noose

Meaning

Noun

An adjustable loop of rope, such as the one placed around the neck in hangings, or the one at the end of a lasso.

Verb

To tie or catch in a noose; to entrap or ensnare.

Synonyms

snare

loop

➿

trap

🪤

lasso

gin

slip-knot

slipknot

running noose

springe

sling

slip noose

mesh

catch

halter

knot

🪢

lariat

net

gallows

fix

bight

bond

reef knot

secure

fetter

fasten

slip knot

eye

👁️

ensnare

string up

tab

tie

toil

cord

twitch

chain

hang

square knot

bondage

Translations

Schlinge

➿

laccio

lazo

🙇

cappio

dogal

laço

schlingen

nó

🪢

θηλιά

laqueus

lus

➿

llaç

corde

🪢

nodo scorsoio

Pronounced as (IPA)

/nuːs/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: nose

Cognate with French: nœud

Cognate with Portuguese: nó

Cognate with Spanish: nudo

Cognate with Saterland Frisian: Noose

Cognate with Saterland Frisian: Oose

In summary

From Middle English nose (“noose, loop”), of unclear origin.
Possibly from Old French nos or Old Occitan nous, nos, nominative singular or accusative plural of nou (“knot”), with a required change in meaning shifting from the "knot" itself to the "loop" created by the knot. If so, then cognate with French nœud (“knot”), Portuguese nó (“knot”) and Spanish nudo (“knot”). Compare node and knot.
Alternatively, and perhaps more likely, borrowed from Middle Low German nȫse (“loop, noose, snare”), itself of obscure origin. Perhaps derived from an incorrect division of ēn' ȫse (literally “a loop”), from Middle Low German ȫse, from Old Saxon *ōsia, from Proto-West Germanic *ansiju (“eyelet, loop”). Compare also Saterland Frisian Noose (“loop, eyelet”) and Saterland Frisian Oose (“eyelet, loop”), potentially created via the same process.