Meaning

noun (nautical) the forward edge of a fore-and-aft sail that is next to the mast

noun the act of sailing close to the wind

verb sail close to the wind

originFrom Old French lof. Collins English Dictionary states that this word is ultimately derived from Middle Dutch loef. Ellert Ekwall's Shakspere's Vocabulary: its etymological elements (1903) related this verb and loof instead to the East Frisian verb lofen, lufen, which would make it cognate to the French term lover.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0