From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Life \Life\ (lif), n.; pl. {Lives} (livz). [AS.
lif; akin to D. lijf body, G. leib body, MHG. lip
life, body, OHG. lib life, Icel. lif, life, body,
Sw. lif, Dan. liv, and E. live, v. SQRT 119. See Live, and
cf. Alive.]
1. The state of being which begins with generation, birth, or
germination, and ends with death; also, the time during
which this state continues; that state of an animal or
plant in which all or any of its organs are capable of
performing all or any of their functions; -- used of all
animal and vegetable organisms.
2. Of human beings: The union of the soul and body; also, the
duration of their union; sometimes, the deathless quality
or existence of the soul; as, man is a creature having an
immortal life. She shows a body rather than a life.
--Shak.
3. (Philos.) The potential principle, or force, by which the
organs of animals and plants are started and continued in
the performance of their several and coöperative
functions; the vital force, whether regarded as physical
or spiritual.
4. Figuratively: The potential or animating principle, also,
the period of duration, of anything that is conceived of
as resembling a natural organism in structure or
functions; as, the life of a state, a machine, or a book;
authority is the life of government.
5. A certain way or manner of living with respect to
conditions, circumstances, character, conduct, occupation,
etc.; hence, human affairs; also, lives, considered
collectively, as a distinct class or type; as, low life; a
good or evil life; the life of Indians, or of miners. That
which before us lies in daily life. --Milton.
By experience of life abroad in the world. --Ascham.
Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives
sublime. --Longfellow.
'T is from high life high characters are drawn. --Pope
6. Animation; spirit; vivacity; vigor; energy. No notion of
life and fire in fancy and in words. --Felton.
That gives thy gestures grace and life. --Wordsworth.
7. That which imparts or excites spirit or vigor; that upon
which enjoyment or success depends; as, he was the life of
the company, or of the enterprise.
8. The living or actual form, person, thing, or state; as, a
picture or a description from the life.
9. A person; a living being, usually a human being; as, many
lives were sacrificed.
10. The system of animal nature; animals in general, or
considered collectively. Full nature swarms with life.
--Thomson.
11. An essential constituent of life, esp. the blood. The
words that I speak unto you . . . they are life. --John
vi. 63.
The warm life came issuing through the wound. --Pope
12. A history of the acts and events of a life; a biography;
as, Johnson wrote the life of Milton.
13. Enjoyment in the right use of the powers; especially, a
spiritual existence; happiness in the favor of God;
heavenly felicity.
14. Something dear to one as one's existence; a darling; --
used as a term of endearment.
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From WordNet (r) 1.7 [wn]:
life
n 1: a characteristic state or mode of living; "social life";
"city life"; "real life"
2: the course of existence of an individual; the actions and
events that occur in living; "he hoped for a new life in
Australia"; "he wanted to live his own life without
interference from others"
3: the experience of living; the course of human events and
activities; "he could no longer cope with the complexities
of life" [syn: {living}]
4: the condition of living or the state of being alive; "while
there's life there's hope"; "life depends on many chemical
and physical processes" [syn: {animation}, {living}, {aliveness}]
5: the period during which something is functional (as between
birth and death); "the battery had a short life"; "he
lived a long and happy life" [syn: {lifetime}, {lifespan}]
6: the period between birth and the present time; "I have known
him all his life"
7: animation and energy in action or expression; "it was a
heavy play and the actors tried in vain to give life to
it" [syn: {liveliness}, {spirit}, {sprightliness}]
8: an account of the series of events making up a person's life
[syn: {biography}, {life story}, {life history}]
9: the period from the present until death; "he appointed
himself emperor for life"
10: a living person; "his heroism saved a life"
11: living things collectively; "the oceans are teeming with
life"
12: a motive for living; "pottery was his life"
13: the organic phenomenon that distinguishes living organisms
from nonliving ones; "there is no life on the moon" |
