An archaic or rare form meaning to give life to or make alive; an older variant of 'enliven.'
From the prefix 'en-' (to cause to be) combined with 'live,' dating back to Middle English. This form is largely obsolete, replaced by the more common 'enliven' which is slightly easier to pronounce.
Words like 'enlive' represent linguistic dead ends—they were created the same way we still create words today, but for some reason 'enliven' won out as the preferred form, showing that even in a language as big as English, simpler or smoother-sounding alternatives can kill off competing words.
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