lifelong English · revision 39829

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=1613, W. Browne, Britannia's Pastorals}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈlaɪf.lɔːŋ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It was formed [[af|en|life|long]] in English.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)^(Dictionary.com 2016) Its rare sense "throughout the whole day" comes from association with [[livelong]].^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Lasting a lifetime: 1613, in William Browne's ''Britannia's Pastorals'',^(OED 2026) although Etymonline and Merriam-Webster date the word only to 1855,^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) the Shorter Oxford to the early 19th century in this sense,^(SOED 2002) and Dictionary.com to 1750–60.^(Dictionary.com 2016)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The Shorter Oxford records the use as a synonym of ''livelong'', from the mid-18th century, before the sense "lasting a lifetime",^(SOED 2002) while in the OED the order is reversed: "lifelong" in 1613, and "livelong" from 1746, now rare.^(OED 2026) Coleridge used ''lifelong'' as a noun, meaning a lifetime, in 1814, a use that did not survive the 1850s.^(OED 2026) The adverb, for the whole of one's life, appears in Browning's ''The Ring and the Book'' (1868).^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1613 – lasting a lifetime.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1746 – the whole length of, livelong.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1814 – noun, a lifetime (obsolete).^(OED 2026)

+ * 1855 – adjective, in Etymonline and Merriam-Webster.^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1868 – adverb, throughout life.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Lasting or continuing through the whole of a person's [[life]]: ''a lifelong passion for birdwatching''.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # Having been so for all of one's life: ''They were lifelong neighbours.''^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[lifetime]]

+ * [[livelong]]

+ * [[life]]

+ * [[long]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}