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

Franco-Provençal

Noun

livre

1. plural of livra

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
• → English: livre

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 m

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, “Cist premiers livres parole de la naissance de toutes choses” (chapter 1), Livre I - Premiere partie, in Livres dou Tresor; republished as Polycarpe Chabaille, compiler, Li livres dou tresor par Brunetto Latini‎^[1], Paris: Imprimerie impériale, 1863, page 1:

     si come li sires qui vuet en petit leu amasser choses de grandisme vaillance […] por acroistre son pooir […] i met il les plus chieres choses et les plus precieux joiaus que il puet, selonc sa bone entencion, tout autressi est li cors de cest livre compilez de sapience

     Just like the lord, who wishes to accumulate very valuable things in a tiny place […] in order to increase his power, […] puts there—according to his good intention—the dearest things and the most precious jewels he can, so the body of this book is filled with knowledge

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 (Central-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