loaf

loaf ¹  (lf)

n. pl. loaves (lvz)

1. A shaped mass of bread baked in one piece.

2. A shaped, usually rounded or oblong, mass of food: veal loaf.

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[Middle English lof, from Old English hlf.]

Word History: Loaf, lord, and lady are closely related words that testify to bread's fundamental importance in the Middle Ages. Curiously, though bread was a staple food in many Indo-European cultures, loaf and its cognates occur only in the Germanic languages, and lord and lady only in English. Loaf derives from Old English hlf, "bread, loaf of bread," related to Gothic hlaifs, Old Norse hleifr, and Modern German Laib, all of which mean "loaf of bread." Hlf survives in Lammas, originally Hlfmaesse, "Loaf-Mass," the Christian Feast of the First Fruits, traditionally celebrated on August 1. A lord, Old English hlford, was a compound meaning "loaf-ward, keeper of bread," because a lord maintains and feeds his household and offers hospitality. Similarly, lady derives from Old English hlfdige, which became lady by 1382. The -dige comes from dæge, "kneader," and is related to our dough. A lady, therefore, is "a kneader of bread, a breadmaker." Lord and lady both retain vestiges of their original meanings, although England's aristocrats have not been elbow deep in flour, let alone dough, for several centuries.

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loaf ¹

Noun

pl loaves

1. a shaped mass of baked bread

2. any shaped or moulded mass of food, such as cooked meat

3. Slang the head; common sense: use your loaf! [Old English hlāf]

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loaf ²

Verb

to loiter or lounge around in an idle way [perhaps from loafer]

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	loaf - a shaped mass of baked bread that is usually sliced before eating loaf of bread bread, breadstuff, staff of life - food made from dough of flour or meal and usually raised with yeast or baking powder and then baked heel - one of the crusty ends of a loaf of bread French loaf - a loaf of French bread meat loaf, meatloaf - a baked loaf of ground meat
	2.	loaf - a quantity of food (other than bread) formed in a particular shape; "meat loaf"; "sugar loaf"; "a loaf of cheese" solid food, food - any solid substance (as opposed to liquid) that is used as a source of nourishment; "food and drink" loaf sugar, sugar loaf, sugarloaf - a large conical loaf of concentrated refined sugar pound cake - rich loaf cake made of a pound each of butter and sugar and flour haslet - heart and liver and other edible viscera especially of hogs; usually chopped and formed into a loaf and braised headcheese - sausage or jellied loaf made of chopped parts of the head meat and sometimes feet and tongue of a calf or pig lunch meat, luncheon meat - any of various sausages or molded loaf meats sliced and served cold scrapple - scraps of meat (usually pork) boiled with cornmeal and shaped into loaves for slicing and frying
Verb	1.	loaf - be lazy or idle; "Her son is just bumming around all day" bum about, bum around, frig around, fuck off, loll around, lounge about, lounge around, waste one's time, arse about, arse around, bum, loll laze, slug, idle, stagnate - be idle; exist in a changeless situation; "The old man sat and stagnated on his porch"; "He slugged in bed all morning"
	2.	loaf - be about; "The high school students like to loiter in the Central Square"; "Who is this man that is hanging around the department?" footle, hang around, lallygag, loiter, lollygag, mess about, mill about, mill around, tarry, lounge, lurk, linger be - have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun); "John is rich"; "This is not a good answer" prowl, lurch - loiter about, with no apparent aim

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loaf ¹

noun 1. lump, block, cake, cube, slab

noun 2. (Slang) head, mind, sense, common sense, block (informal) nous Brit. (slang) chump Brit. (slang) gumption Brit. (informal) noddle (informal), chiefly Brit.

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loaf ²

verb idle, hang around, take it easy, lie around, loiter, loll, laze, lounge around, veg out (slang), chiefly U.S. be indolent

Translations

loaf [pl loaves] [ləuf, ləuvz] n → (barra de) pan m

vi (also: loaf about) (also: loaf around) → holgazanear

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loaf [loaves , pl ] [ləuf, ləuvz] n → pain m, miche f

vi (also: loaf about) (also: loaf around) → fainéanter, traîner

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loaf [ləuf] [loaves , pl ] n → Brot nt, Laib m

vi (also: loaf about, loaf around) → faulenzen;

use your loaf! (inf) → streng deinen Grips an!

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loaf [ləuf] n [pl loaves] → pane m; pagnotta

vi (also: loaf about) (also: loaf around) → bighellonare