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Added 9 October 2026

lane

/leɪn/ noun

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about lane at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A narrow way or road.
A well-defined track or path; for e.g. swimmers or lines of traffic.

Origin

From Middle English lane, lone, from Old English lanu (“a lane, alley, avenue”), from Proto-West Germanic *lanu, from Proto-Germanic *lanō (“lane, passageway”). Cognate with Scots lone (“cattle-track, by-road”), West Frisian leane, loane (“a walkway, avenue”), Dutch laan (“alley, avenue”), German Low German Lane, Laan (“lane”), Swedish lån (“covered walkway encircling a house”), Icelandic lön (“a row of houses”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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