liver
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
English [edit]
Etymology 1 [edit]
Old English lifer, from Proto-Germanic *librō. Cognate with Dutch lever, German Leber, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish lever (the last three from Old Norse lifr).
Pronunciation [edit]
Noun [edit]
liver (countable and uncountable; plural livers)
- (anatomy) A large organ in the body that stores and metabolizes nutrients, destroys toxins and produces bile. It is responsible for thousands of biochemical reactions.
- Steve Jobs is a famous liver transplant recipient.
- (countable, uncountable) This organ, as taken from animals used as food.
- I'd like some goose liver pate.
- You could fry up some chicken livers for a tasty treat. — Nah, I don't like chicken liver.
- 1993, Philippa Gregory, Fallen Skies, ISBN-13: 978-1-4165-9314-0, page 222:
- "I should think you've rocked the boat enough already by refusing to eat liver."
- A dark brown colour, tinted with red and gray, like the colour of liver.
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liver colour:
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Usage notes [edit]
- The noun is often used attributively to modify other words. Used in this way, it frequently means "concerning the liver", "intended for the liver" or "made of liver" .
Derived terms [edit]
Translations [edit]
organ of the body
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organ as food
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colour
Adjective [edit]
liver (not comparable)
- Of the colour of liver (dark brown, tinted with red and gray).
- 2006, Rawdon Briggs Lee, A History and Description of the Modern Dogs of Great Britain & Ireland, ISBN 0-543-96651-8, page 298:
- His friend Rothwell, who had the use of the best Laveracks for breeding purposes, wrote him that one of his puppies was liver and white.
- 2006, Rawdon Briggs Lee, A History and Description of the Modern Dogs of Great Britain & Ireland, ISBN 0-543-96651-8, page 298:
Translations [edit]
Derived terms [edit]
Related terms [edit]
See also [edit]
Etymology 2 [edit]
Noun [edit]
liver (plural livers)
- Someone who lives (usually in a specified way).
- 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essays, II.31:
- Ephori of Sparta, hearing a dissolute liver propose a very beneficial advise unto the people, commaunded him to hold his peace, and desired an honest man to assume the invention of it unto himselfe and to propound it.
- 1621, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, II.3.7:
- a wicked liver may be reclaimed, and prove an honest man [...].
- 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essays, II.31:
Translations [edit]
Quotations [edit]
- For usage examples of this term, see the citations page.
Etymology 3 [edit]
Adjective [edit]
liver
- comparative form of liveen
- Seeing things on big screen somehow makes it seem liver.
Anagrams [edit]
Breton [edit]
Noun [edit]
liver m
Categories:
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English nouns
- en:Anatomy
- English countable nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English adjectives
- English uncomparable adjectives
- English words suffixed with -er
- English adjective comparative forms
- en:Browns
- en:Colors
- en:Meats
- Breton nouns
