lifen

English

Etymology

From life +‎ -en.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlaɪfən/
• Rhymes: -aɪfən

Verb

lifen (third-person singular simple present lifens, present participle lifening, simple past and past participle lifened)

1. (obsolete) To liven, to enliven.
   • 1600 or 1601 (date written), I. M. [i.e., John Marston], Antonios Reuenge. The Second Part. […], London: […] [Richard Bradock] for Thomas Fisher, and are to be soulde [by Matthew Lownes] […], published 1602, →OCLC, Act II, scene v, signature E2, recto:

     Ruſh me in / VVhil'ſt Mellida prepares her ſelfe to die: / Halter about thy necke, and vvith ſuch ſighs, / Laments, and acclamations lyfen it, / As if impulſiue povver of remorſe.

References

• “lifen”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• elfin, nifle

Middle English

Verb

lifen

1. Alternative form of lyven

Old English

Alternative forms

• leofen
• libn — Épinal Glossary

Etymology

Related to Proto-Germanic *lībą. Akin to Gothic 𐌻𐌹𐌱𐌰𐌹𐌽𐍃 (libains).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈli.fen/, [ˈli.ven]

Noun

lifen f

1. that by which one lives, support, sustenance

Declension

Strong ō-stem:

	singular	plural
nominative	lifen	lifna, lifne
accusative	lifne	lifna, lifne
genitive	lifne	lifna
dative	lifne	lifnum

Derived terms

• andlifen
• bīlifen

References

• Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller (1898) “lifen”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary‎^[1], 2nd edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.