▪ I. loaf, n.1
(ləʊf)
Pl. loaves (ləʊvz). Forms: sing. 1 hláf, 3–4 laf, 3–5 lof, 4–5 loof, (4 lhoue), 5 layf, Sc. lafe, loofe, looff, 5–6 lofe, loffe, 6–7 loafe, 8 Sc. leaf, 7– loaf; pl. 1 hláfas, 3 Orm. lafess, 3–4, 6 Sc. laves, 4 lafes, lavis, -ys, Sc. lafis, lawis, 3–7 loves, 4–5 lofes, looves, 4 lofis, lovis, loovys, 5 loofes, looffis, lovys, Sc. laffis, 7 loafs, loafes, 6– loaves.
[Com. Teut.: OE. hláf masc. = OHG. and MHG. leip, inflected leib-, bread, loaf (mod.G. laib, also written leib, loaf), ON. hleif-r loaf (Da., MSw. lev), Goth. hlaif-s bread (whence ga-hlaiba messmate, comrade, = OHG. gileipo, which seems to have suggested the equivalent late L. compānio companion):—OTeut. *hlaiƀo-z.
Whether the sense of ‘bread’ or that of ‘loaf’ is the earlier is uncertain, as the ulterior etymology is obscure. For many doubtful conjectures see Uhlenbeck Gotische Etymologie s.v. hlaifs. Some have suggested connexion with OE. hl{iacu}fian to rise high, tower, the reference being supposed to be to the ‘rising’ of leavened bread. Outside Teut. the following synonymous words are certainly in some way connected (most probably adopted from Teut.): OSl. χlěbŭ (Russian khleb), Lith. klêpas, Lettish klaips, Finnish leipä, Esthonian leip. It has been supposed by some that the initial element in G. lebkuchen, lebzelter, gingerbread, is an ablaut-variant of this word.]
1. Bread. Obs. exc. dial.
| c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. vi. 11 Hlaf userne ofer wistlic sel us todæᵹ. c 1050 Byrhtferth's Handboc in Anglia (1885) VIII. 322 And eton hiᵹ þeorfne hlaf mid grenum lactucam. a 1175 Cott. Hom. 227 He hi afedde feortiȝ wintre mid hefenlice hlafe. 1821 Hunter's MS. in Sheffield Gloss. s.v., People say ‘some loaf’, as well as ‘some bread’. |
| fig. c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. John vi. 48 Ic am hlaf lifes. |
2. a. A portion of bread baked in one mass; one of the portions, of uniform size and shape, into which a batch of bread is divided. Also with qualifying word, as barley loaf, bran loaf, cottage loaf, household loaf, tin loaf, tinned loaf, for which see the first element. brown loaf, a loaf of brown bread. white loaf, a loaf made of wheaten flour only.
