meme

Pronounced: meem, noun

Notes: I think a lot of people know at least one meaning; the word has an interesting background

---

Yesterday’s word

The word louche means “not reputable or decent”

Background / Comments

I have heard the phrase (or thought I heard) “loose morals” or “loose living” for many years, but now I’m wondering if I’ve been mishearing the phrase: perhaps the speaker was saying “louche living”? I know I’ve seen it written “loose living”, but I suspect that this was some kind of error. It’s just something I wondered when I read the pronunciation of this word. Anyway, the word started with Latin luscus (blind in one eye; having poor sight). It then came into French as louche (squinting; cross-eyed). It also developed a figurative meaning on the idea of a squinting look of “shady” or “devious”. When the word came into English, only the figurative meaning was used.

First usage

This word showed up in English in the 1800s