Lake, Lick: Origins, Forms, Histories of Words Meaning River, Lake

The natural features of a region are its topography (Greek topos, "place"). Rivers, lakes, and other freshwater bodies are important examples of topographic features.

In the current alphabetic series of words that name such freshwater features, here are the origins, forms, and histories of lake (1), lake (2), and lick. The dates of forms and meanings come from the Oxford English Dictionary and Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.

Lake (1)
English has two important water-related words in the form of lake. Despite the same spelling and the same focus on water, they are different words.

The older lake goes back through Middle English lak (13th century) to Old English lacu (before 12th century). The word seems to be based on an ancient Germanic root and is akin to Old High German lahha ("puddle"), Middle Low German and Middle Dutch lake ("puddle"), Old Norse laekr ("brook"), and Old English leccan ("to moisten").

This lake denotes a small stream or channel, that is, a brook or rivulet (10th century). From the Old English period to the 19th century, the word was in general use, but today it is a dialectal word in England.

Lake (2)
The more familiar word lake comes from Middle English lake (13th century) and lac (13th century), which may be partly influenced by Old English lacu but comes more directly from Old French lac ("lake"), from Latin lacus ("lake"). The word is akin to Old English lagu ("sea, water"), Old Norse logr ("sea, water"), and Greek lakkos ("pond").

This lake denotes a relatively large inland body of standing or slow-moving water (c. 1205). Extensions of the word include an expanded part of a river, or a reservoir formed by a dam.

Lakes are most numerous in high northern latitudes and in mountain regions, especially areas that were covered by glaciers in recent geologic times. Besides direct precipitation, the main sources of lake water are melting ice and snow, springs, rivers, and runoff from the land surface.

Lick
The water-related noun lick emerged in the 18th century as an extension of the earlier noun lick meaning any act of licking (17th century). The general noun comes from the verb lick (16th century), which goes back through Middle English licken (13th century) to Old English liccian (before 12th century). The word is akin to Old High German leckon ("to lick"), Old Norse sleikja ("to lick"), Latin lingere ("to lick"), and Greek leichein ("to lick").

A lick or salt lick is a natural salt deposit that animals lick. By extension, the word lick is also applied to a salt brook or salt spring associated with such a salt deposit (18th century).
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Encyclopaedia Britannica Ready Reference 2004. CD-ROM. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2004.

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. 11th ed. Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 2006.

Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary. 3rd ed. Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 2007.

The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press, 1989.