- livelong
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adjective
Etymology: Middle English lef long, from lef dear + long — more at lief
Date: 15th century
whole, entire <the livelong day>
New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.
livelong
Look at other dictionaries:
Livelong — Live long , a. [For lifelong. Cf. {Lifelong}.] 1. Whole; entire; long in passing; used of time, as day or night, in adverbial phrases, and usually with a sense of tediousness. [1913 Webster] The obscure bird Clamored the livelong night. Shak.… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
livelong — ► ADJECTIVE literary ▪ (of a period of time) entire: all this livelong day … English terms dictionary
livelong — [liv′lôŋ΄] adj. [ME lefe longe, lit., lief long (see LIEF): the first word is merely intens.: altered by assoc. with LIVE1] whole; entire [the livelong day] … English World dictionary
livelong — also live long, c.1400, lefe longe (day), from leve, lief dear (see LIEF (Cf. lief)), used here as an emotional intensive + LONG (Cf. long) (adj). From late 16c. conformed in spelling to live (v.) as lief grew strange. German has cognate die… … Etymology dictionary
livelong — lifelong, livelong Lifelong (19c) is a combination of life and long, and means ‘lasting or continuing for a lifetime’ (his lifelong companion). Livelong, pronounced liv long, is a much older word (15c) and is a combination of lief, meaning ‘dear … Modern English usage
livelong — /liv lawng , long /, adj. (of time) whole or entire, esp. when tediously long, slow in passing, etc.: We picked apples the livelong day. [1350 1400; alter. (by assoc. with LIVE1) of earlier leeve long, ME leve longe dear long. See LIEF, LONG1] *… … Universalium
livelong — 1. adjective total, complete, whole Ive been workin on the railroad, all the livelong day. 2. noun the orpine, Sedum telephium … Wiktionary
livelong — live|long [ˈlıvlɔŋ US lo:ŋ] adj [Date: 1300 1400; Origin: lief dear (11 19 centuries) (from Old English leof) (influenced by LIVE1) + long] all the livelong day old fashioned a phrase meaning all day , used when this seems like a long time to you … Dictionary of contemporary English
livelong — live|long [ lıv,lɔŋ ] adjective all the livelong day MAINLY LITERARY used for emphasizing how long a period of time seems to last … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
livelong — livelong1 [ lɪvlɒŋ] adjective literary (of a period of time) entire: all this livelong day. Origin ME leve longe dear long (see lief, long1), assoc. with live1. livelong2 [ lɪvlɒŋ] noun … English new terms dictionary
