An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/liederlich

by Friedrich Kluge

liederlich, adjective, ‘dissolute,’ from Middle High German liederlich, adjective, ‘light, pretty, trifling, frivolous’ (not recorded in Old High German). Anglo-Saxon lŷþre, adjective, ‘miserable, bad,’ points to *liuþrs. To this is doubtlessly allied lotter- in compounds pointing to a Gothic *ludrs. Probably Greek ἐλεύθερος, ‘free,’ like the Teutonic words, may be traced to a root leuth. Lüderlich for liederlich is a recent form of the adjective connecting it with Luder (Middle High German luoder).