Word Origin & History "catalogue consisting of names in a row or
series," 1602, from M.E. liste "border, edging, stripe"
(c.1280), from O.Fr. liste "border, band, row, group," also
"strip of paper," or from O.It. lista "border, strip of paper,
list," both from a Gmc. source (cf. O.H.G. lista "strip, border,
list," O.N. lista "border, selvage," O.E. liste "border"), from
P.Gmc. *liston, from PIE *leizd- "border, band." The sense of
"enumeration" is from strips of paper used as a sort of
catalogue. The O.E. word survives in archaic lists "place of
combat," at the boundary of fields. "tilt, lean," especially of
a ship, 1880, earlier (1626) lust, of unknown origin, perhaps an
unexplained spelling variant of M.E. lysten "to please, desire,
wish, like" (see listless ) with a sense development on the
notion of "leaning" toward what one desires (cf. incline "hear,
hearken," now poetic or obsolete, from O.E. hlystan "hear,
hearken," from hlyst "hearing," from P.Gmc. *khlustiz, from PIE
*kleu- "to hear" (see listen