lived

[lahyvd, livd]

adjective

having life, a life, or lives, as specified (usually used in combination): a many-lived cat.

Origin of lived

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at life, -ed³

Related formshalf-lived, adjective

Pronunciation note

Lived, meaning “having a certain kind or extent of life,” is not derived from the preterit and past participle of the verb live

[liv] /lɪv/, but from the noun life

[lahyf] /laɪf/, to which the suffix -ed has been added. The original pronunciation, therefore, and one still heard, is

[lahyvd] /laɪvd/, which retains the vowel (ī) of life. Since the f of life changes to v with the addition of this suffix, as when leaf becomes leaved, this lived is identical in spelling with the preterit and past participle lived, and conflation of the two has led to the increasingly frequent pronunciation of this lived as

[livd] /lɪvd/ in such combinations as long-lived and short-lived. Both pronunciations are considered standard.

live

[liv]

verb (used without object), lived [livd] /lɪvd/, liv·ing.

to have life, as an organism; be alive; be capable of vital functions: all things that live.

to continue to have life; remain alive: to live to a ripe old age.

to continue in existence, operation, memory, etc.; last: a book that lives in my memory.

to maintain or support one's existence; provide for oneself: to live on one's income.

to feed or subsist (usually followed by on or upon): to live on rice and bananas.

to dwell or reside (usually followed by in, at, etc.): to live in a cottage.

to pass life in a specified manner: They lived happily ever after.

to direct or regulate one's life: to live by the golden rule.

to experience or enjoy to the full: At 40 she was just beginning to live.

to cohabit (usually followed by with).

to escape destruction or remain afloat, as a ship or aircraft.

verb (used with object), lived [livd] /lɪvd/, liv·ing.

to pass (life): to live a life of ease.

to practice, represent, or exhibit in one's life: to live one's philosophy.

Verb Phrases

live down, to live so as to allow (a mistake, disgrace, etc.) to be forgotten or forgiven: She'll never live that crucial moment of failure down.

live in/out, to reside at or away from the place of one's employment, especially as a domestic servant: Their butler lives in, but the maids live out.

live up to, to live in accordance with (expectations or an ideal or standard); measure up to: He never lived up to his father's vision of him.

Origin of live

before 900; Middle English liven, Old English lifian, libban; cognate with Dutch leven, German leben, Old Norse lifa, Gothic liban

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for lived

alive, hot, working, lively, prevalent, last, lead, move, maintain, remain, continue, endure, pass, survive, reside, locate, settle, crash, occupy, flourish

Examples from the Web for lived

Contemporary Examples of lived

Most coup members “lived in the diaspora in the United States and Germany,” Faal said.
The Shadowy U.S. Veteran Who Tried to Overthrow a Country
Jacob Siegel
January 6, 2015
We are not told that Cooper had been able to vote without hindrance when she lived in Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.
Dr. King Goes to Hollywood: The Flawed History of ‘Selma’
Gary May
January 2, 2015
Could he have won the White House in 1992, and if he had, would he have lived up to his ideals?
President Cuomo Would’ve Been a Lion
Jonathan Alter
January 2, 2015
That is the difference between the protections embedded in our Bill of Rights and the lived lives of our citizenry.
What Would Happen if I Got in White Cop’s Face?
Goldie Taylor
December 30, 2014
Like Romeo and Juliet, we lived in different worlds — until now.
Biking With the Bard
Kara Cutruzzula
December 28, 2014

Historical Examples of lived

Paralus ever lived in affectionate communion with the birds and the flowers.
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
They told the story of a queen who had lived to be eighty-two years old.
Ancient Man
Hendrik Willem van Loon
But when the Jews entered Palestine, the Canaanites lived in towns and villages.
Ancient Man
Hendrik Willem van Loon
Just across the way, there lived a farmer who had a young daughter.
Ancient Man
Hendrik Willem van Loon
For many years they lived amidst the trackless hills of the desert.
Ancient Man
Hendrik Willem van Loon

