lively en · ADJ · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈlaɪv.li/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
- (General-American) audio
Etymology
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.
Meanings
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Full of life; energetic, vivacious.
But with the lively [Giovani] Dos Santos pulling the strings behind strikers [Roman] Pavlyuchenko and [Jermain] Defoe, Spurs controlled the first half without finding the breakthrough their dominance deserved.
2011 September 29, Jon Smith, “Tottenham 3 – 1 Shamrock Rovers”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 27 Nov 2018:[...] St. Bede's at this period of its history was perhaps the poorest and most miserable parish in the East End of London. Close-packed, crushed by the buttressed height of railway viaducts, rendered airless by huge walls of factories, it at once banished lively interest from a stranger's mind and left only a dull oppression of the spirit.
1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, page 77:But wherefore comes old Manoa in such haſt, / With youthful ſteps? much livelier then e're while / He ſeems.
1671, John Milton, “Samson Agonistes, […].”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC, page 85, lines 452–455:Since sick people were apt to be present, he could not always depend on a lively young crowd in the same ward with him, and the entertainment was not always good.
1961 November 10, Joseph Heller, “The Soldier in White”, in Catch-22 […], New York, N.Y.: Simon and Schuster, →OCLC, page 168:
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Bright, glowing, vivid; strong, vigorous.
His faith must be not only living, but lively too.
1688, Robert South, Sacramental Preparation: Set forth in a Sermon on Matthew 5, 12.:The colours of the prism are manifestly more full, intense, and lively that those of natural bodies.
1704, Isaac Newton, Opticks: Or, A Treatise of the Reflections, Refractions, Inflections and Colours of Light:
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(archaic) Endowed with or manifesting life; living.
c. 1600, Philemon Holland chaplets of gold and silver resembling lively flowers and leaves
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(archaic) Representing life; lifelike.
I spied the lively picture of my father.
1632, Philip Massinger, Nathan Field, The Fatal Dowry:
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(archaic) Airy; animated; spirited.
From grave to gay, from lively to ſevere, [...]
1734, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Man. […], epistle IV, London: […] J[ohn] Wilford, […], →OCLC, page 80, line 775:
- (of beer) Fizzy; foamy; tending to produce a large head in the glass.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| lifely | alternative | lexicographic | |
| livelier | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| liveliest | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |
Deriveds
unlively · livelily · overlively · look lively · livened · liveliness · lively as a grig
Synonyms
naturalistic (representing life) · intense (vivid, strong, vigorous) · frisky · smart (vivid, strong, vigorous) · lifey (representing life) · spumescent (fizzy, foamy) · frothy (fizzy, foamy) · zestful · extant (endowed with or manifesting life) · high-spirited (full of life) · limned (representing life) · vital · peppy · live
Translations (84)
la vivāx (full of life) · es alacre (full of life) · uk жва́вий (bright, glowing, vivid; strong) · fi vaahtoinen (fizzy; foamy) · hi जीवंत (full of life) · ga mear (full of life) · es brioso (full of life) · ga beoga (full of life) · ru живой (full of life) · ru пе́нистый (fizzy; foamy) · ru оживлённый (full of life) · ru искристый (full of life) · de rege (full of life) · lv žirgts (full of life) · bg жив (full of life) · la alacer (full of life) · el ζωηρός (bright, glowing, vivid; strong) · pt borbulhante (full of life) · it vivace (full of life) · nb livlig (full of life) · gd aighearach (full of life) · uk жва́вий (full of life) · ga cróga (full of life) · fo lívligur (full of life) · de lebhaft (full of life) · fr animé (full of life) · ga aerach (full of life) · lv mundrs (full of life) · cy byw (full of life) · bg силен (bright, glowing, vivid; strong) · am ንቁ (full of life) · ga cróganta (full of life) · sl živahen (full of life) · cs živý (full of life) · lv možs (full of life) · de lebendig (full of life) · ja 賑やか (bright, glowing, vivid; strong) · ar دَجِر (full of life) · ga crógach (full of life) · hu élénk (full of life) · pl żywy (full of life) · lv ņiprs (full of life) · nn livleg (full of life) · bg ярък (bright, glowing, vivid; strong) · pt vivaz (full of life) · nl levendig (full of life) · bg оживен (full of life) · cs živý (bright, glowing, vivid; strong) · it vivido (full of life) · el ζωηρός (full of life) · grc βιωτικός (full of life) · eo verva (full of life) · fi vaahtoava (fizzy; foamy) · cu живъ (full of life) · hu élénk (bright, glowing, vivid; strong) · mi hauoraora (full of life) · ga éirimiúil (full of life) · es vivo (full of life) · ota دینج (full of life) · la vegetus (full of life) · arz نشيط (full of life) · pt animado (full of life) · lv kustīgs (full of life) · pt espevitado (full of life) · pt vibrante (full of life) · lv spirgts (full of life) · de munter (full of life) · pt efervescente (full of life) · is líflegur (full of life) · mi kautangatanga (full of life) · el ζωντανός (full of life) · da livlig (full of life) · eo sprita (full of life) · ga bíogúil (full of life) · eo vigla (full of life) · ca vivaç (full of life) · pl pełen życia (full of life) · it brioso (full of life) · gd beò (full of life) · es pizpireto (full of life) · bg искрящ (full of life) · sv livlig (full of life) · fi eläväinen (full of life) · hu eleven (full of life)