Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “alive” come from?

Alive comes from Middle English alive, from Old English on līfe, literally "in life."

alive (English): Having life; living; not dead; In a state of...

Definitions

  1. Having life; living; not dead; In a state of...

Ancestry of “alive”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishalyve—
2Old Englishon līfein life

Words derived from “alive”

  • aliveness
  • keepalive
  • unalive
  • nonalive
  • unaliveness
Every word from Old English on līfe →