lief

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /lif/ UK /liːf/ See IPA manual

adv adj

Meanings

1

adv
gladly or willingly; (archaic) dear, beloved

I would as lief stay home as go out in this storm.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adv · gladly or willingly;... gladly willingly readily dear beloved

Opposites

unwillingly reluctantly

Word family

Related forms leman love believe leave

Etymology

From Old English lēof ('dear, beloved, agreeable'), from Proto-Germanic *leubaz, from the Proto-Indo-European root *lewbʰ- ('to love, care for').

lēof Old English *lewbʰ- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Register & Style

# lief

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adv, adj
**IPA (US):** lif
**IPA (UK):** liːf

## Meanings
1. gladly or willingly; (archaic) dear, beloved

## Examples
- I would as lief stay home as go out in this storm.

## Synonyms
- gladly
- willingly
- readily
- dear
- beloved

## Antonyms
- unwillingly
- reluctantly

## Related Forms
- leman
- love
- believe
- leave

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: lēof
- Root: *lewbʰ-

## Etymology
From Old English lēof ('dear, beloved, agreeable'), from Proto-Germanic *leubaz, from the Proto-Indo-European root *lewbʰ- ('to love, care for').

## AI Etymology
Lief comes from Old English lēof ('dear, beloved, agreeable'), from Proto-Germanic *leubaz, from the Proto-Indo-European root *lewbʰ- ('to love, care for'). The etymological trail includes Old English lēof, Proto-Indo-European *lewbʰ-. The same word family includes leman, love, believe, leave. Its current adverb use means "gladly or willingly; (archaic) dear, beloved".

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Register & Style

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lief

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