| c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xiv. 17 Nabbas we her buta fif hlafum & tuoeᵹ fisces. c 1200 Ormin 11788 Þurrh þatt te laþe gast himm badd Off staness makenn lafess. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 227/283 Ane wel faire ȝwite lof. 1340 Ayenb. 82 Þe wyfman grat myd childe þet more hi uynt smak in ane zoure epple þanne ine ane huetene lhoue. c 1380 Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. II. 69 How many hynen in my fadirs hous ben ful of loves, and Y perishe here for hungre. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. x. 150 A loof oþer half a loof oþer a lompe of chese. a 1400 Prymer (1891) 64 (Ps. cxxxii. 15) His poore y schal fylle wiþ lofes. c 1440 Douce MS. 55 lf. 6 b, Take a lofe of white brede & stepp hit with the brothe. 1485 in Descr. Cal. Anc. Deeds I. (1890) 358 And iiij loves of the secunde brede wekely, every love weyng too pondes. 1562 W. Bullein Bk. Simples 13 b, The best bread is that, that is of a daie old and the loves or manchedes, maie neither be great nor little. 1611 Bible 2 Kings iv. 42 Bread of the first fruits, twentie loaues of barley. a 1643 W. Cartwright Lady-Errant v. i. Plays (1651) 66 Just as so much Quick⁓silver Is put into hot loves, to make 'em dance As long as th' heat continues. 1782 Priestley Corrupt. Chr. II. vi. 33 It was the custom to make one great loaf. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth xxviii, Bread was the scarcest article at the banquet, but the Glover and his patron Niel were served with two small loaves. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 243 Kneading the flour, making noble puddings and loaves. |
| fig. 1650 Trapp Comm. Num. xxiii. 1 A loafe of the same leaven, was that resolute Rufus. |
| Proverbial. 1546 J. Heywood Prov. (1867) 30 For better is halfe a lofe than no bread. 1588 Shakes. Tit. A. ii. i. 87 Easie it is Of a cut loafe to steale a shiue we know. 1687 Good Advice 43 And then she will think that half a Loaf had been better then no Bread. 1758 Chesterfield Let. to Son 13 June (1892) III. 1227 The lady has wanted a man so long, that she now compounds for half a one. Half a loaf―. 1785 Grose Dict. Vulgar Tongue s.v., To be in bad loaf, to be in a disagreeable situation, in trouble. |
b. † assize loaf, a loaf of the weight fixed by the assize of bread (31 Geo. II. c. 29). † church loaf = holy loaf. † prized loaf, a loaf of the price fixed by the assize of bread. † St. Stephen's loaf, a stone. Also holy loaf.
| 1499 Churchw. Acc. Croscombe (Sonn. Rec. Soc.) 24 Paid W. Toyt for tyndyng of the lyght and the church loffe. 1694 Motteux Rabelais v. ix, He took up one of St. Stephens's Loaves, alias a Stone, and was going to hit him with it. 1762 Act 3 Geo. III c. 11 No Assize Loaves of the Price of three Pence, and prized Loaves called Half Quartern Loaves,..shall..in any Place be made for Sale [etc.]. |
c. loaves and fishes (fig. phr., after John vi. 26): pecuniary advantages as a motive for religious profession (or, occas., for display of public spirit); the emoluments of ecclesiastical office.
| 1614 Bp. Hall Recoll. Treat. 954 If it were not for the loaves and fishes, the traine of Christ would bee lesse. 1799 Jefferson Writ. (1859) IV. 300 Their seducers have wished war..for the loaves and fishes which arise out of war expenses. 1823 Byron Age of Bronze xiv, ‘The loaves and fishes’, once so high, Are gone. 1867 Trollope Chron. Barset I. x, Any clergyman..whose loaves and fishes are scanty. |
d. oyster loaf, mushroom loaf: The crust of a loaf or roll of bread filled with a stuffing of oysters or mushrooms.
| 1747 H. Glasse Cookery 99 To make Oyster-Loaves. 1769 Mrs. Raffald Eng. Housekpr. (1778) 287 To make Mushroom Loaves. 1837 Disraeli Venetia i. iv, A dish of oyster loaves. |
e. Minced or chopped meat moulded into the shape of a loaf and cooked; generally eaten cold, in slices. Usu. with qualifying word, as beef loaf, ham loaf, meat loaf, veal loaf.
| [1787 Lady Newdigate Let. 21 Oct. in A. E. Newdigate-Newdegate Cheverels (1898) v. 71 We made an excellent Dinner upon our Cold Loaf.] 1895 ‘M. Ronald’ Century Cook Bk. 308 Liver loaf, or false pâté de foie gras..is better cold with salad, or used like pâté de foie gras. A loaf of any game may be made in the same way. 1902, 1907 [see ham loaf s.v. ham n.1 3]. 1939 Auden & Isherwood Journey to War 90 We had fruit-juice, meat-loaf, salad and cake. 1964 J. Masters Trial at Monomoy iv. 140 She stared at rows of Spam, corned beef, meat loaf, ham loaf. 1975 Times 7 Mar. 5/2 She recommended home-made vegetable soup and meat loaf, followed by apple or rhubarb crumble. |
f. slang. [Prob. from loaf of bread, rhyming slang for ‘head’.] The (human) head; hence, the mind, common sense; esp. in phr. to use one's loaf.
| 1925 Fraser & Gibbons Soldier & Sailor Words 145 Loaf, head, e.g., ‘Duck your loaf—i.e., keep your head below the parapet’. 1938 J. Curtis They Drive by Night xiv. 155 Bloody seconds counted in a job like this. You certainly had to use your loaf. 1943 Hunt & Pringle Service Slang 44 Use your loaf is the injunction often heard when someone is particularly slow in following orders. But this phrase, in its finer meanings, says: ‘Use your common sense. Interpret orders according to the situation as you find it, and don't follow the book of words too literally.’ 1949 ‘N. Blake’ Head of Traveller ii. 36 Do try to use your loaf. 1957 P. Frankau Bridge 73 He uses his loaf where you and I just muddle along. 1971 B. W. Aldiss Soldier Erect 79 You want to use your bloody loaf, Stubbs, or we'll never win this war the way you're carrying on. 1973 Jewish Chron. 2 Feb. 12/1 Use your loaf. Didn't Sir Jack Cohen of Tesco..start the same way? |
g. loaf o(f) bread: rhyming slang for ‘dead’.
| 1930 Brophy & Partridge Songs & Slang 1914–18 137 Loaf o' Bread, dead. 1935 Auden & Isherwood Dog Beneath Skin iii. i. 123 O how I cried when Alice died The day we were to have wed! We never had our Roasted Duck And now she's a Loaf of Bread. |
3. A moulded conical mass of sugar; a sugar-loaf. (Cf. loaf-sugar.)
| 1363–4 Durham Acc. Rolls (Surtees) 566 In ix lb. Sucr. de Sipr. empt. in uno laf apud Ebor. 1373–4 Ibid. 578 In ij lafes de Sugour ponder. xxiij lib. quarteron empt...xlvijs. iiijd. 1440–41 Ibid. 78 Item j layf de suggir, iiijs. vjd. 1556 W. Towrson in Hakluyt Voy. (1589) 98 The isle of Tenerif, otherwise called the Pike, because it is a very high Island with a pike vpon the toppe like a loafe of Sugar. 1654 Evelyn Diary 27 June, Here [at Bristol] I first saw the manner of refining suggar and casting it into loaves. 1835 Ure Philos. Manuf. Pref. 9 Refined loaves. |
† 4. A mass or lump (of anything). Obs.
| 1598 Florio, Phigethlo, a little swelling hard and red,..our chirurgions do call it a little loafe or manchet. 1604 E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies iv. xii. 244 They put all the mettall into a cloth, which they straine out,..and the rest remaines as a loafe of silver. 1611 Cotgr., Pain de moustarde, a loafe, or ball, of drie, or dried mustard. 1694 Salmon Bate's Dispens. 504/2 The Cakes [sc. of corrosive sublimate]..they call Loaves. |
5. A ‘head’ (of a cabbage).
| [1585: implied in loafed.] 1817–18 Cobbett Resid. U.S. (1822) 113 All the plants from the English seed produced solid loaves by the 24th of June. 1829 ― Eng. Gard. §129 When it [the cabbage] makes its loaf in the summer, you cut the loaf off... In a month after cutting the head, the stump should be taken up. |
6. attrib. and Comb., as loaf basket, loaf-tin; objective, as loaf-giver; similative, as loaf-shaped adj.; † loaf-cabbage, a cabbage with a ‘loaf’ or head; loaf-cake, a plain cake made in the form of a loaf.
