lief
[ leef ]
/ lif /
|
adverb
gladly; willingly: I would as lief go south as not.
adjective Archaic.
willing; desirous.
dear; beloved; treasured.
Nearby words
liechtenstein, liechtensteiner, lied, lieder, liederkranz, lief, liefly, liege, liegeman, liegnitz, lien
Origin of lief
before 900; Middle English leef, Old English lēof; cognate with Dutch lief, German lieb, Old Norse ljufr, Gothic liufs; akin to love
Related formslief·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for lief
British Dictionary definitions for lief
lief
/ (liːf) /
adverb
rare gladly; willinglyI'd as lief go today as tomorrow
adjective
archaic
- ready; glad
- dear; beloved
Word Origin for lief
Old English leof; related to lufu love
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for lief
lief
Old English leof "dear, valued, beloved, pleasant;" also as a noun, "a beloved person, friend," from Proto-Germanic *leubo- (cf. Old Norse ljutr, Old Frisian liaf, Dutch lief, Old High German liob, German lieb, Gothic liufs "dear, beloved"), from PIE root *leubh- "love" (see love (n.)). As an adverb, "dearly, willingly" from c.1250. I want and I'd love to are overworked and misused to fill the hole left in the language when I would lief faded in 17c.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper