livestock English · revision 39389

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=a1687, William Petty}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * UK: /ˈlaɪvstɒk/^(Wiktionary)

+ * US: /ˈlaɪvstɑk/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a compound [[af|en|live|stock]],^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) with ''stock'' in its sense of the movable property of a farm, especially its animals.^(Etymonline) The farm's implements were sometimes called “dead stock”.^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Domestic animals kept on a farm for use or profit, before 1687, in William Petty's Political Anatomy of Ireland.^(OED 2026)^(HTOED) The sources disagree on the first date: Etymonline gives the 1520s,^(Etymonline) Dictionary.com 1650–60^(Dictionary.com 2016) and Merriam-Webster 1742.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From 1755 it was also applied to people, especially enslaved people, treated as property.^(OED 2026)^(HTOED) Humorously, ''livestock'' meant fleas, lice and other parasites living on the body; the OED records this from 1774,^(OED 2026) and Grose's slang dictionary listed it in 1785.^(GDoS)^(Etymonline) That sense is now rare.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * a1687 – farm animals (OED); Etymonline dates this to the 1520s.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1755 – of people, especially enslaved people.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1774 – fleas and lice, humorously.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1785 – in Grose's slang dictionary.^(GDoS)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[domestic|alt=Domestic]] animals such as [[cattle]], [[sheep]] and [[pig|alt=pigs]], raised on a farm for food or profit.^(AHD 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # ''(humorous, now rare)'' [[flea|alt=Fleas]], [[louse|alt=lice]] or other [[parasite|alt=parasites]] on a person.^(OED 2026)^(GDoS)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[stock]]

+ * [[live]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}