lukewarm; tepid (neither hot nor cold).
The luke tea had cooled too much.
He preferred his bathwater luke.
✦ Middle English luke, perhaps a variant of leuk (“warm”), or related to dialectal leke (“lukewarm”).
moderately warm; slightly warm but not hot.
The coffee had gone lukewarm by the time she drank it.
He checked the bath and found the water lukewarm.
✦ From Middle English *lukewarme*, from *luke* ("tepid, lukewarm") + *warm*. The word *luke* survives mainly in this compound.
lacking enthusiasm, conviction, or positive reaction.
She received a lukewarm response to her suggestion.
His support for the plan was lukewarm at best.
✦ Originally literal, the figurative sense developed in the 16th century from the idea of lack of 'heat' or passion.
a male given name, especially popular in English-speaking countries.
My brother's name is Luke.
Luke won the school race yesterday.
✦ From Latin Lūcās, derived from the ancient Roman family name Lucius, possibly related to lucere (“to shine”) or referring to Lucania, a region in southern Italy.
