Hi this is Tutor Nick P and this is Word Origins 52. The word origin today is
loophole. Okay. Let's take a look at the note. Nowadays loophole is mostly used to
mean something in a contract or a law that is not completely clear or has been
left out and can sometimes be used as a way of avoiding or evading the law, the
rule or condition of like a contract or or of a law. It can also literally mean a
hole in a loop or the hole in a loop. So remember this little thing like this is
like a loop if you've ever gone to an amusement park. You've gone on a roller
coaster. Some really exciting rollercoasters may go around a loop. So
that's kind of what we mean by a loop. So kind of t ends up having an oval shape
where two things hang. Where two things go and then it connects over again. Like
almost like a lasso. That a cowboy uses. This kind of a loop. So what's in
the center of that is a loop hole. Okay. Let's get to the origin point now.
The origin of the word loophole goes back to medieval times. You know, the
Middle Ages. it refers to the narrow slit openings in the walls that archers
could shoot arrows through to fight off attackers to a castle. So if you ever
seen in the old movies like around Robin Hood's time. Robin Hood during that
period you know, somebody's trying to defend a castle. But you often seen these
little narrow openings there that, that the people shot arrows through to fight
off attackers. So those were actually referred to as loopholes. That's where
the word actually comes from. Okay. The loop part probably originated from the
German or middle Dutch word " Lupen "which meant to watch or peer. So even when they
weren't being attacked normally if the king was there and the queen or the
castle ... Sometimes everybody lived in that whole area. The whole
community it may be several hundred people. There might be somebody whose
job was to be a guard or a lookout. They would be looking
through those and of course . If actors came that would be a good place to shoot arrows
through. It was very hard for the attackers to fight back and get at like
another arrow or something in into that hole. Because that hole was a bit narrow.
And sometimes it was even a little bit on an angle too. So it was easy to shoot at the
attackers but it wasn't so easy for them to shoot back into the hole. So that's
why they worked very well. Which meant to watch for a period. Thus the word loophole
basically, it means that a guard or lookout could watch for attackers
because they're, they're looking through that. All right. It's good to note this too.
If all if all failed or if everything else failed, small children may have been
able to escape through loopholes too. And that might go back to the idea about a
contract. It's a way of escaping. It is that small little hole that you can escape
through the contract. There was something missing that you could just get out of
it from. So maybe that was the connection to eventually have the meaning about you
know, laws or contracts. You find a loophole in the law or you find a
loophole in the contract. So you can get around it . You can avoid it . You could
evade it in some way. Okay. Anyway I hope you got it. I hope it's clear. I hope it was
informative. Thank you for your time. Bye- bye.