life

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   The state of being alive.

   The doctors fought to save the patient's life.

2. 2
   noun

   The way a person lives, or their experiences over time.

   She has had a happy life with her family.

3. 3
   noun

   The period of time during which a person is alive.

   He lived in the same town his whole life.

4. 4
   noun

   Living things in general.

   The oceans are full of life.

5. 5
   noun

   The length of time something works or lasts.

   The battery had a short life and soon needed replacing.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Life is an Old English word related to German Leib “body” and to leave and live.

From Middle English lyf, from Old English līf, from Proto-West Germanic *līb, from Proto-Germanic *lībą (“life, body”), from *lībaną (“to remain, stay, be left”), from Proto-Indo-European *leyp- (“to stick, glue”). Cognate with Scots life, leif (“life”), Saterland Frisian Lieuw (“body”), West Frisian liif (“body”), Cimbrian laip (“body”), Dutch lijf (“body”) and leven (“life”), German Leib (“body; womb”) and Leben (“life”), Low German Lief (“body; life”), Luxembourgish Leif, Läif (“body”), Vilamovian łaowa (“life”), Yiddish לײַב (layb, “body”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk and S…

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External links

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