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low

Pronunciation: /ˈləʊ/

The English word “low” has 20 meanings listed here.

adjective

  1. Situated close to, or even below, the ground or another normal reference plane; not high or lofty.
  2. Pertaining to (or, especially of a language: spoken in) in an area which is at a lesser elevation, closer to sea level (especially near the sea), than other regions.
  3. Below the batter's knees.
  4. Of less than normal height or upward extent or growth, or of greater than normal depth or recession; below the average or normal level from which elevation is measured.
  5. Low-cut.
  6. Not high in status, esteem, or rank, dignity, or quality. (Compare vulgar.)
  7. Humble, meek, not haughty.
  8. Disparaging; assigning little value or excellence.
  9. Being a nadir, a bottom.
  10. Depressed in mood, dejected, sad.
  11. Lacking health or vitality, strength or vivacity; feeble; weak.
  12. Having few hit points remaining; damaged.
  13. Dead. (Compare lay low.)
  14. Small, not high (in amount or quantity, value, force, energy, etc).
  15. Having a small or comparatively smaller concentration of (a substance, which is often but not always linked by "in" when predicative).
  16. Depleted, or nearing deletion; lacking in supply.
  17. Simple in complexity or development.
  18. Favoring simplicity (see e.g. low church, Low Tory).
  19. Being near the equator.
  20. Grave in pitch, due to being produced by relatively slow vibrations (wave oscillations); flat.

Etymology

From Middle English lah, loue, from Old Norse lágr (“low”), from Proto-Germanic *lēgaz (“low; flat”), from *ligjaną (“to lie; to lead”), from Proto-Indo-European *légʰyeti (“to be lying down”), from *legʰ- (“to lie”). Cognates Cognate with Scots laich (“low”), Saterland Frisian läich (“low”), West Frisian leech (“low”), Dutch laag (“low”), German Low German leeg, leeg' (“low; inferior”), West…

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.