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lich. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
lich, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
lich in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
lich you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Etymology 1
From Middle English lich, from Old English līċ, from Proto-West Germanic *līk, from Proto-Germanic *līką, from Proto-Indo-European *leyg-.
Cognate with Dutch lijk, German Leiche, Norwegian lik, Swedish lik, Danish lig.
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
Noun
lich (plural liches or (with Scots pronunciation) lichs)
- (archaic, UK) A corpse or dead body.
1845, Penny Magazine of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, page 35:[…] and that, as the chronicle states, a lich-way would be made through then, assembled his servants, and attempted to stop its progress as it was carried over a bridge. A scuffle ensued, and the body was thrown into the water. The lich-way as not made ; but the Bishop of Exeter amply revenged himself for the proceedings.
1983, Poul Anderson, Time Patrolman (Sci-Fi), →ISBN:She saw him again that eventide, but then he was a reddened lich.
- (fantasy, roleplaying games) A reanimated corpse or undead being; particularly an intelligent, undead spellcaster.
1974, Karl Edward Wagner, Sticks:It was a lich’s face – desiccated flesh tight over its skull.
- (Can we verify(+) this sense?) Ellipsis of lichfield.
- (Can we verify(+) this sense?) Ellipsis of lichgate.
- (Can we verify(+) this sense?) Ellipsis of lichway.
Derived terms
Translations
References
- ^ Joseph Wright, editor (1902), “LICH”, in The English Dialect Dictionary: , volume III (H–L), London: Henry Frowde, , publisher to the English Dialect Society, ; New York, N.Y.: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, →OCLC.
Etymology 2
From Middle English līke, līch (“like”); see like and -like for more. Compare -ly and -lich.
Adjective
lich (comparative more lich, superlative most lich)
- (obsolete) Like; resembling; equal.
- 1386-90, John Gower, Confessio Amantis.
- Anon he let two cofres make / Of one semblance, and of one make, / So lich, that no lif thilke throwe, / That one may fro that other knowe.
Middle English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Old English līċ, from Proto-West Germanic *līk, from Proto-Germanic *līką, from Proto-Indo-European *leyg- (“alike, similar”).
Noun
lich (plural lichs)
- A body.
Descendants
Polish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /lix/
- Rhymes: -ix
- Syllabification: lich
Noun
lich f
- genitive plural of licha
Noun
lich n
- genitive plural of licho
Further reading
- lich in Polish dictionaries at PWN