Searchable Lemmata: liveré (AF), livere (ME), llifrai (W), libré (Ir), liverye (OScots), livery (MdE).
Alternate Forms: lefra, lever, leverai, levere, leveré, leverei, leveri, leverie, liberai, lifere, liffre, lifre, liver, liverai, liveré, liverei, liveri, liverie, liverre, livre, livré, livree.
1a(n.)
Furnishing;
dispensing or provising of food, equipment, clothing, etc. to retainers or servants. By extension, the food, equipment, clothing, etc. that is dispensed; an allowance or provision; provender for horses; one's alloted place or lodgings; etc. (historical in modern usage).
Note the ME expressions to 'maken livere' ('maken ... lyueree', a1400; roughly equivalent to AF 'faire liveree de' - AND1 'liveree'), with reference to the act of despensing; and 'livere takinge' ('Lyuerez takynge', a1500/1422), with reference to the taking of provisions.(ante 1200 still in current use)
Sex: Male, Female Use: n/a Ceremonial: No
Body Parts: N/A.
1b(n.)
Garment;
official clothing or garb of a guild; also, a distinctive hood only.
Appears in the ME phrases 'livere goune' ('liuere gowne', 1434-6), and 'goune of livere' ('gowne of leuere', 1426), a guildsman's official gown or robe; also, 'livere of sute' ('lyuere of sewte', 1389), a ceremonial uniform worn by all members of a guild on certain occasions.(ante 1380 still in current use)
1. [A361] ... An haberdasshere and a carpenter, / A webbe [vrr. webbere, webster], a dyere, and a tapycer [vrr. taphiser, Tapecer, tapecere], / And they were clothed alle in oo lyueree / Of a solempne and a greet fraternytee ... [A.365] Ful fressh and newe hir geere apiked was / Hir knyues were chaped noght with bras / But al with siluer ... / Hir girdles and hir pouches euerydel.
Poetic.
[MED Chaucer CT.Prol. ((Manly-Rickert) A.361-368) circa 1390]
3. I be-queth to Thomas Dymmok, Skynner ... my best gowne of the lyuere of Skynners craft, both furre and cloth.
Legal, Wills.
[MED EEWills (114/13) 1439]
Sex: Male, Female Use: Secular Ceremonial: Yes
Body Parts: N/A.
1c(n.)
Garment;
uniform granted by a king, lord, bishop, etc. to a servant or retainer; also, an individual item of dress so granted.
Also appears in the ME phrases 'livere cloth' ('lyverey cloth', 1463-4), cloth for making a livery; 'livere houve', a uniform headdress; 'livere clothing' ('lyvere clothing', 1439); 'livere goune' ('levere gowne', 1462); 'yeven livere'; etc. See Wild, B. (2012). [Modern uses appear primarily in historical contexts].
Alan Hunt draws attention to the run of 'livery statutes' passed by various parliaments in the 14th-16th centuries in an effort to control the giving of livery and to stipulate materials and articles of dress. They include:
1 Rich. II: c. 7 (1377)
13 Rich. II: c. 3 (1389);
16 Rich. II: c. 4 (1392);
20 Rich. II: c. 1 (1396-7);
1 Hen. IV: c. 7 (1399);
2 Hen. VI: c. 21 (1400);
7 Hen. IV: c. 14 (1405);
8 Hen. VI: c. 4 (1429);
8 Edw. IV: c. 2 (1468);
12 Edw. IV: c. 14 (1472);
3 Hen. VII: c. 12 (1487);
19 Hen. VII: c. 4 (1503); [in Hunt, A. (1996), p. 425 n. 27].(ante 1340 still in current use)
1. [146.8] ... une manere de vesture dont il fist sa liveré ... [146.9] ... et puis aprés furent les caracalles appellez les robes Antonines
[AND TRIV (146.8-146.9) circa 1334]
3. And that neyther be colour or occasion of feffement or of yeft ... any of the seide Lordes shal take any other monnys cause or querell ... as by worde ... or by yeft of his clothyng and liveree, or takyng into his service the partie.
