lief
Valid in Scrabble
- Scrabble points
- 7
- Words With Friends
- 8
- Letters
- 4
Definition of lief
3 senses · 2 parts of speech · etymology included
adj
- (archaic)Beloved, dear, agreeable.
See all 3 definitions Show less
adj
- (archaic)Beloved, dear, agreeable.
- (archaic)Ready, willing.
adv
-
(archaic)Readily, willingly, rather.
“I'd as lief have one as t'other.”
“1. Gent. And thou the Veluet; thou art good veluet; thou'rt a three pild-peece I warrant thee: I had as liefe be a Lyst of an English Kersey, as be pil'd, as thou art pil'd, for a French Veluet. [...]”
“As far as physiognomy goes, the winners protest that they would as lief have foregone the double points, and the money.”
“these great masters of the art, who would far liefer see us little ones practice it, than themselves engage [...].”
“Since sware the Parcæ unto me, their friend, / they shall adore my name, my favour prize; / and, as their feats of armèd prowess shend / all feats of rival Rome, I lief devise / some mode of aidance in what things I may, / far as our force o'er man extendeth sway.”
Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.
Etymology
From Middle English lef, leve, leef, from Old English lēof, from Proto-West Germanic *leub, from Proto-Germanic *leubaz. Cognate with Saterland Frisian ljo, ljoo, ljoof, West Frisian leaf, Dutch lief, German Low German leev, German lieb, Swedish and Norwegian Nynorsk ljuv, Gothic 𐌻𐌹𐌿𐍆𐍃 (liufs), Russian любо́вь (ljubóvʹ), Polish luby. For the adverb, compare German lieber, Dutch liever (“preferably, rather”).
Words you can make from lief
12 playable · top: FILE (7 pts)
Best play file 7 points4-letter words
1 word3-letter words
5 words2-letter words
5 wordsFind your best play with lief
See every word you can make from a set of letters that includes lief, or browse word lists you can mine for high-scoring plays.