entry
lean
/liːn/Incline, rely, favor, or be spare-bodied
From Proto-Indo-European *klei- (to lean) + Proto-Germanic *hlainijaną (to cause to lean).
from PIE root *klei- "to lean." Transitive sense "cause to lean or rest" is
from Proto-Germanic *hlinen (source also of Old Saxon hlinon , Old Frisian lena , Middle Dutch lenen , Dutch leunen ,...
from Old English hlinian "to recline, lie down, rest; bend or incline" (Mercian hleonian , Northumbrian hlionian )
+1 more sourcefrom Middle English lenen (“to lean”)
from Proto-Germanic *hlainijaną (“to cause to lean”). If so, then related to Old English hlinian, hleonian (“to...
from Old English hlǣne (“lean”), (cognate with Low German leen), perhaps
from Middle English lenen (“to lean”)
Word Ancestry
from PIE root *klei- "to lean." Transitive sense "cause to lean or rest" is
from Proto-Germanic *hlinen (source also of Old Saxon hlinon , Old Frisian lena , Middle Dutch lenen , Dutch leunen ,...
from Old English hlinian "to recline, lie down, rest; bend or incline" (Mercian hleonian , Northumbrian hlionian )
+1 more sourcefrom Middle English lenen (“to lean”)
from Proto-Germanic *hlainijaną (“to cause to lean”). If so, then related to Old English hlinian, hleonian (“to...
from Old English hlǣne (“lean”), (cognate with Low German leen), perhaps
from Middle English lenen (“to lean”)
Picture an Anglo-Saxon resting against a rough timber wall: that everyday shift of weight is captured in Old English hlinian and hleonian, recorded around the period before English had settled into its modern shape. The verb’s family eventually produced German lehnen and Dutch leunen, while the same deep Indo-European root also appears in recline and incline—words that make leaning sound progressively more formal and architectural. The adjective has a slightly murkier history: Old English hlǣne may have suggested someone made thin or weak by hunger, though the exact connection with the verb remains debated. Golf supplies an unexpected cousin in links, originally the ridged, sandy coastal ground where Scottish golf courses grew; the landscape itself seems to “lean” into hills and hollows. And when someone “leans on” you, first recorded in the pressure-bearing sense in 1960, the old physical image is still doing the work: your support has become their human wall.
The Story
Picture an Anglo-Saxon resting against a rough timber wall: that everyday shift of weight is captured in Old English hlinian and hleonian, recorded around the period before English had settled into its modern shape. The verb’s family eventually produced German lehnen and Dutch leunen, while the same deep Indo-European root also appears in recline and incline—words that make leaning sound progressively more formal and architectural. The adjective has a slightly murkier history: Old English hlǣne may have suggested someone made thin or weak by hunger, though the exact connection with the verb remains debated. Golf supplies an unexpected cousin in links, originally the ridged, sandy coastal ground where Scottish golf courses grew; the landscape itself seems to “lean” into hills and hollows. And when someone “leans on” you, first recorded in the pressure-bearing sense in 1960, the old physical image is still doing the work: your support has become their human wall.
Modern Usage
A recreational drink typically made with codeine cough syrup, soda, and candy, also called purple drank.
Popularized by: Rappers and hip-hop culture
Notable References
- Purple drank
- codeine cough syrup
Kin & Kindred
From '*klei-'·to lean
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From '*hlainijaną'·to cause to lean; possibly to make thin
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Wiktionary