| 1891 Daily News 6 Mar. 3/7 The bread boy bears the *loaf basket. |
| 1727 S. Switzer Pract. Gardiner iii. xxiii. 131 That which..comes in just as *loaf cabbages decay. 1733 Tull Horse-hoeing Husb. 19 Some have lost their Lives by Toads, being accidentally boil'd in the folds of a Loaf-Cabbage. |
| 1828 E. Leslie 75 Receipts 62 *Loaf Cake. 1844 Knickerbocker XXIV. 423 The biscuit would not rise, her loaf-cake was heavy. 1906 Kipling Puck of Pook's Hill 195 Hobden said that the loaf-cake..was almost as good as what his wife used to make. 1941 F. M. Farmer Boston Cooking-School Cook Bk. (ed. 7) 624 Loaf and layer cakes. |
| 1882 Edna Lyall Donovan ix, A moral song..in which a charitable *loafgiver is represented. |
| 1890 H. Latham Pastor Pastorum v. 129 Our Lord was hungry, and *loaf-shaped stones were lying all about Him. |
| 1883 Facts, or Experiences Recent Colonist N.Z. iii. 30 The materials required are:—..one deep tin-pan, six *loaf tins, one wooden spoon. 1932 E. Craig Cooking with E. Craig 305 Place..in a greased loaf tin. 1972 K. Stewart Times Cookery Bk. xviii. 235 Divide the dough... Place carefully in..two small, greased, 1 lb loaf tins. |
▪ II. loaf, n.2 slang. ? U.S.
(ləʊf)
[f. loaf v.2]
The action of loafing.
| 1855 Whitman Leaves of Grass (1884) 39 The farmer stops by the bars as he walks on a First-day loafe and looks at the oats and rye. 1886 American XII. 76 A resolution I have made to enjoy a solid old-fashioned loaf this summer. 1897 Outing (U.S.) XXX. 374/2 The holiday camp, in which a restful loaf is the principal object. 1900 Daily News 21 Apr. 3/1 In those days a Sandhurst instructorship was..looked upon as a ‘comfortable loaf’. |
b. Comb.: loaf-day, a day when no regular work is done. [But cf. Sw. lofdag, Du. verlofdag leave-day, holiday.]
| 1881 Scribner's Mag. XXII. 217/2 On ‘loaf-days’ the hands occupy themselves with making the neat cans which it is their..business to fill. |
▪ III. loaf, v.1
(ləʊf)
[f. loaf n.1 (sense 5).]
intr. To form a loaf or ‘head’. Hence ˈloafing (in 9 loaving), vbl. n.
| 1578 Lyte Dodoens 552 The white cabbage cole..closeth or lofeth in June, July, and August. 1817–8 Cobbett Year's Resid. Amer. (1822) 67 The cabbages..were..earlier in loaving, than any of the rest of the plot. |
▪ IV. loaf, v.2
(ləʊf)
Also loafe.
[Of obscure origin.
Lowell's conjecture (adopted in recent Dicts.) that the vb. is ad. Ger. dial. lofen = laufen to run, is without foundation; the Ger. vb. has not the alleged sense ‘to saunter up and down’. G. landläufer (= landlouper) has a sense not very remote from that of loafer, but connexion is not very probable.]
intr. To spend time idly. Also quasi-trans. To idle away (time).
| 1838 J. C. Neal Charcoal Sk. III. ii. 34 One night, Mr. Dabbs came home from his ‘loafing’ place—for he ‘loafs’ of an evening like the generality of people—that being the most popular and the cheapest amusement extant. 1844 Dickens Mart. Chuz. xvi, Major Pawkins rather ‘loafed’ his time away, than otherwise. 1852 Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. xii, Men talked, and loafed, and read, and smoked. 1855 Whitman Leaves of Grass (1884) 29, I loafe and invite my soul, I lean and loafe at my ease. 1857 C. Keene Let. in G. S. Layard Life iii. (1892) 62 My friend..fished, and I loafed about sketching. 1864 Sala in Daily Tel. 23 Dec., [At Niagara] You may lounge, you may loafe, you may saunter, you may moon,..but you..cannot study. 1885 M. Pattison Mem. 39 He allowed me to waste those two precious years in loafing about at home. |