English
live
Live comes from Old English libban ‘to live’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *leyp- ‘to stick’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leyp-‘to stick’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*libjaną‘to live’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*libbjan‘to live’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150libban‘to live’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lefe
- Englishearliest quotation 1563live
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leyp-‘to stick’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*libjaną‘to live’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*libbjan‘to live’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150libban‘to live’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lefe
- Englishearliest quotation 1563live
Earliest quotation: 1563, John Foxe: “to live the Gospel”.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *leyp- ‘to stick’
life, leave, twelve, eleven, lipid, lipa, lave, 19 more
through Proto-Germanic *libjaną ‘to live’
through Old English libban ‘to live’
Today it means
verb To be alive; to have life.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *leyp- / live