living

English Online Dictionary. What means living‎? What does living mean?

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlɪvɪŋ/
• Rhymes: -ɪvɪŋ

Etymology 1

From Middle English livynge, libbyng, livinde, livand, livende, libbinde, libbende, from Old English lifiġende, lifiende, libbende, from Proto-West Germanic *libbjandī, from Proto-Germanic *libjandz (“living”), present participle of Proto-Germanic *libjaną (“to live”), equivalent to live +‎ -ing. Cognate with West Frisian libbend (“living”), Dutch levend (“living”), German lebend (“living”), Swedish levande (“living”), Icelandic lifandi (“living”).

Verb

living

1. present participle of live

Adjective

living (not comparable)

1. Having life; alive.
2. In use or existing.
3. True to life.

4. Of rock or stone, existing in its original state and place.
5. Continually updated; not static

6. Used as an intensifier.

Synonyms

• (having life): extant, living, vital; see also Thesaurus:alive
• (existing): extant; See also Thesaurus:existent
• (representing life): lifey, lifelike, limned, lively, naturalistic
• (intensifier): blasted, doggone, stinking; see also Thesaurus:damned

Antonyms

• dead
• nonliving

Hyponyms

• long-living
• longest-living

Derived terms

Related terms

• live, life
• alive

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English livynge, libbynge, equivalent to live +‎ -ing. Cognate with Middle Dutch levinge, (whence Dutch leving (“way of life, living”)), Middle Low German lēvinge (“living”).

Noun

living (countable and uncountable, plural livings)

1. (uncountable) The state of being alive.
2. Financial means; a means of maintaining life; livelihood
3. A style of life.

4. (with "the") Those who are alive: living people.

   Synonym: (archaic) quick

   Antonyms: dead; (polite) deceased, departed

5. (canon law) A position in a church (usually the Church of England) that has attached to it a source of income; an ecclesiastical benefice.

Derived terms

Translations

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from French living or, less plausibly, an independent truncated borrowing from English living room.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlɪ.vɪŋ/
• Rhymes: -ɪvɪŋ
• Hyphenation: li‧ving

Noun

living m (plural livings)

1. (Belgium) living room

   Synonyms: huiskamer, woonkamer

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English living (room).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /li.viŋ/

Noun

living m (plural livings)

1. living room

Further reading

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

Italian

Etymology

Pseudo-anglicism, a clipping of English living room.

Noun

living m

1. living room

   Synonym: soggiorno

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from English living-room.

Noun

living n (plural livinguri)

1. living room

Declension

Spanish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English living (room).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlibin/ [ˈli.β̞ĩn]
• Rhymes: -ibin

Noun

living m (plural livings)

1. (Rioplatense, Chile) living room

   Synonym: sala de estar

Usage notes

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.

Further reading

• “living”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10