loon

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A crazy or deranged person; a lunatic.

   An electric fire came next, followed by an umbrella and then a colander. "This bowl will carry no water," he muttered. "Some loon hath pierced it with holes.".

2. 2
   noun

   An idler, a lout.

   The diuell damne thee blacke, thou cream-fac'd Loone: Where got'ſt thou that Gooſe-looke.

3. 3
   noun

   Any of various birds, of the order Gaviiformes, of North America and Europe that dive for fish and have a short tail, webbed feet and a yodeling cry.

   The Loone is an ill ſhap'd thing like a Cormorant; but that he can neyther goe nor flye; he maketh a noiſe ſometimes like a Sovvgelders horne.

4. 4
   noun

   large somewhat primitive fish-eating diving bird of the northern hemisphere having webbed feet placed far back

Simplified etymology

Loon for a silly person comes from the North American name of the large water bird, recorded in the mid 17th century and associated with its distinctive cry. The personal sense arose in the late 19th century from the bird’s behavior when fleeing danger and may have been influenced by loony, an abbreviation of lunatic.

Of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse lómr (“loon”), ultimately imitative of the bird's cry, particularly when it's in danger. Distantly related to lament, probably sharing Proto-Indo-European *leh₂- (expressive root).

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External links

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• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary