English
liefsome
Liefsome comes from Middle English lefsum.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lefsum
- Englishearliest quotation 1854liefsome
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lefsum
- Englishearliest quotation 1854liefsome
Earliest quotation: 1854, Henry Howard Surrey, Thomas Sackville Dorset (Earl of): “So forth I go apace to see that liefsome…”
Formed from lief + -some
Proto-Indo-European *lewbʰ- ‘to desire, love’
…
Proto-Germanic *leubaz ‘dear, beloved’
Proto-West Germanic *leub ‘dear, beloved’
Old English lēof ‘dear, beloved’
Middle English lef ‘beloved, dear’
English lief
Every English word from Middle English lefsum
Today it means
adj Agreeable; pleasing; delightful.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English lefsum / liefsome