leap

Leap comes from Middle English lepen, from Old English hlēapan, from Proto-West Germanic *hlaupan, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *hlaupaną. That root traces back to Proto-Indo-European *klewb-, meaning "to spring or stumble."

Old English hlēapan simply meant to run or walk, much like its many Germanic cousins still do today. Over time the English word narrowed from general movement on foot into the specific springing motion we call a leap.

Leap is a doublet of several English words that all descend from the same Germanic root, including lope, elope, gallop, interlope, and loop — each shaped by a different path through the language's history.