Inherited from Middle English love, lufe, lofe, luf (“palm of the hand”), from Old Norse lōfi, from Proto-Germanic *lōfô (“palm of the hand; paw; oar blade, paddle”).
Meanings
(Northern-England, Scotland, dialectal) The palm of the hand.
(Northern-England, Scotland, dialectal) The hand, especially, the hand outspread and upturned.
Inherited from Middle English lof (“a contrivance for altering a ship's course, paddle, oar”), from Middle Dutch loef (“an oar or paddle used in steering”), ultimately of the same origin as Etymology 1. Compare luff.
Meanings
(obsolete) A contrivance (apparently a paddle or an oar) used for altering the course of a ship.
The after part of the bow of a ship where the sides begin to curve.