lib

lib · noun¹

Abbreviation for various words beginning in lib-.

lib · noun²

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*lew-“to cut, remove, prune, separate”
2. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*lewbʰ-
3. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*lubją“wort, herb, drug, poison”
4. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*lubi
5. Old English · inherited fromlybb
6. Middle English · inherited fromlibbe
7. English todaylib

Inherited from Middle English libbe, from Old English lybb, lyb (“medicine, drug, potion, poison, charm”), from Proto-West Germanic *lubi, from Proto-Germanic *lubją (“wort, herb, drug, poison”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewbʰ-, *lewb- (“to peel, break, damage”), from Proto-Indo-European *lew- (“to cut, remove, prune, separate”). Cognate with German Luppe, Lüppe (“salve, ointment, plant juice, medicine, magic”), Icelandic lyf (“medicine, drug”).

lib · verb³

1. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*lubbjan
2. Middle English · derived from*libben
3. English todaylib

From Middle English *libben (suggested by libbyng (“gelding”), lybbere (“gelder”)), related to Dutch lubben (“to castrate, emasculate”), Dutch libbe (“a steer”), lubbert (“a eunuch”). Further relation uncertain. Possibly related to Old English *lybban (“to doctor”), from Proto-West Germanic *lubbjan; or perhaps related to Old English lappa, læppa (“lappet, piece, section, lobe, portion, district”). More at lop.

Words from the same roots