An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/lieb

by Friedrich Kluge

lieb, adj., ‘dear, esteemed,’ from the equiv. MidHG. liep (inflected lieber), OHG. liob (inflected liobêr). It corresponds to Goth. liufs (b), AS. leóf, E. lief, adj., Du. lief, OIc. ljúfr; a common Teut. adj. with the general meaning ‘dear’; it is regularly derived from pre-Teut. *léubho-, which is accurately represented by OSlov. ljubŭ (Aryan root leubh, by gradation lubh). An OAryan adj. for ‘dear’ (Sans. priyá-s) was changed in meaning at an early period in Teut. (see frei) and supplanted by lieb; ModHG. and MidHG. lieben, OHG. liubôn, ‘to love’; to this is allied AS. lufian, E. to love, with a weaker vowel stage of the root (AS. lufu, equiv. to E. love). Since HG. Lob, geloben, erlauben, glauben belong to the same Teut. root lub, by gradation leub (pre-Teut. lubh, leubh), we must assign to the latter a wider meaning, something like ‘pleasure’ and ‘approbation’; Sans. lubh, ‘to demand violently,’ Lat. lŭbens, libens, ‘with pleasure, willingly,’ lŭbet, ‘it pleases, is agreeable,’ lŭbîdo, libîdo, ‘pleasure, longing, desire.’ With these perhaps the common Teut. word lustus, equiv. to Lust, is also connected.