Lief

Lief (lēf) , noun

Same as Lif.

Lief (lēf) , adjective

[Old English leef, lef, leof, Anglo-Saxon leíf; akin to Old Saxon liof, OFries. liaf, Dutch lief, German lieb, Old High German liob, Icelandic lj{not transcribed}fr, Swedish ljuf, Gothic liubs, and English love. r124. See Love, and compare Believe, Leave, n., Furlough, Libidinous.]

Dear; beloved. [Obsolete, except in poetry.]

My liefe mother. — Chaucer

My liefest liege. — Shakespeare

As thou art lief and dear. — Tennyson

(Used with a form of the verb to be, and the dative of the personal pronoun.)

Pleasing; agreeable; acceptable; preferable. [Obsolete]

Full lief me were this counsel for to hide. — Chaucer

Death me liefer were than such despite. — Spenser

Willing; disposed. [Obsolete]

I am not lief to gab. — Chaucer

He up arose, however lief or loth. — Spenser

Lief , noun

A dear one; a sweetheart. [Obsolete] — Chaucer

Lief , adverb

Gladly; willingly; freely; -- now used only in the phrases, had as lief, and would as lief; as, I had, or would, as lief go as not.

All women liefest would Be sovereign of man's love. — Gower

I had as lief the town crier spoke my lines. — Shakespeare

Far liefer by his dear hand had I die. — Tennyson

The comparative liefer with had or would, and followed by the infinitive, either with or without the sign to, signifies prefer, choose as preferable, would or had rather. In the 16th century rather was substituted for liefer in such constructions in literary English, and has continued to be generally so used. See Had as lief, Had rather, etc., under Had.