantic development may have been via the notion of "go on a difficult journey," but it also may reflect the difficulty of any journey in the Middle Ages. Replaced
    movement
    late 14c., mevement, "change of position; passage from place to place," from Old French movement "movement, exercise; start, instigation" (Modern French mouvement), from Medieval Latin movimentum, from Latin movere "to move, set in motion" (from PIE root *meue- "to push away"). I

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    Dictionary entries near lurch
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