lief

[ leef ]

adverb

1. gladly; willingly:

   I would as lief go south as not.

adjective

Archaic.

1. willing; desirous.
2. dear; beloved; treasured.

lief

/ liːf /

adverb

1. rare.
   gladly; willingly

   I'd as lief go today as tomorrow

adjective

1. archaic.
   1. ready; glad
   2. dear; beloved

Other Word Forms

• liefly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of lief¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English leef, Old English lēof; cognate with Dutch lief, German lieb, Old Norse ljufr, Gothic liufs; akin to love

Word History and Origins

Origin of lief¹

Old English leof; related to lufu love

Example Sentences

Jha made clear his lief that Americans will still face "hard" times over the next few weeks.

From Fox News

You don’t get anywhere in lief without a bit of pain sometimes.

From The Guardian

I bad as lief seek oat the nearest grotesquerie.

From Literature

What if they had all been instructed: You may lief His mind reeled.

From Literature

He thought you wanted to go 'round kind o' on a lark; and that pony, for mere devilment, had just as lief go-a-courting as not.

From Project Gutenberg