slēg-

Also lēg-. To be slack, be languid. Possibly related to slēb- through a hypothetical base *slē- (< earlier *sleə₁-). Zero-grade form *sləg-, becoming *slag-.

1. slack¹, from Old English slæc, “loose,” indolent, careless, from Germanic *slak-.

2. Suffixed form *lag-so-. lax, lease, lessor; relax, release, relish, from Latin laxus, loose, slack.

3. Suffixed nasalized form *la-n-g-u-. laches, languid, languish, lush¹, from Latin languēre, to be languid.

4. Compound *lag-ous-, “with drooping ears” (*ous-, ear; see ous-). lagomorph, from Greek lagōs, lagos, hare.

5. Suffixed form *lag-no-. algolagnia, from Greek lagnos, lustful, lascivious.

6. Basic form *slēg-. catalectic, from Greek lēgein, to leave off.

 

[Pokorny (s)lēg- 959.]

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