different between tough vs lout

English

Etymology

From Middle English tough, towgh, tou, to?, from Old English t?h (“tough, tenacious, holding fast together; pliant; sticky, glutinous, clammy”), from Proto-West Germanic *t??h(?), from Proto-Germanic *tanhuz (“fitting; clinging; tenacious; tough”), from Proto-Indo-European *den?- (“to bite”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: t?f, IPA^(key): /t?f/
• Rhymes: -?f
• Homophone: tuff

Adjective

tough (comparative tougher, superlative toughest)

1. Strong and resilient; sturdy.

   The tent, made of tough canvas, held up to many abuses.

2. (of food) Difficult to cut or chew.

   To soften a tough cut of meat, the recipe suggested simmering it for hours.

3. Rugged or physically hardy.

   Only a tough species will survive in the desert.

4. Stubborn.

   He had a reputation as a tough negotiator.

5. (of weather etc) Harsh or severe.
6. Rowdy or rough.

   A bunch of the tough boys from the wrong side of the tracks threatened him.

7. (of questions, etc.) Difficult or demanding.

   This is a tough crowd.

8. (material science) Undergoing plastic deformation before breaking.

Derived terms

Translations

Interjection

tough

1. (slang) Used to indicate lack of sympathy

   If you don't like it, tough!

Translations

Noun

tough (plural toughs)

1. A person who obtains things by force; a thug or bully.

Translations

Verb

tough (third-person singular simple present toughs, present participle toughing, simple past and past participle toughed)

1. To endure.
2. To toughen.

Derived terms

• tough out

Translations

Anagrams

• ought

German

Etymology

From English tough; see also German taff.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /taf/

Adjective

tough (comparative tougher, superlative am toughsten or am toughesten)

1. (slang) Alternative form of taff (“tough; robust; assertive and not overly sensitive”)

Declension

declension with am toughsten

declension with am toughesten

Further reading

• “tough” in Duden online

Middle English

Noun

tough

1. Alternative form of tow

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /la?t/
• (Canada) IPA^(key): /l??t/
• Rhymes: -a?t

Etymology 1

Of dialectal origin, likely from Middle English louten (“to bow, bend low, stoop over”) from Old English lutian from Proto-Germanic *lut?n?. Cognate with Old Norse lútr (“stooping”), Gothic ???????????????????? (lut?n, “to deceive”). Non-Germanic cognates are probably Old Church Slavonic ??????? (luditi, “to deceive”), Serbo-Croatian lud and Albanian lut (“to beg, pray”).

Noun

lout (plural louts)

1. A troublemaker, often violent; a rude violent person; a yob.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:troublemaker

2. A clownish, awkward fellow; a bumpkin.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:bumpkin

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

lout (third-person singular simple present louts, present participle louting, simple past and past participle louted)

1. (obsolete, transitive) To treat as a lout or fool; to neglect; to disappoint.

Etymology 2

From Middle English louten, from Old English l?tan, from Proto-Germanic *l?tan?. Cognate with Old Norse lúta, Danish lude (“to bend”), Norwegian lute (“stoop”), Swedish luta.

Verb

lout (third-person singular simple present louts, present participle louting, simple past and past participle louted)

1. (intransitive, archaic) To bend, bow, stoop.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, I.i:

     He faire the knight saluted, louting low, / Who faire him quited, as that courteous was [...].

   • 1885, Sir Richard Burton, The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, vol. 1:

     He took the cup in his hand and, louting low, returned his best thanks [...].

References

Anagrams

• Toul, tolu, ulto