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English
Etymology
Borrowed from French livre. Doublet of libra and lira.
Pronunciation
Noun
livre (plural livres)
- (historical) A unit of currency formerly used in France, divided into 20 sols or sous.
1992, Hilary Mantel, A Place of Greater Safety, Harper Perennial, published 2007, page 115:They like to see them awarded comfortable pensions. Is it 700,000 livres a year to the Polignac family?
2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin, published 2003, page 30:He never, it should be noted, totally renounced his inheritance: a critic of the court round, he benefited to the tune of a cool two million livres a year from royal largesse […] .
- (historical) An ancient French unit of weight, equal to about 1 avoirdupois pound.
Derived terms
Anagrams
Bourguignon
Etymology
From Latin liber.
Noun
livre m (plural livres)
- book
Franco-Provençal
Noun
livre
- plural of livra
French
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
Inherited from Middle French livre, from Old French livre, a semi-learned borrowing from Latin librum. The strictly inherited form would be *loivre. Doublet of liber.
Noun
livre m (plural livres)
- book
- Synonym: bouquin
Derived terms
Descendants
Etymology 2
Inherited from Middle French livre, from Old French livre, from Latin lībra.
Noun
livre f (plural livres)
- pound (unit of weight)
- (Europe, informal) metrical pound, half a kilogramme, 500 g
- (North America) imperial pound ≈ 454 g
- (historical) various values between 300 and 600 g
- pound (unit of currency)
- (Louisiana) grade (level)
Derived terms
Descendants
See also
Etymology 3
Verb
livre
- inflection of livrer:
- first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
- second-person singular imperative
Further reading
Middle English
Noun
livre
- Alternative form of lyvere (“liver”)
Middle French
Etymology 1
From Old French livre, from Latin liber.
Noun
livre m (plural livres)
- book
Descendants
Etymology 2
From Old French livre, from Latin lībra.
Noun
livre f (plural livres)
- scales
- pound (unit of weight varying between 380g and 552g)
- pound (unit of currency)
Descendants
Etymology 3
From Old French livre, from Latin līber.
Adjective
livre m or f (plural livres)
- free; at liberty
References
- livre on Dictionnaire du Moyen Français (1330–1500) (in French)
Norman
Etymology 1
From Old French livre, a semi-learned borrowing from Latin liber, librum.
Noun
livre m (plural livres)
- (Jersey) book
Derived terms
Etymology 2
From Latin libra.
Noun
livre f (plural livres)
- pound (unit of measure of mass)
Norwegian Bokmål
Noun
livre n (definite singular livreet, indefinite plural livre or livreer, definite plural livrea or livreene)
- Alternative form of livré
Norwegian Nynorsk
Noun
livre n (definite singular livreet, indefinite plural livre, definite plural livrea)
- Alternative form of livré
Anagrams
Old French
Etymology 1
Semi-learned borrowing from Latin liber, librum.
Noun
livre oblique singular, m (oblique plural livres, nominative singular livres, nominative plural livre)
- book (collection of sheets of paper in a specific order)
1260–1267, Brunetto Latini, “Cist premiers livres parole de la naissance de toutes choses [This first book talks about the birth of all things]” (chapter 1), Livre I - Premiere partie [First book - First part], in Livres dou Tresor [Book of the treasure]; republished as Polycarpe Chabaille, compiler, Li livres dou tresor par Brunetto Latini, Paris: Imprimerie impériale, 1863, page 1:si come li sires qui vuet en petit leu amasser choses de grandisme vaillance […] por acroistre son pooir […] i met il les plus chieres choses et les plus precieux joiaus que il puet, selonc sa bone entencion, tout autressi est li cors de cest livre compilez de sapience- Just like the lord, who wishes to accumulate very valuable things in a tiny place in order to increase his power, puts there—according to his good intention—the dearest things and the most precious jewels he can, so the body of this book is filled with knowledge
Descendants
Etymology 2
From Latin lībra.
Noun
livre oblique singular, f (oblique plural livres, nominative singular livre, nominative plural livres)
- livre (medieval French equivalent of a monetary pound)
- pound (weight)
Usage notes
- According to the Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française, the actual measure varied between 380g and 552g.
Descendants
Etymology 3
Semi-learned borrowing from Latin līber.
Adjective
livre m (oblique and nominative feminine singular livre)
- free; at liberty
Descendants
References
Portuguese
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Old Galician-Portuguese livre, libre, from Latin līber, from Old Latin loeber, from Proto-Italic *louðeros, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁lewdʰ-er-os, from *h₁lewdʰ- (“people”).
Adjective
livre m or f (plural livres)
- free
- unoccupied
- clear, open
Descendants
Noun
livre m (plural livres)
- (soccer) free kick
- Synonym: pontapé livre
Derived terms
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Verb
livre
- inflection of livrar:
- first/third-person singular present subjunctive
- third-person singular imperative