Word
lulu
Phoneticslu·lu
US/ˈɫuˌɫu/
UK/lˈuːluː/
Definition
n. someone or something that is very impressive, unusual, or excellent. You use this when you find something quite remarkable or even funny because it is so extreme.
n. a person, object, or idea that is remarkable, outstanding, or highly impressive. Often carries a humorous or slightly ironic tone when describing something extreme or surprising.
Examples
“That last joke he told was a real lulu.”
“After hours of searching for a mistake, she found a lulu of an error that had crashed the entire system.”
“The storm last night was a real lulu, knocking down several ancient oaks and leaving the entire valley without power for nearly forty-eight hours.”
Examples
simple
“That last joke he told was a real lulu.”
contextual
“After hours of searching for a mistake, she found a lulu of an error that had crashed the entire system.”
complex
“The storm last night was a real lulu, knocking down several ancient oaks and leaving the entire valley without power for nearly forty-eight hours.”
Usage
Often used in the construction 'a lulu of a(n) [noun]' to emphasize the quality of the following word.
Etymology
A reduplication of Lu, a clipping of given names with the first syllable of Lu, Lou, such as Lucy, Lucille, Louise, Louisa.
Borrowed from Chinese 璐璐, 露露, 璐露, 露璐, etc.; in turn from 璐, 露, etc. From the Chinese practice of reduplicating a syllable or character to create a female name. * From Mandarin Lù Lù, Lù-Lù, Lù-lù, Lùlù / Lu4lu4 / ㄌㄨˋㄌㄨˋ; in turn from Lù/lù, ㄌㄨˋ, Lu4/lu4. From Middle Chinese luH/LuH * From Cantonese Lou6lou6; in turn from Lou6/lou6. From Middle Chinese luH/LuH * From Taishanese Lu5lu5; in turn from Lu5/lu5. From Middle Chinese luH/LuH
From Arabic لُؤْلُؤ (luʔluʔ, literally “pearl”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/lulu