live English · revision 1823

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited, clipping|attested=c. 725 (Beowulf)|origins=gem-pro *lib-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /lɪv/ ''(verb)''; /laɪv/ ''(adjective, adverb)''^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The verb is [[inh|enm|liven]], earlier [[m|enm|lifen]],^(Barnhart 1988) [[inh|ang|lifian]] (Anglian) and [[m|ang|libban]] (West Saxon),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[gem-pro|*libejanan]],^(Etymonline) from a Germanic root [[m|gem-pro|*lib-|t=to remain, continue]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) which also gave [[life]] and [[leave]] “to let remain”.^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002)^(Weekley 1921) Its cognates are [[ofs|libba]], [[osx|libbian]], [[nl|leven]], [[goh|lebēn]] (modern [[de|leben]]), [[non|lifa|t=to be left; to live]] and [[got|𐌻𐌹𐌱𐌰𐌽|tr=liban]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) Etymonline traces the root to [[ine-pro|*leip-|t=to stick, adhere]], which formed words meaning “to remain, continue”.^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) The adjective ''live'', pronounced with /aɪ/, is a mid-16th-century shortening of [[alive]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(SOED 2002)^(Cresswell 2021) replacing an earlier adjective [[m|en|lives]].^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To be alive, to have life (about 725, in ''Beowulf'').^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old English ''lifian'' also meant “to feed oneself, get a living” and “to pass one's life in a certain way”.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The sense “to dwell, reside” dates from about 1200,^(Etymonline) “to express in one's life” (''live a lie'') from the 1540s, and “to make full use of life” from about 1600.^(Etymonline) The proverb ''live and let live'' was cited as Dutch in 1622,^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) and ''live and learn'' is from about 1620.^(Etymonline) Later phrases include ''live up to'' (1690s), ''live with'' “cohabit” (1749) and “put up with” (1937), ''live down'' (1842) and ''live it up'' (1903).^(Etymonline) The adjective meant “having life” in 1542,^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate) “burning, glowing” (''live coals'') from the 1610s^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) and “containing unspent energy” (''live ammunition'') from 1799.^(Etymonline) American English used ''live'' for “alert, energetic” from the 1850s.^(GDoS) A ''live wire'' carried current in 1890 and was an energetic person by 1903.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) For a performance heard or seen as it happens, rather than recorded, Etymonline has 1917 and Barnhart 1934, in British English.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Weekley notes that a ''living'' in the Church originally meant an endowment, a means of support.^(Weekley 1921)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – Old English ''lifian'', ''libban'', to be alive (''Beowulf'').^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1121 – Middle English ''lifen''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1200 – to dwell, reside.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1540s – to express in one's life.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1542 – adjective, having life.^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1611 – adjective, burning, glowing.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1622 – ''live and let live''.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1742 – ''live stock'' (American).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1799 – ''live'' ammunition.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1890 – ''live wire''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1917 – of a performance, not recorded.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1946 – adverb, at the time of a performance.^(MW Collegiate)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To be alive; to remain alive.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)

+ # To have one's home in a place: ''lives in London''.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To support oneself: ''lived on rice and fish''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To spend one's life in a particular way: ''lived frugally''.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)

+ # To enjoy life to the full.^(AHD)^(Chambers 2008)

+ # To remain in memory: ''her name lives on''.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)

+ # To experience: ''lived through the war''.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Living, not dead: ''live animals''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Burning or glowing: ''live coals''.^(AHD)^(MWU 2024)

+ # Carrying an electric current.^(AHD)^(MWU 2024)

+ # Not yet exploded: ''a live shell''.^(AHD)

+ # Broadcast or performed as it happens, not recorded.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # Of current interest: ''a live issue''.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # At the time of the actual performance or event: ''broadcast live''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[liveness]]

+ * [[alive]]

+ * [[lively]]

+ * [[long-lived]]

+ * [[livability]]

+ * [[livable]]

+ * [[outlive]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[life]]

+ * [[leave]]

+ * [[livelihood]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Live'' in the sense “having life” is used only before a noun (''live animals''); after a verb ''alive'' is used instead.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}