English
lifeway
Lifeway comes from Old English līfweġ ‘a way which leads to life’.
- Old Englishc. 450–1150līfweġ‘a way which leads to life’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*lif-weireconstructed
- Englishearliest quotation 2017lifeway
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Old Englishc. 450–1150līfweġ‘a way which leads to life’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*lif-weireconstructed
- Englishearliest quotation 2017lifeway
Earliest quotation: 2017, Jason Hickel, Neoliberalism Comes Home: “And as under colonialism, in most cases ‘traditional’ values…”
The story
From Middle English *lif-wei (attested as lifes wege, lives wegas), from Old English līfweġ.
Every English word from Old English līfweġ
Today it means
noun One's path through life; a lifestyle or behaviour, now especially when seen as traditional.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old English līfweġ / lifeway