Locke

Part of speech: noun, proper noun

Definitions

1. A philosopher known for his ideas on empiricism and the social contract, shaping modern political thought and philosophy
2. An influential thinker in Enlightenment philosophy, whose theories on knowledge and government have had a lasting impact
3. A prominent figure in 17th-century philosophy, recognized for advocating the separation of church and state and natural rights

Etymology: The noun "lock" comes from Old English "loc", which traces back to a Proto-Indo-European root, "lewg-", meaning "to bend; turn". That root also gave the Old English "locc", meaning a curl or ringlet of hair, and German "Loch" and Danish "låg", meaning a hole and a lid. A bent or turned shape, a hollow, and a covering all grow from the same root. The verb "lock", meaning to close or shut, comes from Old English "lūcan", which is related to Icelandic "ljúka" and Dutch "luiken", both meaning to close. Through Latin, it is also related to "luxe", the French-derived word for luxury. The spelling "locke" is simply an archaic form of the noun. In modern English, the word "dreadlock" is a shortening of "dreadlocks", the hair style, and its "lock" is the same curl-of-hair sense.

Synonyms: John Locke, philosopher Locke, Locke the thinker