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Leib. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
Leib, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
Leib in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
Leib you have here. The definition of the word
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German
Etymology
From Middle High German līp, from Old High German līb, from Proto-West Germanic *līb, from Proto-Germanic *lībą (“life, body”), from *lībaną (“to remain, stay, be left”), from Proto-Indo-European *leyp- (“to stick, glue”). Cognate with German Low German Liev (“body”), Dutch lijf (“body”), English life, Swedish liv (“life, waist”).
Pronunciation
Noun
Leib m (strong, genitive Leibes or Leibs, plural Leiber, diminutive Leibchen n)
- (dated, higher register or religious) body
- Synonym: Körper
- (Luke 22:19)
Das ist mein Leib, der für euch hingegeben wird.- This is my body, which is given for you.
- by semantic narrowing more specifically
- trunk, torso
- Synonyms: Rumpf, Oberkörper, Torso
- belly, abdomen, stomach
- Synonyms: Bauch, Magen
- womb
- Synonyms: Mutterleib, (informal) Bauch, (medical) Gebärmutter
- (Line from the Hail Mary)
Gebenedeit ist die Frucht deines Leibes, Jesus.- Blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Usage notes
- Still commonly found in derivatives and in fixed expressions, such as nichts am Leib haben (“to be naked”, literally “to have nothing on one's body”), Leib und Leben (“life and limb”, literally “body and life”), Leib und Seele (“body and soul”), etc.
Declension
Derived terms
Further reading
- “Leib” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
- “Leib” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
- “Leib” in Duden online
- Leib on the German Wikipedia.Wikipedia de
Hunsrik
Etymology
From Middle High German lip, from Old High German lib.
Pronunciation
Noun
Leib m (plural Leiver)
- belly
Further reading