len

Inherited from Old Czech len, from Proto-Slavic *lьnъ^[1] from Proto-Indo-European *lino-.^[2]

• IPA^(key): [ˈlɛn]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: len
• Rhymes: -ɛn

len m inan

1. flax (any plant of the genus Linum)
2. flax (fibers)

• “len”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “len”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “len”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2025

From Middle Low German lēn, from Old Saxon lēhan, from Proto-West Germanic *laihn, from Proto-Germanic *laihną (“loan”), cognate with German Lehn (Swedish län is a loan from Low German). Doublet of lån.

• IPA^(key): [ˈleˀn]

len n (singular definite lenet, plural indefinite len)

1. (historical) fief (a land given by a sovereign to a vassal in exchange for military services, especially in the Middle Ages)
2. (historical) entailed estate (a property given by the king to a person with specific rules of inheritance, in Denmark 1691-1919)
3. (historical) county (a regional and administrative unit, in Denmark until 1662; also used with reference to the län of modern Sweden and Finland)

   Synonyms: amt, region, syssel

• lensbaron
• lensgreve
• lensherre
• lensmand
• lensvæsen

• “len” in Den Danske Ordbog

From Latin lignum. Compare Ladin lën, Romansch len, lenn, lain.

len m (plural lens)

1. wood

• legnôs

len

1. third-person plural present indicative of ler

Borrowed from a Slavic language, from Proto-Slavic *lьnъ.^[1]

• IPA^(key): [ˈlɛn]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: len
• Rhymes: -ɛn

len (plural lenek)

1. flax

• len in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.

len

1. (dialectal) alternative form of le

This form is found only before bhur (“your pl”) and is not part of the standard written language. In older texts, len bhur may also be spelled le nbhur.

len

1. imperative of lene

• ľen (alternative writing)

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *lьnъ, from Proto-Indo-European *lino-.

• IPA^(key): (13^th CE) /ˈlɛn/
• IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /ˈlɛn/

len m inan

1. flax

• Czech: len

• Jan Gebauer (1903–1916) “len”, in Slovník staročeský (in Czech), Prague: Česká grafická společnost "unie", Česká akademie císaře Františka Josefa pro vědy, slovesnost a umění

• lan (Near Masovian)

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *lьnъ. Doublet of lina.

• IPA^(key): /ˈlɛn/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛn
• Syllabification: len

len m inan (related adjective lniany)

1. flax (any plant of the genus Linum)
2. linen (thread or cloth made from flax fibre)

   Synonym: płótno

• len in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• len in Polish dictionaries at PWN

len m

1. river

• lain (Rumantsch Grischun, Puter, Vallader)
• lenn (Sursilvan, Surmiran)

From Latin lignum. Compare Ladin lën, Friulian len.

len m

1. (Sutsilvan) wood

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *lěnъ.

lȇn (Cyrillic spelling ле̑н, definite lȇnī, comparative lȅnjī)

1. alternative form of lijen (“lazy”)

• IPA^(key): [ʎen]

len

1. only, just

• “len”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2025

From Proto-Slavic *lěnъ.

• IPA^(key): /léːn/, /lɛ́n/

lẹ̑n or lȅn (comparative bȍlj lẹ̑n or bȍlj lȅn, superlative nȁjbolj lẹ̑n or nȁjbolj lȅn)

1. lazy

The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.

Hard
	masculine	feminine	neuter
nom. sing.	lén	léna	léno
singular
	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	lén ind léni def	léna	léno
genitive	lénega	léne	lénega
dative	lénemu	léni	lénemu
accusative	nominativeinan or genitiveanim	léno	léno
locative	lénem	léni	lénem
instrumental	lénim	léno	lénim
dual
	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	léna	léni	léni
genitive	lénih	lénih	lénih
dative	lénima	lénima	lénima
accusative	léna	léni	léni
locative	lénih	lénih	lénih
instrumental	lénima	lénima	lénima
plural
	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	léni	léne	léna
genitive	lénih	lénih	lénih
dative	lénim	lénim	lénim
accusative	léne	léne	léna
locative	lénih	lénih	lénih
instrumental	lénimi	lénimi	lénimi

This adjective needs an inflection-table template.

• prelén

• “len”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran
• “len”, in Termania, Amebis
• See also the general references

len m (plural lenes)

1. The Chilean incense cedar, Austrocedrus chilensis

• “len”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024

From Old Norse linr, from Proto-Germanic *linwaz.

len (comparative lenare, superlative lenast)

1. smooth and soft

   lena kinder

   smooth cheeks

2. (by extension) smooth (of taste and the like)

Focuses on the (pleasant) sensation when dragging one's fingers (or another body part) across something smooth and soft. Smooth and soft to the touch.

• slät (“smooth (whether hard or soft)”)

From Turkish lan.

len

1. (slang) friend, buddy, pal (friendly term of address)

   Synonyms: bror, mannen

   Vad händer, len?

   What's going on, buddy?

• len in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• len in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)
• Slangopedia

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [lɛn˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [lɛŋ˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [lɛŋ˧˧]

From French laine.

len

1. wool
2. yarn

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

len • (踚, 蹥, 𨈆)

1. to negotiate one's way through a mass, to creep through

len

1. at, by, on

len

1. soft mutation of llen