low
noun
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L229311 on Wikidata ↗verb
- make the characteristic noise of a cow
adverb
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L333734 on Wikidata ↗adjective
- close to the ground, not high
- located towards the bottom of a framework
- depressed, in poor spirits
- unrefined, base, immoral
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈləʊ/ / /ˈlaː/ / /ˈloʊ/ / /ləʊ/ / /loʊ/ / /laʊ/
adj
Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *légʰyeti Proto-Germanic *ligjaną Proto-Germanic *lēgaz Old Norse lágrbor. Middle English lāh English low From Middle English lowe, lohe, lāh, from Old Norse lágr (“low”), from Proto-Germanic *lēgaz (“lying, flat, situated near the ground, low”), from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- (“to lie”). Cognate with Scots laich (“low”), Saterland Frisian läich (“low”), West Frisian leech (“low”), Dutch laag (“low”), obsolete German läg (“low”), German Low German leeg, leeg' (“low”), Danish lav (“low”), Faroese, Icelandic lágur (“low”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish låg (“low”). More at lie.
- Situated close to, or even below, the ground or another normal reference plane; not high or lofty.
“standing on low ground”
“in a low valley, ringed by low hills”
- Situated close to, or even below, the ground or another normal reference plane; not high or lofty.
“the low countries”
“Low German”
- Situated close to, or even below, the ground or another normal reference plane; not high or lofty.
“the pitch (or: the ball) was low”
- Of less than normal height or upward extent or growth, or of greater than normal depth or recession; below the average or normal level from which elevation is measured.
“a low bow”
“a low tide”
- Of less than normal height or upward extent or growth, or of greater than normal depth or recession; below the average or normal level from which elevation is measured.
“Again, observe the unmeaningness of the low neck fashion. Our mothers wore low dresses and bare arms all day long; they knew if their shoulders and arms were beautiful they would look as well by daylight as by candlelight; […]”
“Why do girls wear low dresses?”
- Not high in status, esteem, or rank, dignity, or quality. (Compare vulgar.)
“low birth”
“low rank”
- Humble, meek, not haughty.
“God loves an humble soul. It is not our high birth, but our low hearts God delights in.”
- Disparaging; assigning little value or excellence.
“She had a low opinion of cats. He took a low view of dogs.”
“The humble soul has low thoughts of his own person; as David, 'I am a worm, and no man.'”
- Being a nadir, a bottom.
“the low point in her career”
“Virginia, for example, reached such a low point in her junior year that she briefly considered suicide [...]”
- Depressed in mood, dejected, sad.
“low spirits”
“As low as I felt, at least I didn't have Hunding's [miserable] job.”
- Lacking health or vitality, strength or vivacity; feeble; weak.
“a low pulse”
“made (or: laid) low by sickness”
- Lacking health or vitality, strength or vivacity; feeble; weak.
- Dead. (Compare lay low.)
“And wilt thou weep when I am low?”
“[L]et the mournful martial music blow; / The last great Englishman is low.”
- Small, not high (in amount or quantity, value, force, energy, etc).
“My credit union charges a low interest rate. Jogging during a whiteout, with such low temperatures and low visibility, is dangerous. The store sold bread at low prices, and milk at even lower prices. The contractors gave a low estimate of the costs. low cholesterol a low voltage wire a low number”
“Unfortunately, low winds were the rule over the local waters and this craft was no better, if as good, as ordinary sailboats under such conditions.”
- Small, not high (in amount or quantity, value, force, energy, etc).
“diets low in vitamin A”
“made from low-carbon steel”
- Small, not high (in amount or quantity, value, force, energy, etc).
“running low on cash”
“When silica is in low supply other classes of algae dominate the phytoplankton composition.”
- Simple in complexity or development.
“low protozoan animals, low cryptogamic plants, and other low organisms”
“In the case of languages spoken by very low races, like the Puris and the Tasmanians, the difficulty of deciding such a point must be very great.”
