Etymograph

English

alive

Alive comes from Old English on līfe ‘in life’, from on + līfe, the dative of līf ‘life’.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lībą1‘body’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*līb1‘body’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150līf2‘life’
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150on līfe2literally ‘in life" or "in (the) body’dative singular of līf
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500alyve2‘alive’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1611alive2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Old English lif
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English alive
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “I am hee that liueth, and was dead :…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lībąWiktionary, Old English lif‘body’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*lībWiktionary, Old English lif‘body’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150līfWiktionary, English alive‘life’
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150on līfeWiktionary, English aliveliterally ‘in life" or "in (the) body’dative singular of līf
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500alyveWiktionary, English alive‘alive’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1611aliveWiktionary, English alive. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “I am hee that liueth, and was dead :…”

The story

In this sense, replaced Old English cwic (whence English quick).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with alive, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *leyp- ‘to stick’

  • living ← livynge ← lifiġende ← *libbjandī ← *libjandz
  • lib ← lyven ← libban ← *libbjan ← *libjaną
  • liver ← lyvere ← lifer ← *libru ← *librō
  • eleventh ← elleventhe ← elleven ← endleofan ← *ainalifun
  • lipid ← lipide ← λῐ́πος ← *lípos
  • lipa ← *léiˀpāˀ
  • liven ← lyven ← libban ← *libbjan ← *libjaną

through Proto-Germanic *lībaną ‘to remain’

  • leave ← leven ← lǣfan ← *laibijan ← *laibijaną
  • twelve ← twelf ← *twalif ← *twai
  • eleven ← elleven ← endleofan ← *ainalifun ← *ainalif
  • lave ← lafe ← lāf ← *laibu ← *laibō

through Proto-West Germanic *līb ‘body’

  • lifeless ← lyfles ← līflēas ← līf

28 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

adj Having life; living; not dead.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “alive”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Old English lif. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *lībą / alive