lively

lively · adjective, noun¹

1. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*lībalīk“living, lively”
2. Old English · inherited fromlīflīċ“living, lively, long-lived, necessary to life, vital”
3. Middle English · inherited fromlyvely
4. English todaylively

From Middle English lyvely, lifly, from Old English līflīċ (“living, lively, long-lived, necessary to life, vital”), from Proto-West Germanic *lībalīk (“living, lively”), equivalent to life + -ly. Cognate with Scots lively, lifely (“of or pertaining to life, vital, living, life-like”), Old High German līblīh (“living, animated”), German leiblich (“bodily, corporeal”). Doublet of lifely and lifelike.

lively · adverb²

1. Old English · inherited fromlīflīċe
2. Middle English · inherited fromlyvely
3. English todaylively

From Middle English lyvely, lifly, from Old English līflīċe, equivalent to life + -ly.

Lively · proper noun³

From lively.

Words from the same roots