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loblolly (LOB-lol-ee) - n., (dial., naut.) a thick gruel; (So. US) a mudhole, mire; (naut.) a ship's surgeon's assistant (usually as loblolly boy); (dial.) a bumpkin, lout; a pine tree (Pinus taeda) native to southeastern U.S.; a bay tree (Gordonia lasianthus) native to southeastern U.S.
The gruel is the original meaning, from Yorkshire dialect lob, to bubble + lolly, broth/soup (now obs.), first showing up in print in the 1590s. The mire is from the consistency, the loblolly boy because he was often tasked with feeding the stuff to patients, and both trees are from preferring marshy ground.
---L.
The gruel is the original meaning, from Yorkshire dialect lob, to bubble + lolly, broth/soup (now obs.), first showing up in print in the 1590s. The mire is from the consistency, the loblolly boy because he was often tasked with feeding the stuff to patients, and both trees are from preferring marshy ground.
---L.
