Alive

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /əˈlaɪv/

Definitions

1. Living, not dead; having life and the ability to grow, reproduce, and respond to stimuli
2. Having the state of life characterized by growth, reproduction, and responsiveness to environmental stimuli
3. Existing in a state where biological processes are ongoing and active, indicating life

Etymology: Old English once expressed "alive" with a word that survives in a different form today: "cwic," which gave us "quick," as in "the quick and the dead." Over time, "quick" narrowed to mean "fast," while the phrase "on līfe," meaning "in life" or "in the body," took over the job of "alive." Its later Middle English forms included "alyve," "alife," and "olive," the last being a spelling that now belongs to a fruit and a color. The word is built from the preposition "on," meaning "in" or "on," and "life," so it literally meant "in life." The construction is not unique to English: Dutch "in leven" and German "am Leben" follow the same pattern of placing someone "in" or "at" life to describe them as living. The shortened form "a-" appeared once the phrase had fused into a single word, which is why "alive" now sounds like one unit rather than a preposition followed by a noun.

Synonyms: living, animated, active, breathing, vibrant

Antonyms: dead, inanimate, lifeless, unliving