luge

Meanings

Noun

• A racing sled for one or two people that is ridden with the rider or riders lying on their back.
• The sport of racing on luges.
• A piece of ice, bone or other material with a channel down which a (usually alcoholic) drink can be poured into someone's mouth.

Verb

• To travel by luge; to ride a luge.

Origin

• Borrowed from French luge, from /Franco-Provençal, from Medieval Latin scludia, from Late Latin sclodia, of Celtic origin, from Gaulish stludio, from Proto-Indo-European *sleydʰ- ("slippery").
• Akin to English sled and English sleigh, Irish slaod ("raft, float"), Old Breton stloit ("traction, sliding") (modern Breton stlej ("sleigh")), and Welsh llithr ("slide, slippage").
• The drinking-utensil sense is so-called from its resemblance to the tracks on which luges race.