Live \Live\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Lived; p. pr. & vb. n.
Living.]
[OE. liven, livien, AS. libban, lifian; akin to
OS. libbian, D. leven, G. leben, OHG. leb[=e]n, Dan. leve,
Sw. lefva, Icel. lifa to live, to be left, to remain, Goth.
liban to live; akin to E. leave to forsake, and life, Gr.
liparei^n to persist, liparo`s oily, shining, sleek, li`pos
fat, lard, Skr. lip to anoint, smear; -- the first sense
prob. was, to cleave to, stick to; hence, to remain, stay;
and hence, to live.]
1. To be alive; to have life; to have, as an animal or a
plant, the capacity of assimilating matter as food, and to
be dependent on such assimilation for a continuance of
existence; as, animals and plants that live to a great age
are long in reaching maturity.
Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I
will . . . lay sinews upon you, and will bring up
flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put
breath in you, and ye shall live. --Ezek.
xxxvii. 5, 6.
2. To pass one's time; to pass life or time in a certain
manner, as to habits, conduct, or circumstances; as, to
live in ease or affluence; to live happily or usefully.
O death, how bitter is the remembrance of thee to a
man that liveth at rest in his possessions!
--Ecclus. xli.
1.
3. To make one's abiding place or home; to abide; to dwell;
to reside.
Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years.
--Gen. xlvii.
28.
4. To be or continue in existence; to exist; to remain; to be
permanent; to last; -- said of inanimate objects, ideas,
etc.
Men's evil manners live in brass; their virtues We
write in water. --Shak.
5. To enjoy or make the most of life; to be in a state of
happiness.
What greater curse could envious fortune give Than
just to die when I began to live? --Dryden.
6. To feed; to subsist; to be nourished or supported; -- with
on; as, horses live on grass and grain.
7. To have a spiritual existence; to be quickened, nourished,
and actuated by divine influence or faith.
The just shall live by faith. --Gal. iii.
ll.
8. To be maintained in life; to acquire a livelihood; to
subsist; -- with on or by; as, to live on spoils.
Those who live by labor. --Sir W.
Temple.
9. To outlast danger; to float; -- said of a ship, boat,
etc.; as, no ship could live in such a storm.
A strong mast that lived upon the sea. --Shak.
To live out, to be at service; to live away from home as a
servant. [U. S.]
To live with.
(a) To dwell or to be a lodger with.
(b) To cohabit with; to have intercourse with, as male
with female.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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