Mignon Fogarty on Nostr: "Loophole" comes from the slits archers used in castle walls, which in Middle English ...
"Loophole" comes from the slits archers used in castle walls, which in Middle English were called loops but have no etymological relationship to the loop that is a circle of string, thread, etc.
At first they were just loops, but they became loop*holes* so people could make it clear they were talking about castle loops and not thread loops.
It took on the "escape route" meaning in the mid-1600s.
https://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-loo2.htm
https://www.etymonline.com/word/loophole#etymonline_v_12427
At first they were just loops, but they became loop*holes* so people could make it clear they were talking about castle loops and not thread loops.
It took on the "escape route" meaning in the mid-1600s.
https://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-loo2.htm
https://www.etymonline.com/word/loophole#etymonline_v_12427