Louses
/ˈlaʊ.zɪz/noun
Plural of louse, a small parasitic insect that feeds on skin or hair.
Did you know?The modern plural *lice* comes from an older Germanic plural pattern, while *louses* survives as a regularized form in some dialects and in historical usage, showing how English sometimes “normalizes” words that once had stranger shapes.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*lus-
“To lose or be destroyed; the root behind the idea of something wasting away or being stripped off.”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*lūs
“A louse, the parasitic insect.”
Old English
OE
lūs
“A louse.”
Middle English
ME
lous
“A louse; plural forms varied, and regularized endings began to appear in some forms.”
Modern English
English
louses
“Plural form used by regular analogy, alongside the inherited plural lice.”