lief

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lief

/ˈliːf/
[ˈlɪi̯f]

Sounds like leaf · Rhymes with -iːf

Where it comes from

From Middle English lef, leve, leef, from Old English lēof, from Proto-West Germanic *leub, from Proto-Germanic *leubaz.

Cognate with Saterland Frisian ljo, ljoo, ljoof, West Frisian leaf, Dutch lief, German Low German leev, German lieb, Swedish and Norwegian Nynorsk ljuv, Gothic 𐌻𐌹𐌿𐍆𐍃 (liufs), Russian любо́вь (ljubóvʹ), Polish luby.

For the adverb, compare German lieber, Dutch liever (“preferably, rather”).

adjective liefer · liever · liefest · lievest

archaic Beloved, dear, agreeable.
Similar: beloved
archaic Ready, willing.

adverb liefer · liever · liefest

archaic Readily, willingly, rather. I'd as lief have one as t'other.

Translations

Every language

adj beloved, dear, agreeable

Русский	люби́мый ljubímyj, дорого́й dorogój

adj willing

Русский	охо́тный oxótnyj

adv Readily, willingly

Русский	охо́тно oxótno

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MLA

"lief." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/lief. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

lief. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/lief

Chicago

"lief." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/lief.

BibTeX

@misc{lief_2026,
  title = {lief},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/lief},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}