lief


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lief

 (lēf)
adv. lief·er, lief·est
Readily; willingly: I would as lief go now as later.
adj. liefer, liefest Archaic
1. Beloved; dear.
2. Ready or willing.
[Middle English leve, lef, dear, willingly, from Old English lēof, dear; see leubh- in Indo-European roots.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

lief

(liːf)
adv
rare gladly; willingly: I'd as lief go today as tomorrow.
adj
(Historical Terms) archaic
a. ready; glad
b. dear; beloved
[Old English leof; related to lufu love]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

lief

(lif)

adv.
gladly; willingly: I would as lief go south as not.
[before 900; Middle English leef, Old English lēof, c. Old Saxon liof, Old High German liob, Old Norse ljūfr, Gothic liufs; akin to love]
lief′ly, adv.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Adv.1.lief - in a willing manner; "this was gladly agreed to"; "I would fain do it"
fain, gladly
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations

lief

(archaic) [liːf] ADV I'd as lief not go → igual me da no ir, de igual gana no voy
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

lief

adv (old) I would as lief → ich würde ebenso gern; I would as lief … as anything → ich würde nichts lieber tun als …
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
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References in classic literature ?
I want to be so I can help my mother and the children at home, and not have to ask lief of anybody.'
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And as for you, sir, I would as lief see her the wife of the Outlaw of Torn.
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"Being so," said he, "I would as lief they didnae see me.
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But perhaps you young ladies may not care about the beaux, and had as lief be without them as with them.
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But I'd as lief knock them at head as any other men.
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WOULD HE TAKE A MESSAGE, Just as lief as not; had nothing else to do; would carry it in no time."
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She was a fine, smart girl, now wide awake and bright as a button, and had such a sweet pretty mouth, that Dominicus would almost as lief have heard a love tale from it as a tale of murder.
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you’d as lief drown a man as one of them there fish; not to throw a Christian creature so much as a rope’s end when he was adrift, and no life-buoy in sight!
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