livre

See also: livré and Livre

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French livre. Doublet of libra and lira.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈliːvɹə/, /ˈliːvə(ɹ)/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːvɹə, -iːvə(ɹ)

Noun

livre (plural livres)

1. (historical) A unit of currency formerly used in France, divided into 20 sols or sous.
   • 1992, Hilary Mantel, A Place of Greater Safety, Harper Perennial, published 2007, page 115:

     They like to see them awarded comfortable pensions. Is it 700,000 livres a year to the Polignac family?

   • 2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin, published 2003, page 30:

     He never, it should be noted, totally renounced his inheritance: a critic of the court round, he benefited to the tune of a cool two million livres a year from royal largesse […] .

2. (historical) An ancient French unit of weight, equal to about 1 avoirdupois pound.

Derived terms

• livre tournois

Anagrams

• Elvir, Liver, ervil, levir, liver, rivel, viler

Bourguignon

Etymology

From Latin liber.

Noun

livre m (plural livres)

1. book

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /livʁ/

• audio (un livre)

  (file)

• Homophones: livres, livrent
• Rhymes: -ivʁ

Etymology 1

Inherited from Middle French livre, from Old French livre, a semi-learned borrowing from Latin librum. The strictly inherited form would be *loivre. Doublet of liber.

Noun

livre m (plural livres)

1. book

   Synonym: bouquin

Derived terms

• à livre ouvert
• lire en quelqu’un comme dans un livre ouvert
• livre audio
• livre blanc
• livre de bord
• livre de chevet
• livre de comptes
• livre de poche
• livre d’heures
• livre d’or
• livre électronique
• livre sonore
• livro-
• parler comme un livre

 

Related terms

• libro-
• librairie f

Descendants

• Louisiana Creole: liv

Etymology 2

Inherited from Middle French livre, from Old French livre, from Latin lībra.

Noun

livre f (plural livres)

1. pound (unit of weight)
   1. (Europe, informal) metrical pound, half a kilogramme, 500 g
   2. (North America) imperial pound ≈ 454 g
   3. (historical) various values between 300 and 600 g
2. pound (unit of currency)
3. (Louisiana) grade (level)

Derived terms

• livre sterling

Descendants

• Louisiana Creole: liv

See also

• franc
• sou
• chelin

Etymology 3

Verb

livre

1. inflection of livrer:
   1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “livre”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Middle English

Noun

livre

1. Alternative form of lyvere (“liver”)

Middle French

Etymology 1

From Old French livre, from Latin liber.

Noun

livre m (plural livres)

1. book

Descendants

• French: livre

Etymology 2

From Old French livre, from Latin lībra.

Noun

livre f (plural livres)

1. scales
2. pound (unit of weight varying between 380g and 552g)
3. pound (unit of currency)

Descendants

• French: livre

Etymology 3

From Old French livre, from Latin līber.

Adjective

livre m or f (plural livres)

1. free; at liberty

References

• livre on Dictionnaire du Moyen Français (1330–1500) (in French)

Norman

Etymology 1

From Old French livre, a semi-learned borrowing from Latin liber, librum.

Noun

livre m (plural livres)

1. (Jersey) book

Derived terms

• garder les livres (“to keep books, book-keep”)
• livre d'exèrcice (“exercise book”)
• livre d'priéthes (“prayer book”)

 

Related terms

• librairie (“bookshop”)

Etymology 2

From Latin libra.

Noun

livre f (plural livres)

1. pound (unit of measure of mass)

Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

livre n (definite singular livreet, indefinite plural livre or livreer, definite plural livrea or livreene)

1. Alternative form of livré

Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

livre n (definite singular livreet, indefinite plural livre, definite plural livrea)

1. Alternative form of livré

Anagrams

• levri

Old French

Etymology 1

Semi-learned borrowing from Latin liber, librum.

Noun

livre oblique singular, m (oblique plural livres, nominative singular livres, nominative plural livre)

1. book (collection of sheets of paper in a specific order)
   • 1260–1267, Brunetto Latini, Livres dou tresor [The book of the treasure]; rewritten (manuscript), 15^th century, page 1, from the Rare Book and Manuscript Library of Columbia University:

     Ceſt liure eſt appellez treſoꝛ.

     [Cest livre est appellez tresor]

     This book is called Treasure.

Descendants

• Middle French: livre
  • French: livre
• Norman: livre

Etymology 2

From Latin lībra.

Noun

livre oblique singular, f (oblique plural livres, nominative singular livre, nominative plural livres)

1. livre (medieval French equivalent of a monetary pound)
2. pound (weight)

Usage notes

• According to the Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française, the actual measure varied between 380g and 552g.

Descendants

• → English: livre
• Middle French: livre
  • French: livre

Etymology 3

Semi-learned borrowing from Latin līber.

Adjective

livre m (oblique and nominative feminine singular livre)

1. free; at liberty

Descendants

• Middle French: livre

References

• livre on the Anglo-Norman On-Line Hub
• Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle (1881) (livre, supplement)

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈli.vɾi/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈli.vɾi/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈli.vɾe/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈli.vɾɨ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈli.vɾɨ/
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈli.bɾɨ/ [ˈli.βɾɨ]

• Audio (Center-West, Brazil)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: li‧vre

Etymology 1

From Old Galician-Portuguese livre, libre, from Latin līber, from Old Latin loeber, from Proto-Italic *louðeros, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁lewdʰ-er-os, from *h₁lewdʰ- (“people”).

Adjective

livre m or f (plural livres)

1. free
2. unoccupied
3. clear, open

Related terms

• livrar
• liberar
• liberdade
• libertar

Descendants

• Guinea-Bissau Creole: livri, libri

Noun

livre m (plural livres)

1. (soccer) free kick

   Synonym: pontapé livre

Derived terms

• livre direto
• livre indireto

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

livre

1. inflection of livrar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative