Standard Lemma guide

loon

name · noun · 13 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈluːn/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -uːn
  • CMU ARPABET: L UW1 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

name

Meaning 1

A municipality of Bohol, Philippines.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A crazy or deranged person; a lunatic.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: slang

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

An idler, a lout.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A boy, a lad.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Scotland, Ulster

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

A harlot; mistress.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Scotland

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

A simpleton.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Scotland

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

An English soldier of an expeditionary army in Ireland.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Ireland, historical

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

noun

Meaning 8

A round area of pavement that protrudes from one side of a road to accommodate turning vehicles with a wide turning circle.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: engineering, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, traffic, transport

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

9

noun

Meaning 9

Clipping of balloon.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: abbreviation, alt-of, clipping

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

10

noun

Meaning 10

Any of various birds, of the order Gaviiformes, of North America and Europe that dive for fish and have a short tail, webbed feet and a yodeling cry.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Canada, US

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

11

noun

Meaning 11

large somewhat primitive fish-eating diving bird of the northern hemisphere having webbed feet placed far back; related to the grebes

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: diver

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: gaviiform seabird

12

noun

Meaning 12

a worthless lazy fellow

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: idler, loafer, do-nothing, layabout, bum

13

noun

Meaning 13

a person with confused ideas; incapable of serious thought

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: addle-head, addlehead, birdbrain

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: misfit

History

Etymology

From Middle English louen, lowen (“rascal; rogue”), probably of Middle Dutch or Middle Low German origin. Compare Dutch loen (“simpleton”). Or, related to etymology 2, due to the bird's loud cry. Folk etymology associates it slang-wise with lunatic, though the latter may have influenced it; see loony.

Of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse lómr (“loon”), ultimately imitative of the bird's cry, particularly when it's in danger. Distantly related to lament, probably sharing Proto-Indo-European *leh2- (expressive root).

Across languages

Translations

99 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: безделник (bezdelnik) — idler
  • Bulgarian: кибик (kibik) — idler
  • Finnish: lusmu — idler
  • German: Traumtänzer — idler
  • German: Faulenzer — idler
  • Bulgarian: откачалник (otkačalnik) — a crazy person
  • Bulgarian: откачалка (otkačalka) — a crazy person
  • Czech: cvok — a crazy person
  • Dutch: gek — a crazy person
  • Dutch: getikte — a crazy person
  • Finnish: sekopää — a crazy person
  • Finnish: hullu — a crazy person
  • Finnish: seko — a crazy person
  • French: fou — a crazy person
  • German: Bekloppter — a crazy person
  • German: Verrückter — a crazy person
  • German: Irrer — a crazy person
  • German: Spinner — a crazy person
  • Greek: παλαβός (palavós) — a crazy person
  • Indonesian: gila — a crazy person
  • Italian: matto — a crazy person
  • Italian: scemo — a crazy person
  • Italian: stolto — a crazy person
  • Italian: fannullone — a crazy person
  • Macedonian: бу́дала (búdala) — a crazy person
  • Macedonian: лу́дак (lúdak) — a crazy person
  • Portuguese: doido — a crazy person
  • Portuguese: louco — a crazy person
  • Portuguese: maluco — a crazy person
  • Russian: безумец (bezumec) — a crazy person
  • Spanish: lunático — a crazy person
  • Azerbaijani: qaqara — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Basque: pulunpari — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Bulgarian: гмурец (gmurec) — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Catalan: calàbria — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Chinese Mandarin: 潛鳥 /潜鸟 (qiánniǎo) — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Cree: ᒪᑿ (makwa) — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Plains-Cree: mâhkwa — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Czech: potáplice — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Danish: lom — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Dutch: duiker — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Dutch: zeeduiker — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Esperanto: granda kolimbo — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Estonian: kaur — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Faroese: lómur — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Finnish: kuikka — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • French: plongeon — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • French: huard — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Galician: aro — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Galician: mobella — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Galician: papoia — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • German: Seetaucher — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Hungarian: búvármadár — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Indonesian: loon — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Irish: lóma — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Irish: foitheach — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Italian: strolaga — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Japanese: 嘴黒阿比 (hashiguroabi) — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Kalmyk: ахун (axun) — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Komi-Zyrian: гӧгӧра (gögöra) — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Komi-Zyrian: токты (tokty) — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Korean: 아비 (abi) — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Kumyk: гьанкъут (hanqut) — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Lithuanian: naras — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Macedonian: ну́ркач (núrkač) — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Eastern Mari: токталудо (toktaludo) — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Eastern Mari: тукто (tukto) — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Eastern Mari: тӧрсияк (törsijak) — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Western Mari: тыкты (tykty) — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Miami: maankwa — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Mi'kmaq: gwimu — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Nanai: а̄ни (āni) — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Navajo: naalʼeełídaakį́ — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Norwegian Bokmål: lom — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Ojibwe: maang — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Old English: sċealfor — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Old Norse: lómr — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Polish: nur — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Portuguese: mobelha — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Portuguese: mergulhão — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Potawatomi: mang — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Romanian: cufundar — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Romanian: bodârlău — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Romanian: corcodel — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Russian: гага́ра (gagára) — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Scottish Gaelic: learga — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Serbo-Croatian: гњу́рац — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Serbo-Croatian: плијенор — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Serbo-Croatian: gnjúrac — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Serbo-Croatian: plijenor — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Slovak: potáplica — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Slovene: slapnik — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Lower Sorbian: huska — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Spanish: colimbo — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Swedish: lom — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Turkish: dalgıç — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Turkish: dalgıçkuşu — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Ukrainian: гагара (hahara) — bird of order Gaviiformes
  • Welsh: trochydd — bird of order Gaviiformes