Liveth

/ˈlɪvəθ/ verb

Definition

An archaic form of the present tense 'lives', used in older English texts, especially the King James Bible.

Etymology

From Old English 'lifian' (to live), with '-eth' being the archaic third-person singular present ending (like how modern English adds '-s': he lives). This suffix was standard in Early Modern English.

Kelly Says

The '-eth' ending sounds so fancy and biblical that most people think it's from Old English, but it's actually Middle English and Early Modern English—when Shakespeare wrote 'What's in a name?', his characters said 'doth' and 'liveth', making the word feel more authoritative than it really is.

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