lib

L1I1B3
/ˈlɪb/

noun

liberal

“women's lib”

OriginMiddle English libbe ← Old English lybb ← Proto-West Germanic *lubi →
CommonScrabble 5
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Meanings

lib1

nounlib (countable and uncountable, plural libs)

plural libs

  1. countableuncountablegovernmentliberal

    own the libs

  2. countableuncountableliberation

    women's lib

  3. countableuncountablelibrary
  4. countableuncountablelibertarian

lib2

nounlib (plural libs)

plural libs

  1. ScotlandUKdialectalA potion; magic potion; charm; concoction.

lib3

verblib (third-person singular simple present libs, present participle libbing, simple past and past participle libbed)

present singular third person libs · participle present libbing · participle past libbed · past libbed

  1. Northern EnglandScotlandUKdialectaltransitiveTo geld; castrate; emasculate (usually said of animals).

Lib4

proper noun
  1. USgovernmentThe Libertarian party.
  2. The astrological sign, Libra.
nounLib (plural Libs)

plural Libs

  1. AustraliangovernmentA member of the Liberal Party of Australia.
  2. CanadiangovernmentA member of the Liberal Party of Canada.

    The same people will have you believe that François Legault — a man who calls himself “prime minister of the Quebec nation” — would gladly watch his beloved nation’s hospital system crumble just to own the Libs.

    2022 December 22, Rahim Mohamed, “Rahim Mohamed: Team Trudeau gaslighting Canadians on health transfers”, in National Post

LIB5

proper noun
  1. Abbreviation of Liberal Party.
    1. CanadaabbreviationgovernmentAbbreviation of Liberal Party.
    2. UKabbreviationgovernmentAbbreviation of Liberal Democrat Party.
  2. abbreviationgovernmentAbbreviation of Libertarian Party.
    1. USabbreviationgovernmentAbbreviation of Libertarian Party.
nounLIB (plural LIBs)

plural LIBs

  1. abbreviationAbbreviation of lithium-ion battery.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
liberal partypotion

Origin

lib · noun

Abbreviation for various words beginning in lib-.

Full word history & related roots →

lib · noun

  1. Proto-Indo-European*lew-“to cut, remove, prune, separate”
  2. Proto-Indo-European*lewbʰ-
  3. Proto-Germanic*lubją“wort, herb, drug, poison”
  4. Proto-West Germanic*lubi
  5. Old Englishlybb
  6. Middle Englishlibbe
  7. Englishlib

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”).

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

lib · verb

  1. Proto-West Germanic*lubbjan
  2. Middle English*libben
  3. Englishlib

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.

More words from Middle English, Proto-West Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with lib

cribribnibbibglibtribsibjibbibbgibHibtibsquibchibBzybcut of one's jibdribdybprime ribsnibspareribvib.
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

lib. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lib

MLA

“lib.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lib. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “lib,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lib.

Source: lib on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.