livelihood

English

Alternative forms

• livelod
• lyuelode [12th-17th c.]
• lyvelod [14th-17th c.]

Etymology

From Middle English liflode, from Old English līflād (“course of life, conduct”), from līf (“life”) +‎ lād (“course, journey”), later altered under the influence of lively, -hood. Compare life, lode.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˈlʌɪvlɪhʊd/

Noun

livelihood (plural livelihoods)

1. (obsolete) The course of someone's life; a person's lifetime, or their manner of living; conduct, behaviour. [10th-17th c.]
   • 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book I.3:

     his name is sir Ector, & he is a lord of fair lyuelode in many partyes in Englond & Walys [...].

2. A person's means of supporting himself. [from 14th c.]
   • 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, V.4:

     But now, when Philtra saw my lands decay / And former livelod fayle, she left me quight […].

   • 2013, Matthew Claughton, The Guardian, (letter), 25 Apr 2013:

     The legal profession believes that client choice is the best way of ensuring standards remain high, because a lawyer's livelihood depends upon their reputation.

3. (now rare) Property which brings in an income; an estate. [from 15th c.]
   • 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, Acts V:

     Then sayde Peter: Ananias how is it that satan hath fillen thyne hert, thatt thou shuldest lye unto the holy goost, and kepe awaye parte off the pryce off thy lyvelod [...]?

4. (obsolete) liveliness; appearance of life

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)

Synonyms

• living
• subsistence

Translations

means of supporting oneself

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 生計 (cmn), 生计 (cmn) (shēngjì), 飯碗 (cmn), 饭碗 (cmn) (fànwǎn) (lit.: "rice bowl")

• Czech: obživa (cs) f, živobytí (cs) n
• Danish: levebrød (da) n
• Dutch: levensonderhoud (nl)
• Finnish: toimeentulo (fi), elinkeino (fi)

• French: gagne-pain (fr) m, subsistance (fr) m
• German: Lebensunterhalt (de) m
• Japanese: 生計 (ja) (せいけい, seikei)
• Russian: средства к существованию (srédstva k suščestvovániju) n pl
• Spanish: sustento (es) m
• Swedish: levebröd (sv) n