Link Centre Dictionary

lob

UK/lɒb/ US/lɔb/ uncommon informal obsolete slang uk
verb (1) noun (2)

verb

1.

propel in a high arc

  • “lob the tennis ball”

noun

1.

an easy return of a tennis ball in a high arc

2.

the act of propelling something (as a ball or shell etc.) in a high arc

Origin

From Middle English lob (“a lazy lout, bundle of clothing”), from Old English *lobb, *lobbe word for lumpish or unwieldy things, from Proto-Germanic *lubbǭ (“that which hangs or dangles”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewbʰ-, *lep- (“to peel, skin”). Compare Danish lobbes (“bumpkin, clown”), Old English loppe (“spider”) (in the sense of something that hangs or dangles). Possibly influenced or borrowed through Welsh llob (“lump”).

Related words

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.