Louis

See also: louis

English

Etymology

From French Louis, from Middle French Loïs, Loïc, &c., from Old French Looïs, Luis, Lodhuvigs, Lodevis, Lodhwig, &c., from Latin Ludovicus, from Clodovicus, from Frankish *Hlūdawīg, from Proto-Germanic *hlūdaz (“loud; famous”) + *wīgą (“battle”).

Doublet of Lewis and, more remotely, Aloysius, Luis, Ludwig, Luigi, and Clovis.

Remotely related to Slav and related terms through the Proto-Indo-European *ḱlew- (“to hear, be heard; famous”) root.

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /ˈluː.i/
- Homophones: Louie, looey
(General American) IPA^(key): /ˈlu.ɪs/, /ˈlu.əs/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
- Homophones: Lewis, Lewes
(General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈlʉː.i/, /ˈlʉ.əs/
Rhymes: -uːi, -uːɪs

Proper noun

Louis (plural Louises)

A male given name from French.
- 1849, Currer Bell [pseudonym; Charlotte Brontë], chapter 36, in Shirley. A Tale. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Smith, Elder and Co., […], →OCLC:
  "It is hardly a week since you called me your future husband, and treated me as such; now I am once more the tutor for you: I am addressed as Mr. Moore, and Sir; your lips have forgotten Louis."
  "No, Louis, no: it is an easy, liquid name, not soon forgotten."
(uncommon) A female given name

Usage notes

The Anglicized pronunciations are typically used in US English, although the French pronunciation (with a long vowel and silent s) is often used in French names and places, as well as for Louis Armstrong. The French pronunciation is generally preferred in UK English.

Derived terms

Related terms

(diminutives): Louie, Lou
(feminine forms): Louise, Louisa

Descendants

→ Bengali: লুইস (luiś)
→ Hawaiian: Lui
→ Maori: Ruihi, Rewi
→ Persian: لوئیس (lu'is)

Translations

male given name

Albanian: Luigj m
Armenian: Լուդովիկոս (Ludovikos), Լյուդովիկոս (Lyudovikos), Լուի (Lui)
Asturian: Lluis
Basque: Koldobika (eu), Koldo (eu)
Bengali: লুইস (luiś), লুই (bn) (lui)
Catalan: Lluís (ca) m
Chinese:
Mandarin: 路易斯 (zh) (Lùyìsī)
Czech: Ludvík (cs) m
Danish: Ludvig
Dutch: Lodewijk (nl)
Esperanto: Ludoviko
Faroese: Ludvík m
Finnish: Ludvig (fi) (historical only)
French: Louis (fr) m, Ludovic (fr) m
Middle French: Lois
Galician: Lois (gl) m
Georgian: ლუი (lui)
German: Ludwig (de) m
Alemannic German: Lui
Greek: Λουδοβίκος (el) m (Loudovíkos)
Hawaiian: Lui
Hebrew: לוּאִי (he) (lúi)
Hungarian: Lajos (hu)
Icelandic: Lúðvík (is)
Irish: Lughaidh m
Italian: Luigi (it) m, Ludovico (it) m
Japanese: ルイ (ja) (Rui)
Korean: 루이 (Ru'i), 루이스 (Ru'iseu)
Latin: Ludovicus (la), Aloysius m (New Latin)
Latvian: Ludvigs m
Lithuanian: Liudvikas
Maori: Ruihi, Rewi
Marathi: लूई m (lūī), लूइस m (lūis)
Norwegian: Ludvig (no)
Occitan: Loïs m, Loís m
Old Church Slavonic: Людвигъ (Ljudvigŭ)
Persian: لوئیس (fa) (lu'is)
Polish: Ludwik (pl)
Portuguese: Luís (pt), Luiz (pt)
Rhine Franconian: Ludwich
Romagnol: Luìgg m, Luvìgg m
Romanian: Ludovic (ro)
Russian: Луи́ (ru) m (Luí), Людо́вик (ru) m (Ljudóvik) (historical)
Sardinian: Luisi m
Scottish Gaelic: Luthais m
Sicilian: Luici m, Luisi m (obsolete), Luiggi (italianization), Luduvicu
Slovak: Ľudovít m
Spanish: Luis (es) m
Swedish: Ludvig (sv)
Thai: หลุยส์ (lǔi)
Ukrainian: Луї́ m (Lují), Людо́вик m (Ljudóvyk) (historical), Лу́їс m (Lújis) (for the English variation)
Vietnamese: Luy

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Bulgarian: ^{(please verify)} Луи (Lui)
Galician: ^{(please verify)} Luís (gl)
Occitan: ^{(please verify)} Loís
Romanian: ^{(please verify)} Ludovic (ro)
Serbo-Croatian: ^{(please verify)} Luj, ^{(please verify)} Луј
Slovene: ^{(please verify)} Ludvik (sl)

Noun

Louis (plural Louises)

(historical numismatics) Alternative letter-case form of louis: various gold and silver coins issued by the French kings.
- 1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC:
  It was a strange collection, like Billy Bones’s hoard for the diversity of coinage, but so much larger and so much more varied that I think I never had more pleasure than in sorting them. English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Georges, and Louises, doubloons and double guineas and moidores and sequins, […]

Anagrams

Lious

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from French Louis. Doublet of Lodewijk.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /luˈi/
Audio: (file)
Hyphenation: Lou‧is
Rhymes: -i

Proper noun

Louis m

a male given name, variant of Lodewijk

Derived terms

Louise, Louisa

French

Etymology

Inherited from Middle French Loïs, Loïc, from Old French Looïs, Luis, Lodevis, Lodhwig, from Latin Ludovicus < Clodovicus, from Frankish *Hlūdawīg, from Proto-Germanic *hlūdaz (“loud, famous”) + *wīgą (“battle”).

Doublet of Ludovic, a borrowing, as well as Clovis. Romance cognates include Italian Luigi, Spanish Luis (taken from Old French). Compare also the Germanic cognates, Dutch Lodewijk, German Ludwig.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /lwi/, /lu.i/
Audio; “Louis Aragon”: (file)

Proper noun

Louis m

a male given name
a surname originating as a patronymic

Related terms

Descendants

→ Armenian: Լուի (Lui)
→ Chinese: 路易 (Lùyì)
→ Dutch: Louis
→ German: Louis, Luis
→ Georgian: ლუი (lui)
→ Hebrew: לוּאִי (lúi)
→ Japanese: ルイ (Rui)
→ Russian: Луи́ (Luí)
→ Ukrainian: Луї (Luji)
→ Vietnamese: Luy

German

Etymology

Borrowed from French Louis. Doublet of Ludwig.

Pronunciation

Audio: (file)

Proper noun

Louis

a male given name, variant of Ludwig

Norman

Etymology

From Old French, from Frankish *Hlūdawīg; see German Ludwig for more information.

Proper noun

Louis m

(continental Normandy) a male given name

Related terms