luck

English did not inherit luck from Old English; it seems to have picked up Middle Dutch luc or geluc around the year 1500, perhaps from gamblers who needed a compact word for the mysterious swing of a game. Its deeper history is foggy: one proposal connects it with reconstructed Proto-Germanic *lukjǭ, “opening,” as though luck were a door suddenly left ajar; another proposal links it with German Lücke, “gap,” while the OED has even considered a relationship with lock. The word’s Germanic cousins still sound familiar—Dutch geluk and German Glück both mean luck or happiness, while Scandinavian lykke carries the same cheerful cargo. English soon built a small casino of expressions around it: “better luck next time” is recorded by 1802, “good luck” as a send-off by 1805, and “luck of the draw” by 1892. So when luck opens a door, remember that the door may be the oldest image hiding inside the word—and it may just as easily slam shut.