Lago
/ˈlɑːɡoʊ/noun
A lake, especially in a Spanish- or Portuguese-speaking place or geographical name.
Did you know?Lago ultimately descends from the ancient Indo-European word for a body of standing water, linking it to English lake and Scottish loch.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*lókus
“A lake, pool, or body of standing water.”
Classical Latin
Latin
lacus
“A lake, basin, pool, or reservoir.”
Vulgar Latin
Latin
*lagus
“A later spoken form associated with the Romance development of lacus.”
Medieval Period
Old Spanish
lago
“A lake; the initial Latin /k/ became voiced /g/ between vowels.”
Modern Period
Spanish
lago
“A lake.”
Modern English
English
lago
“A borrowed geographical term meaning a lake, particularly in names and references to Spanish- or Portuguese-speaking regions.”