English word origin

Etymology of liven

Partly from life + -en; partly from live (adjective) + -en; and partly a shortening of enliven. Cognate with Norwegian Nynorsk livna (“to quicken, come alive”), Faroese livna (“to come to life, come alive”), Icelandic li

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

verb

To cause to be more lively, or to become more lively.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Cognate mentionlivnann · to quicken, come alive
Cognate mentionlivnafo · to come to life, come alive
Cognate mentionlifnais · to come to life

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "suf",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "life",
        "3": "-en",
        "id2": "inchoative"
      },
      "expansion": "life + -en"
    },
    {
      "name": "suf",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "live",
        "3": "-en",
        "pos1": "adjective",
        "id2": "inchoative"
      },
      "expansion": "live (adjective) + -en"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nn",
        "2": "livna",
        "t": "to quicken, come alive"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Nynorsk livna (“to quicken, come alive”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fo",
        "2": "livna",
        "t": "to come to life, come alive"
      },
      "expansion": "Faroese livna (“to come to life, come alive”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "lifna",
        "t": "to come to life"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic lifna (“to come to life”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "life",
      "life#English"
    ],
    [
      "-en",
      "-en#English:_inchoative"
    ],
    [
      "live",
      "live#English"
    ],
    [
      "-en",
      "-en#English:_inchoative"
    ],
    [
      "enliven",
      "enliven#English"
    ],
    [
      "livna",
      "livna#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
    ],
    [
      "livna",
      "livna#Faroese"
    ],
    [
      "lifna",
      "lifna#Icelandic"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To cause to be more lively, or to become more lively."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "ambitransitive"
      ],
      "recordId": "0a02bdc210f0cecb52f06c51cf0c10ff543a8c0b5aa72bb456a0c52cc225903c",
      "rawRecordSha256": "698025e09e5cf5d57ecee906a376866542f9f765ca436e3ec92690b28cd3344f",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 483897
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

verb

plural simple present of live

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English liven, equivalent to live + -en.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inherited-form mentionlivenenm

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "liven"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English liven"
    },
    {
      "name": "suffix",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "live",
        "3": "en",
        "id2": "plural present"
      },
      "expansion": "live + -en"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "liven",
      "liven#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "live",
      "live#English"
    ],
    [
      "-en",
      "-en#English:_plural_present"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "plural simple present of live"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "form-of",
        "obsolete",
        "plural",
        "present"
      ],
      "recordId": "6168a9620ea1760a5756539084c314f2c2b6073d0ec14dfb2d8a9e93f82e28ce",
      "rawRecordSha256": "861629ffe916c930cdad634658d49e563e753a77c97071209c39849b22472c5d",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 483898
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for liven →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-bGl2ZW4