livelihood
/ˈlaɪvlihʊd/ noun
Forms livelihoods livelod lyuelode lyvelod
- noun A means of providing the necessities of life for oneself (for example, a job or income). “an independent livelihood; to make / earn / gain / win a good livelihood by the sweat of one's brow”
- noun (now rare) Property which brings in an income; an estate.
- noun (obsolete) Liveliness; appearance of life.
- noun (obsolete) The course of someone's life; a person's lifetime, or their manner of living; conduct, behaviour.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English liflode, from Old English līflād (“course of life, conduct”), from līf (“life”) + lād (“course, journey”), later altered under the influence of lively, -hood. Compare life, lode.
Webster’s 1913
- noun Subsistence or living, as dependent on some means of support; support of life; maintenance.
- noun Liveliness; appearance of life. [Obs.] Shak.
Etymology [OE. livelode, liflode, prop., course of life, life's support, maintenance, fr. AS. lif life + lad road, way, maintenance. Confused with livelihood liveliness. See Life, and Lode.]
Etymology [Lively + -hood.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “livelihood”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details