Английский Этимологический словарь - land

- O.E. land, lond, from P.Gmc. *landan, originally, "definite portion of the earth's surface, home region of a person or a people," but early extended to "solid surface of the earth," which had been the sense of the root of Mod.Eng. earth. Original sense of land in Eng. is now mostly found under country. The verb is from O.E. lendan. Landing for boats is from 1609; of stairs, first attested 1789. Landlocked first attested 1622; landmark is O.E. landmearc; landfall "sighting of land" (1627) is from fall in the sense of "happen." To land a punch, etc., is altered from lend, in a playful sense.