British Dictionary definitions for lived

live

verb (mainly intr)

to show the characteristics of life; be alive

to remain alive or in existence

to exist in a specified wayto live poorly

(usually foll by in or at) to reside or dwellto live in London

(often foll by on) to continue or lastthe pain still lives in her memory

(usually foll by by) to order one's life (according to a certain philosophy, religion, etc)

(foll by on, upon, or by) to support one's style of life; subsistto live by writing

(foll by with) to endure the effects (of a crime, mistake, etc)

(foll by through) to experience and survivehe lived through the war

(tr) to pass or spend (one's life, etc)

to enjoy life to the fullhe knows how to live

(tr) to put into practice in one's daily life; expresshe lives religion every day

live and let live to refrain from interfering in others' lives; to be tolerant

where one lives US informal in one's sensitive or defenceless position

Word Origin for live

Old English libban, lifian; related to Old High German libēn, Old Norse lifa

live

adjective

(prenominal) showing the characteristics of life

(usually prenominal) of, relating to, or abounding in lifethe live weight of an animal

(usually prenominal) of current interest; controversiala live issue

actuala real live cowboy

informal full of life and energy

(of a coal, ember, etc) glowing or burning

(esp of a volcano) not extinct

loaded or capable of explodinga live bomb

radio television transmitted or present at the time of performance, rather than being a recordinga live show

(of a record)

recorded in concert
recorded in one studio take, without overdubs or splicing

connected to a source of electric powera live circuit

(esp of a colour or tone) brilliant or splendid

acoustically reverberanta live studio

sport (of a ball) in play

(of rocks, ores, etc) not quarried or mined; native

being in a state of motion or transmitting power; positively connected to a driving member

printing

(of copy) not yet having been set into type
(of type that has been set) still in use

adverb

during, at, or in the form of a live performancethe show went out live

Word Origin for live

C16: from on live alive

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for lived

live

Old English lifian (Anglian), libban (West Saxon) "to be, to live, have life; to experience," also "to supply oneself with food, to pass life (in some condition)," from Proto-Germanic *liben (cf. Old Norse lifa "to live, remain," Old Frisian libba, German leben, Gothic liban "to live"), from PIE root *leip- "to remain, continue" (cf. Greek liparein "to persist, persevere;" see leave). Meaning "to make a residence, dwell" is from c.1200. Related: Lived; living.

According to the Dutch Prouerbe ... Leuen ende laetan leuen, To liue and to let others liue. [Malynes, 1622]

To live it up "live gaily and extravagantly" is from 1903. To live up to "act in accordance with" is 1690s, from earlier live up "live on a high (moral or mental) level" (1680s). To live (something) down "outwear (some slander or embarrassment)" is from 1842. To live with "cohabit as husband and wife" is attested from 1749; sense of "to put up with" is attested from 1937. Expression live and learn is attested from c.1620.

live

adj.

1540s, "having life," later (1610s) "burning, glowing," a shortening of alive (q.v.). Sense of "containing unspent energy or power" (live ammunition, etc.) is from 1799. Meaning "in-person" (of performance) is first attested 1934. Live wire is attested from 1890; figurative sense of "active person" is from 1903.

lived in Medicine

live

[līv]

adj.

Having life; alive.

Capable of replicating in a host's cells.

Containing living microorganisms or viruses capable of replicating in a host's cells.

Idioms and Phrases with lived

live

In addition to the idioms beginning with live

live and learn
live and let live
live by one's wits
live dangerously
live down
live for the moment
live from day to day
live from hand to mouth
live happily ever after
live high off the hog
live in
live in each other's pockets
live in sin
live it up
live like a king
live on
live on borrowed time
live on the edge
live out
live through
live together
live up to
live wire
live with

also see:

alive (live) and kicking
as I live and breathe
close to home (where one lives)
(live from) day to day
fat of the land, live off the
high off the hog, live
in one's pocket (live in each other's pockets)
learn to live with
people who live in glass houses