lieben

Meaning

Verb

1. (intransitive,sometimes,transitive,usually,weak) to love, to have a strong affection for (someone or something)
2. (reflexive,weak) to love one another
3. (poetic,reflexive,weak) to make love, to have sex

Adj

1. (form-of,genitive,masculine,neuter,singular,strong) inflection of lieb:
2. (dative,form-of,genitive,mixed,singular,weak) inflection of lieb:
3. (accusative,form-of,masculine,mixed,singular,strong,weak) inflection of lieb:
4. (dative,form-of,plural,strong) inflection of lieb:
5. (form-of,mixed,plural,weak) inflection of lieb:

Hyphenated as

lie‧ben

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈliːbən/

Etymology

Formally from Middle High German lieben, alteration (based on liep) of rarer liuben (“to make or be dear, to treat in a friendly way”), from Old High German liuben, equivalent to lieb + -en.
The singularly attested Old High German liobōn (“to love”) probably remained without continuation; the modern sense was derived in late Middle High German from the noun liebe (“love”) on the model of minnen (“to love”), from minne, which had developed a sexual overtone. It remained absent from most traditional dialects, which use variants of lieb haben or gern haben instead (compare the usage note below). Related to English love. Compare Dutch lieven.