Reading “What’s the Origin of ‘Loophole’?” sent me immediately to my dictionary, where I found that “loophole” is derived from a defunct Middle English word, loupe, meaning “to peer or peek.” A loophole, then, is a peephole. While arrow slits and gunports certainly exist in old fortifications, and were certainly called loopholes, I think it’s wrong to say that that’s the origin of the word.
Thanks, Nametag. The original explanation certainly left me wanting more. Loop? Castle?
Princeton seems to agree with you about peephole:
In English, a loupe is a magnifying eyepiece used by jewelers. When I worked on a magazine staff we’d use loupes to look at photos.
“…Child or a small adult child…”
What exactly is the difference?
Oops!
From the OED Online:
So it appears that the first figurative extension was to metaphorically squeeze through a loop-hole to get out of a jam, and this was later extended to a legal loop-hole to squeeze through. Looks like an almost perfect example of the figurative extension of a concrete reality.
Just because loop comes from loupe doesn’t imply that loophole does.
Admittedly, the Online OED doesn’t give as extensive etymologies as the print edition.
Lets not invade canada. there isn’t anything there.