Etymograph

English

mislive

Mislive comes from Old English mislibban ‘to lead a bad life’, from libban ‘to live’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *leyp- ‘to leave, cling, linger’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leyp-1‘to leave, cling, linger’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*libjaną2‘to live, to be alive’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*libbjan2‘to live, be alive’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150libban3‘to live’
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150mislibban4‘to lead a bad life’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500misliven4
  7. Englishtodaymislive4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *libjaną
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old English libban
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Old English mislibban
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English mislive

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leyp-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *libjaną‘to leave, cling, linger’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*libjanąWiktionary, Old English libban‘to live, to be alive’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*libbjanWiktionary, Old English libban‘to live, be alive’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150libbanWiktionary, Old English mislibban‘to live’
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150mislibbanWiktionary, English mislive‘to lead a bad life’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mislivenWiktionary, English mislive
  7. EnglishtodaymisliveWiktionary, English mislive

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *leyp- ‘to leave, cling, linger’

life, leave, twelve, alive, eleven, liver, lively, lipid, lipa, lave, 15 more

through Proto-Germanic *libjaną ‘to live, to be alive’

living, 2 more

through Old English libban ‘to live’

lib, liven, 2 more

Today it means

verb To lead a wrong, corrupt, or evil life; to live wrongly.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “mislive”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *libjaną, Old English libban, Old English mislibban. 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-Indo-European *leyp- / mislive

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