- Favoring simplicity (see e.g. low church, Low Tory).
“Among them there was none more low, more pious, more sincere, or more given to interference. To teach Mr. Worth his duty as a parish clergyman was evidently a necessity to such a bishop.”
“[…] and give a judgment against not only Denison, but the Church's doctrine; and that, it having once been given, we shall not get it reversed; and that the Church of England will seem to be committed to Low doctrine, which […]”
- Being near the equator.
“the low northern latitudes”
- Grave in pitch, due to being produced by relatively slow vibrations (wave oscillations); flat.
“The note was too low for her to sing.”
“Generally, European men have lower voices than their Indian counterparts.”
- Quiet; soft; not loud.
“They spoke in low voices so I would not hear what they were saying.”
“Why would you want to play heavy metal at such a low volume?”
- Made with a relatively large opening between the tongue and the palate; made with (part of) the tongue positioned low in the mouth, relative to the palate.
- Lesser in value than other cards, denominations, suits, etc.
“a low card”
- Not rich or seasoned; offering the minimum of nutritional requirements; plain, simple.
“The Physicians ordered a low diet, and cooling ptisans in great abundance.”
- Designed for a slow (or the slowest) speed.
“low gear”
adv
Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *légʰyeti Proto-Germanic *ligjaną Proto-Germanic *lēgaz Old Norse lágrbor. Middle English lāh English low From Middle English lowe, lohe, lāh, from Old Norse lágr (“low”), from Proto-Germanic *lēgaz (“lying, flat, situated near the ground, low”), from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- (“to lie”). Cognate with Scots laich (“low”), Saterland Frisian läich (“low”), West Frisian leech (“low”), Dutch laag (“low”), obsolete German läg (“low”), German Low German leeg, leeg' (“low”), Danish lav (“low”), Faroese, Icelandic lágur (“low”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish låg (“low”). More at lie.
- Close to the ground.
- Of a pitch, at a lower frequency.
“Can sing both high and low.”
- With a low voice or sound; not loudly; gently.
“to speak low”
“[T]he amorous, odorous wind, / Breathes low between the sunset and the moon, […]”
- Under the usual price; at a moderate price; cheaply.
“He sold his wheat low.”
- In a low mean condition; humbly; meanly.
“But ever since the concept of "hamartia" recurred through Aristotle's Poetics, in an attempt to describe man's ingrained iniquity, our impulse has been to identify a telling defect in those brought suddenly and dramatically low.”
- In a time approaching our own.
“In that part of the world which was first inhabited, […] even as low down as Abraham's time, they wandered with their flocks and herds.”
- In a path near the equator, so that the declination is small, or near the horizon, so that the altitude is small; said of the heavenly bodies with reference to the diurnal revolution.
“The moon runs low, i.e. comparatively near the horizon when on or near the meridian.”
name
Etymology: * As an English and Scottish surname, from the obsolete noun low (“mound, barrow”). * Also as an English and Scottish surname, from the adjective low. * Also as an English and Scottish surname of Norman origin, from Anglo-Norman leu (“wolf”). * Also as a Scottish surname, from a pet form of Lawrence. Compare Lowry. * As a German and Jewish surname, variant of Löwe, Lowe, Loew. * As a Chinese surname, variant of Lau, Lou; also Li, Luo.
- A surname.
- A township municipality in La Vallée-de-la-Gatineau Regional County Municipality, Outaouais, Quebec, Canada, named after Charles Adamson Low.
- A ghost town in Tooele County, Utah, United States.
noun
Etymology: From Old English hlāw, hlǣw (“burial mound”), from Proto-West Germanic *hlaiw. Obsolete by the 19th century, survives in toponymy as -low.
- Barrow, mound, tumulus.
“A barrow or Low, such as were usually cast up over the bodies of eminent Captains.”
- A hill.
“And some they brought the brown lint-seed, and flung it down from the Low.”
verb
Etymology: Apheretic form of allow.
- Alternative form of 'low.