Legal.
[MED RParl. (4.344a) 1429]
Sex: Male, Female Use: n/a Status: High Ceremonial: No
Body Parts: N/A.
1d(n.)
Garment;
clothing, dress (in general). Also in the ME phrase 'in o livere' ('in o lyuere', MED Lydg.FP (Bod 263) 2.936, ?a1439) = 'in the same clothing'.(post 1300 - circa 1440 ?)
1. [32] ... Theyr clothing was off colour fful covenable ... The Sheryves, the Aldermen fful notable In ffurred clokes, the colour skarlette ... [38] ... The citezenis echoon off the Citee, In here entent that they were pure and clene, Chees hem off white a ffull ffeyre lyuere.
Drama, Historic, Poetic.
[MED Lydg.Hen.VI Entry ((Jul B.2) 32-38) circa 1435]
3. [5.30a] ... , there was take on branche of disceit awey that hurte many man sore, the whiche was called a schafte, othere wise called a poudre, othere wise called an hauncere, whiche greved many a trewe man; it is to considre at this tyme, that there as grete disceites beth nowe used, the whiche hurtith the pouere clothe makers, and the clothe sellers, in metynge of unresonable mesure, bothe of brode clothe and streite, ... [5.30b] ... to ordeigne, in every place of this londe to be on certeyne mesure there, as the kepere of aunage of clothe is, that he have a lyne made of silke or of threde of trewe mesure, in manere of streite cors, aselyd at bothe endys, aftere the avys of the barouns of the eschekere, and every kepere of the awnage to paie for his lyne, the whiche lyne conteynynge in lenght .xij. yerdes and .xij. ynches, and the said lyne markid at every yerde an ynche, and at the ende of the half yerde and half ynch, quartere of yerde quartere of ynche, to mete an hole clothe, or a dosenne brode or streite, mesurynge for the dosenne of wete clothe .xij. yerdes and .xij. ynches ...
Legal.
[LexP PROME (Ed. IV: Parl. of Nov. 1439, 5.30a-b) 1439]
Sex: Male, Female Use: Secular Ceremonial: No
Body Parts: N/A.
1e(n.)
Accessory;
badge or insignia worn by a retainer or soldier. Also, a heraldic badge or device; the insignia of an order (such as the Knights of the Garter). See Egan, G. and Hayward, M. (2012). Also fig.(ante 1400 - ante 1600 ?)
4. Might and maintenaunce þat hath be & daily is vsed þurgh this our lond, both by yeving of tokenys, lyuerees, signes, makyng of Reteigndres and oþerwyse.
Legal.
[MED Cov.Leet Bk. (373) ante 1525]
Sex: Male Use: n/a Status: High Ceremonial: Yes
Body Parts: N/A.
1f(n.) ;
figurative uses: the clothing of meekness, joy, suffering, evil, etc., bestowed by God, a saint, Love, an abstraction, etc.; grass, flowers, 'natural' garb bestowed by Nature (the earth, Flora, etc.); also, the divine 'livery' put off by Christ at the Incarnation.(ante 1325 still in current use)
Sex: N/A Use: n/a Ceremonial: No
Body Parts: N/A.
2(n.)
Law/Custom;
membership of a guild, company, see Oldland, J. (2012); the retinue of a king, etc.; fig. the retinue of a saint; also, a following or faction; retainers or servants in livery.(ante 1422 - ante 1800 ?)
Use: n/a Ceremonial: No
Body Parts: N/A.
Definite, ME livere from AF/OF liveré, livree, etc. the fem. past participle of livrer 'to hand over, deliver or to liberate' (< L liberare). The original sense is of 'something given to someone', and was used to mean 'an allowance, as of food or money', then 'allowance of clothing given by an employer', and finally 'distinctive clothing or uniform worn by emloyees, officials' etc. The Irish word, though superficially similar to Latin, is a borrowing of Anglo-French/Middle English ( <b> = /v/).
WF: Borrowed into the British Isles
Etym Cog:
References:
