different between unwilling vs loth

English

Etymology

From un- +? willing.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?n?w?l??/
• Rhymes: -?l??

Adjective

unwilling (comparative more unwilling, superlative most unwilling)

1. Not willing; reluctant

Derived terms

• unwillingly (adverb)

Translations

English

Etymology 1

See loath.

Adjective

loth (comparative lother, superlative lothest)

1. (Britain) Alternative form of loath
   • 1614, Ben Jonson, Bartholmew Fayre, Induction:

     If there bee never a Servant-monster i' the Fayre, who can helpe it, he sayes ; nor a nest of Antiques ? ? Hee is loth to make Nature afraid in his Playes, like those that beget Tales, Tempests, and such like Drolleries, […]

Usage notes

• The spelling loath is about four times as common as loth in Britain, and about fifty times as common in the United States. Loth had more currency in the US in the 19th century, appearing in Webster’s 1828 dictionary, but not the 1913 edition.
• The word should not be confused with the related verb loathe.

Derived terms

• lothly
• lothness

Etymology 2

From German Loth (obsolete), Lot, later also from Dutch lood, both specific usages of the word for ‘lead’. Doublet of lead.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /l??t/

Noun

loth (plural loths)

1. (now historical) A measure of weight formerly used in Germany, the Netherlands and some other parts of Europe, equivalent to half of the local ounce. [from 17th c.]
   • 1999, Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, translating Paracelsus, Opus Paramirum, in Essential Readings, North Atlantic Books 1999, p. 100:

     It is not a matter of body but of virtues, which is why the fifth essence was invented, of which one loth is superior to the twenty pounds of the body from which it was extracted.

References

• “loth”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.

Anagrams

• HTOL, Holt, holt

Middle English

Etymology

From Old English l?þ (“hateful”)

Adjective

loth

1. hateful, evil
2. reluctant

Old Irish

Alternative forms

• lath

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *lut?.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?lo?/

Noun

loth f (genitive loithe, nominative plural latha)

1. mud
2. swamp, marsh

Inflection

Mutation

Further reading

• Gregory Toner, Maire Ní Mhaonaigh, Sharon Arbuthnot, Dagmar Wodtko, Maire-Luise Theuerkauf, editors (2019) , “loth”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

loth f (genitive singular lotha, plural lothan)

1. foal
2. filly