lout

¹

[ lout ]

noun

1. an awkward, stupid person; clumsy, ill-mannered boor; oaf.

verb (used with object)

1. to flout; treat with contempt; scorn.

lout

²

[ lout ]

verb (used with or without object)

1. to bend, stoop, or bow, especially in respect or courtesy.

lout

¹

/ laʊt /

noun

1. a crude or oafish person; boor

lout

²

/ laʊt /

verb

1. archaic.
   intr to bow or stoop

Word History and Origins

Origin of lout¹

First recorded in 1540–50; perhaps special use of lout ²

Origin of lout²

1250–1300; Middle English louten, Old English lūtan; cognate with Old Norse lūta; akin to little

Word History and Origins

Origin of lout¹

C16: perhaps from lout ²

Origin of lout²

Old English lūtan; related to Old Norse lūta

Example Sentences

Most reviews have praised Keoghan's multi-layered performance, with critic Bob Mann noting his character "is a loud, sweary, tattoo-covered, drug-taking, drug-dealing ‘lout’... but he’s also a parent who is trying to keep his kids on the right track and has a softer side that is quite charming."

From BBC

"It's possible that their lout of a client insisted that the lawyers waste their meeting with general grievances about prosecutorial misconduct that already have been rejected by the courts," tweeted former U.S.

From Salon

Mr. Stevenson’s character, Titus Pullo, was, as Alessandra Stanley put it in a 2005 review in The New York Times, “a drunken, womanizing lout — a soccer hooligan in sandals.”

From New York Times

He’s a lout, he’s a slob, he’s a mess — and he is enormously fine company on the page.

From New York Times

His name is Neil Gibson, in homage, one assumes, to the cyberpunk writers Neil Stephenson and William Gibson, even though he’s a lout and, to the best of my knowledge, Stephenson and Gibson are not.

From New York Times

Related Words

• brute
• buffoon
• bumpkin
• slob