English
lively
Lively comes from Old English līflīċ ‘living, lively, long-lived, necessary to life,…’, and goes back to Proto-West Germanic *lībalīk.
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*lībalīk‘living, lively’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150līflīċ‘living, lively, long-lived, necessary to life, vital’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lyvely
- Englishearliest quotation 1632lively
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*lībalīk‘living, lively’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150līflīċ‘living, lively, long-lived, necessary to life, vital’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lyvely
- Englishearliest quotation 1632lively
Earliest quotation: 1632, Philip Massinger, Nathan Field: “I spied the lively picture of my father.”
Formed from life + -ly
Proto-Germanic *lībą ‘life’
Proto-West Germanic *līb ‘body’
Old English līf
Middle English lyf
English life
Every English word from Proto-West Germanic *lībalīk
Another origin of lively
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leyp-‘to stick’uncertain
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lībaną‘to remain’uncertain
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lībą‘body’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*līb‘body’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150līf‘life’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150līflīċe‘vitally, in such a way as to infuse life’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lyvely
- Englishtodaylively
Today it means
adj Full of life; energetic, vivacious.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-West Germanic *lībalīk / lively