LURCH

This article appears in Volume V17, Page 129 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: LUP-MAL

LURCH , a word with several meanings, the etymological relationships of which are obscure. The

chief

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

uses which survive are(1) in the phrase " to leave in the lurch," to abandon some one, to leave him in a position of

great

GREAT

difficulty; (2) a stagger, sudden leaning over, originally a nautical expression of a sudden "

list

LIST (O.E.
lisle
- LISLE, ALICE (c. 1614-1685)
, a Teutonic word, cf. Dut. lust, Ger. Leiste, adapted in Ital. lista and Fr.
lisle
- LISLE, ALICE (c. 1614-1685)
)
LIST, FRIEDRICH (1789-1846)

" made by a ship; (3) the name of a dog, the " lurcher " used by poachers, properly a cross between a sheep-dog or collie and a greyhound. In (1) " lurch " is the name of a game, of which nothing is known (it is supposed to have resembled backgammon), and also of a state of the score in various games, in which the loser either scores nothing or is beaten by very heavy points. In this sense the term is practically obsolete.
Luray Cavern.
1. The

Vestibule

VESTIBULE (from Lat. vestibulum)

.
2. Washington's Pillar.
3. Flower Garden.
4. Amphitheatre.
5. Natural Bridge.
6. Fish Market.
7. Crystal

Spring

SPRING (from " to spring," " to leap or jump up," " burst out," O. Eng., springau, a common Teut. word, cf. Ger. springer, possibly allied to Gr. QnrFpxecOac, to move rapidly)

.
8. Proserpine's Pillar.
9. The Spectral Column.
10. Hovey's Balcony.
11. Oberon's Grot.
12. Titania's Veil.
13. Saracen's Tent.
14. The Organ.
15. Tower of Babel.
16. Empress Column.
17. Hollow Column.
18.

Henry

HENRY
HENRY (1129-1195)
HENRY (c. 1108-1139)
HENRY (c. 1174–1216)
HENRY (Fr. Henri; Span. Enrique; Ger. Heinrich; Mid. H. Ger. Heinrich and Heimrich; O.H.G. Haimi- or Heimirih, i.e. " prince, or chief of the house," from O.H.G. heim, the Eng.
home
, and rih, Goth. reiks; compare Lat. rex " king "—" rich," therefore " mig
HENRY, EDWARD LAMSON (1841– )
HENRY, JAMES (1798-1876)
HENRY, JOSEPH (1797-1878)
HENRY, MATTHEW (1662-1714)
HENRY, PATRICK (1736–1799)
HENRY, PRINCE OF BATTENBERG (1858-1896)
HENRY, ROBERT (1718-1790)
HENRY, VICTOR (1850– )
HENRY, WILLIAM (1795-1836)

-Baird Column.
It was taken from Fr. lourche, connected with many German forms, now only dialectical such as Lortsch, Lortsch, Lorz, Lurz, all for some kind of game, but also meaning left-hand, wrong, which the New English Dictionary thinks is the origin of the word, it being first used as a term in gambling. In (2) " lurch " occurs first in the form " lee-lurches," sudden rolls a ship takes to leeward in a heavy sea, which may be a corruption of " lee-latch," defined in

Smyth

's Sailor's Word Book as dropping to lee-ward of the course. In (3) " lurch " is probably another form of " lurk," to lie in wait for, watch stealthily, hence to pilfer, steal.

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