An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Leib
Leib, m., ‘body, waist,’ from MidHG. lîp (b), m., ‘life, body, substance’; the meaning ‘life’ has been preserved in ModHG. only in compounds such as Leibzucht, ‘sustenance,’ Leibrente, ‘life-annuity.’ OHG. lîb, m. and n., ‘life,’ AS. lîf, E. life; Goth. *leif (b) is wanting (‘life’ is rendered by faírhwus); Scand. líf, n., ‘body, life.’ The phonetic kinship with Leben may be represented in Gr. by λίπ, λῖπ; just as Leben, following Gr. λιπαρεῖν, means lit. ‘to persist,’ so too OTeut. lîba- is lit. ‘persistence, continuance’; the meaning ‘body, substance,’ is simply G. Gr. λείπω cannot on account of Lat. linquo be connected with λιπαρέω; it is allied to Teut. leihen, while λιπαρέω with Leib and Leben are based on an Aryan root lī̆p in bleiben.