lived

[ lahyvd, livd ]
/ laɪvd, lɪvd /

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

pronunciation note for lived

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.

OTHER WORDS FROM lived

half-lived, adjective

Definition for lived (2 of 2)

live 1
[ liv ]
/ lɪv /

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

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

Origin of live

1
before 900; Middle English liven, Old English lifian, libban; cognate with Dutch leven, German leben, Old Norse lifa, Gothic liban

Example sentences from the Web for lived

British Dictionary definitions for lived (1 of 2)

live 1
/ (lɪv) /

verb (mainly intr)

Word Origin for live

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

British Dictionary definitions for lived (2 of 2)

live 2
/ (laɪv) /

adjective

adverb

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

Word Origin for live

C16: from on live alive

Medical definitions for lived

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