alive English · revision 3332

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=c. 1175|origins=ang on, ang līf}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /əˈlaɪv/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|alive]], on live,^(MWU 2024) a reduced form of the Old English phrase [[m|ang|on līfe|t=in life]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(NODE 1998) from [[m|ang|on|t=in]] and [[m|ang|līfe]], dative of [[m|ang|līf|t=life]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) See [[life]] and [[a-]].^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In life, living: Old English on līfe before 1000 in the OED;^(OED 1989) the reduced form is probably from about 1175 in Barnhart and about 1200 in Etymonline.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The full form ''on live'' was still current in the 17th century.^(Etymonline) As an emphatic, as in ''any man alive'', it is from before 1230,^(OED 1989) and the expletive ''man alive!'' is from 1845.^(Etymonline) Of abstract things such as fire, love or a dispute, “still in existence or operation”, it is from about 1600, or 1602 in the OED.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) “Active, lively” is from 1709, and “attentive, sensitive” (usually ''alive to'') from 1732.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) ''Alive and kicking'' is from 1823, and ''alive and well'' from 1966.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) In Cornish mining dialect a lode rich in metal was said to be ''alive''.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1000 – Old English on līfe, living.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1175 – the form ''alive''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1230 – emphatic, ''any man alive''.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1602 – of things, still in operation.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1709 – active, lively.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1732 – ''alive to'', aware of.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1823 – ''alive and kicking''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1845 – ''man alive!''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Living; not dead.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Still in existence or operation: ''keep hope alive''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Full of energy; [[lively]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''alive to'': aware of; [[sensitive]] to.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''alive with'': full of living or moving things: ''a pond alive with frogs''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[aliveness]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[life]]

+ * [[live]]

+ * [[lively]]

+ * [[aboard]]

+ * [[asleep]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}