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Added 9 October 2026

luke

/l(j)uːk/ noun

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about luke at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

(New Testament) the Apostle closely associated with St. Paul and traditionally assumed to be the author of the third Gospel.
One of the four Gospels in the New Testament; contains details of Jesus's birth and early life.

Origin

From Middle English leuȝke, leuk, leuke, lewk, lewke, louk, luk, luke, lheuc, probably from Old English *hlēoc beside hlēow- (whence lew); compare rēoc and rēow, slēac and unslēaw, etc. Alternatively, perhaps from a verb, Old English *hlēowcian, *hlīewcian (“to make tepid or lukewarm”), whence possibly Middle English leuken (“to make lukewarm”). Compare also Dutch leuk (“lukewarm”), West Frisian lûk (“sly, clever”), Low German luuk (“lively, cheerful", also "lukewarm, dull, indifferent”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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