Etymology

cp. OIcel lafa (v.) 'to hang, dangle'; ON had a stative w.v. related to the adj. represented by MDu laf (adj.) 'weak, tasteless, cowardly'. There is evidence for the v. itself being borrowed into English from a 1598 attestation of a pres. ptcp. form (see OED s.v. lave (v.2)), but in ME only the adj. formed on it is attested, and only from WA.

PGmc Ancestor

*laƀēn-

Proposed ON Etymon (OIcel representative)

lafa 'to hang, dangle'
(ONP lafa (vb.))

Other Scandinavian Reflexes

Far lave, Icel lafa, Norw lava

OE Cognate

Phonological and morphological markers

Summary category

B2c

Attestation

The adj. is only attested from WA in ME, but OED cites more widespread occurrences in early MnE (all describe ears), especially in lave-ear compounds.

Occurrences in the Gersum Corpus

WA 4748

Bibliography

MED , OED , HTOED , EDD lave (adj.), de Vries lafa, Mag. lafa, Kroonen labēn