where does the expression "luke warm" come from?

Answer 1

Lukewarm, meaning 'moderately warm; tepid' is another of those words that is either rather simple or somewhat complicated to explain, depending on how thorough one prefers one's etymological analysis.

The simple explanation is that lukewarm, which first appears in English in the late fourteenth century, is formed from Middle English luke, which itself means 'lukewarm; tepid', and warm.

Once we get to luke it begins to get a bit hairy. This word is often connected to lew, or in Old English hléowe 'tepid', but the alteration with the added -k- cannot be readily explained. However, there are various forms equivalent to luke in other Germanic languages, such as Low German lúk and Modern Dutch leuk, both also meaning 'lukewarm; tepid'.

Skipping the mumbo-jumbo, it thus seems likely that these words stem from an original Indo-European base meaning 'warm', which developed one way into the luke forms and another way into the lew forms. Related words probably include calorie, cauldron, and scald, all from Latin roots

Answer 2

The name Luke originates in the Greek name Λουκας [Loukas]. This meant "from Lucania"--which was a region in Italy. In the Bible, Saint Luke was a doctor who traveled with Saint Paul. Saint Luke was the author of the third Gospel and Acts in the New Testament of the Bible. The name Luke was also popularized by the "Star Wars" movies which featured the central character of Luke Skywalker.

Answer 3

from luke warm water

Answer 4

There is a reference to 'lukewarm' in the bible,
"So then because thou art luke warm, and niether cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth." (Revelation 3:16.). It was applied to feelings and attitudes from the 16th century.

Answer 5

I had a friend called Luke Williams at school, he always wore his parka no matter what the weather, probably in no way connected, but it did make me think of a good friend I haven't seen for many years, so thanks for that.



Stay cool Luke, wherever you are!

Answer 6

just bet me jen;
middle english word meaning "warm" based on "lew" another word for warm "LEW" in turned derived from old english word "HELEOW" meaning warm lukewarm actually amounts to saying "warm-warm" but this sort of redundency is common when obsolete words are carried over into modern usage

Answer 7

[14th century. “Luke” from obsolete luke “lukewarm,” of uncertain origin: perhaps a variant of dialect lew “lukewarm,” from Old English hlēo “warm,” of unknown origin.]

Answer 8

LUKE WARM

Answer 9

"I'm freezing"
"Oh really? But you luke warm"

Answer 10

lukewarm is the word for warm .