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livid
[ liv-id ]
/ ËlÉȘv ÉȘd /
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adjective
having a discolored, bluish appearance caused by a bruise, congestion of blood vessels, strangulation, etc., as the face, flesh, hands, or nails.
dull blue; dark, grayish-blue.
enraged; furiously angry: Willful stupidity makes me absolutely livid.
feeling or appearing strangulated because of strong emotion.
reddish or flushed.
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Origin of livid
First recorded in 1615â25; from Latin lÄ«vidus âblack and blue,â equivalent to lÄ«v(Äre) âto be lividâ (akin to Welsh lliw âcolorâ) + -idus adjective suffix; see -id4
historical usage of livid
Livid âbluish, dull blue, grayish-blueâ ultimately comes from Latin lÄ«vidus âdull blue, grayish-blue, discolored by bruisingâ (equivalent to English black and blue ), also meaning âspiteful, maliciousâ (in Latin one is blue with jealousy, not green).
In the early 18th century, English livid somehow developed the further senses âpale, deathly pale,â as from cold or in death, with no connotation of blueness. Then in the first half of the 19th century, livid came to mean âpale with rage or fury,â which is confusing because an angry personâs face can just as well be described as âpurple with rageâ or âred with fury.â Livid finally acquired the simple meaning âenraged, furiously angryâ in the late 19th century.
LÄ«vidus comes from the same Proto-Indo-European root slÄ«- (suffixed form slÄ«-wo- ) âbluishâ as appears in Old English slÄh (English sloe, as in sloe gin fizz, a drink that has never gone away). SlÄ«-wo- appears in Slavic (Serbo-Croatian) ĆĄljiva âplumâ (from its color), from which the pale fruit brandy ĆĄljivovica âslivovitzâ is distilled.
In the early 18th century, English livid somehow developed the further senses âpale, deathly pale,â as from cold or in death, with no connotation of blueness. Then in the first half of the 19th century, livid came to mean âpale with rage or fury,â which is confusing because an angry personâs face can just as well be described as âpurple with rageâ or âred with fury.â Livid finally acquired the simple meaning âenraged, furiously angryâ in the late 19th century.
LÄ«vidus comes from the same Proto-Indo-European root slÄ«- (suffixed form slÄ«-wo- ) âbluishâ as appears in Old English slÄh (English sloe, as in sloe gin fizz, a drink that has never gone away). SlÄ«-wo- appears in Slavic (Serbo-Croatian) ĆĄljiva âplumâ (from its color), from which the pale fruit brandy ĆĄljivovica âslivovitzâ is distilled.
OTHER WORDS FROM livid
liv·id·ly, adverbliv·id·ness, li·vid·i·ty [li-vid-i-tee], /lÉȘËvÉȘd ÉȘ ti/, nounWords nearby livid
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use livid in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for livid
livid
/ (ËlÉȘvÉȘd) /
adjective
(of the skin) discoloured, as from a bruise or contusion
of a greyish tinge or colourlivid pink
informal angry or furious
Derived forms of livid
lividly, adverblividness or lividity, nounWord Origin for livid
C17: via French from Latin lÄ«vidus, from lÄ«vÄre to be black and blue
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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