loth

See also: Loth and lóð

English

loth (comparative lother, superlative lothest)

(Britain) Alternative form of loath
I was loth to return to the office without the Henderson file.

Often confused in meaning and pronunciation with loathe.
The loath spelling is about four times more common in the UK and about fifty times more common in the US.
This spelling had more currency in the US in the 19th century, appearing in Webster's 1828 dictionary, but not the 1913 edition.

reluctant — see loath

From German Loth (obsolete), Lot, later also from Dutch lood, both specific usages of the word for ‘lead’.

loth (plural loths)

(now historical) A measure of weight formerly used in Germany, the Netherlands and some other parts of Europe, equivalent to half of the local ounce. [from 17th c.]
- 1999, Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, translating Paracelsus, Opus Paramirum, in Essential Readings, North Atlantic Books 1999, p. 100:
  It is not a matter of body but of virtues, which is why the fifth essence was invented, of which one loth is superior to the twenty pounds of the body from which it was extracted.

From Old English lāþ (“hateful”)

loth

loth f (genitive singular lotha, plural lothan)

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