ליבע

Yiddish

Etymology

Borrowed from German Liebe (“love”), from Middle High German liebe (“joy, affection, kindliness”), from Old High German lioba, liobī, derived from the adjective liob (whence Yiddish ליב (lib)), from Proto-Germanic *leubaz, from Proto-Indo-European *lewbʰ- (“love, care, desire”). The sense “(romantic) love” developed only in early modern German, replacing older Minne; the noun as such is absent from many German dialects. The final -e in Yiddish also attests to the non-native origin.

Noun

ליבע • (libe) f, plural ליבעס (libes)

1. love

Related terms

• ליב האָבן (lib hobn)
• ליבשאַפֿט (libshaft)