Link Centre Dictionary

lief

UK/ˈliːf/ US/ˈlɪi̯f/ uncommon archaic
adverb (1) adjective (1)

adverb

1.

in a willing manner

  • “this was gladly agreed to”
  • “I would fain do it”
Synonyms

adjective

1.

(`lief'' is archaic) very willing

  • “was lief to go”
  • “glad to help”
Synonyms
Similar

Origin

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”).

Related words

Pertaining to

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.