Lothe

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To feel intense dislike or disgust toward something or someone, prompting avoidance or rejection
2. Experiencing a strong repulsion or aversion that causes one to shun or recoil from a particular object, action, or individual
3. Having a profound distaste or abhorrence that leads to turning away or abstaining from whatever is despised

Etymology: "Lothe" is simply an obsolete spelling of "loathe," so the word's story is the same as its modern form's. The Old English verb "lāþian" meant to be hostile toward or to shrink from something, and it developed from a Proto-Germanic root "*laiþāną" that also gave Old Norse "leiðask," meaning to be disgusted or to feel aversion. Its Old Norse cousin is reflexive in form, which hints that the sense of recoiling from something was built into the verb from the start. The English spelling "lothe" appears in Middle English, and it was the common form for centuries before "loathe," with its silent-looking final "e," became standard. Where "loath" as an adjective for reluctant or unwilling is a separate word that shares this ancestry, the verb carried the stronger idea of active disgust rather than mere hesitation.

Synonyms: loathe, detest, hate, abhor, dislike

Antonyms: love, like, admire, cherish, enjoy