loof

Meaning

Noun

• The palm of the hand.
• The hand, especially, the hand outspread and upturned.
• 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.
• The spongy fibers of the fruit of a cucurbitaceous plant (Luffa aegyptiaca).

Origin

• From Middle English lufe, love, lofe, luf, from Old English lōf, *lōfa, from Proto-Germanic *lōfô.
• From Middle English lof, from Middle Dutch loef, ultimately of the same origin as Etymology 1. Compare luff.
• From Egyptian Arabic لُوف.