lip (English)

Where does "lip" come from?

The word "lip" traces back to the Proto-Indo-European root *leb-, which described things that hang loosely or sag. This concept evolved through Proto-Germanic and Proto-West Germanic into the Old English "lippa," eventually settling into the Middle English "lippe" before becoming the modern word we use today. It shares a common ancient ancestor with the Latin "labium," highlighting a long history of describing the physical edges of the body, and by extension, objects and landscapes.

Full etymology tree

• lip (English), 'Either of the two fleshy protrusions around the opening of the mouth.'
  • inherited lippe (Middle English), 'lip'
    • inherited lippa (Old English), 'lip'
      • inherited *lippjō (Proto-West Germanic), 'lip'
        • compound *lep- (Proto-West Germanic)
          • inherited *leb- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to hang down loosely'
        • suffix *-jō (Proto-West Germanic), 'Forms agent nouns from verbs.'

Direct ancestors

• leb- (Proto-Indo-European)
• lippe (Middle English)
• lippa (Old English)
• lippjō (Proto-West Germanic)
• lepô (Proto-Germanic)
• leb- (Proto-Indo-European)
• Lippe (Saterland Frisian)
• lip (Dutch)

Updated July 2026

Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris