Phrase, explanation not found

Posted by Dirk on May 05, 2003

In Reply to: Phrase, explanation not found posted by Lotg on May 05, 2003

: : : : Cannot find explanation of the phrase 'luke warm' - any ideas or have I got the spelling wrong?

: : : It's a single word, lukewarm, meaning tepid, or moderately warm.

: : The term goes back to the 13th century and is derived from Old English 'hleow' which, with various prefixes, was used to describe levels of warmth.

: : OK, but why is this term used in relation to an emotional state? Perhaps emotional is the wrong word, but it's generally used when describing someone's feeling about a situation and infers that that person is not too excited about it.

Temperature is often used as a metaphor for a degree of acceptance. ie, a woman being "cold" or "frigid" to ones advances , please give so-and-so a "warm" welcome, etc

• Phrase, explanation not found Lewis 05/09/03