Leib

See also: leib

German

From Middle High German līp, from Old High German līb, from Proto-West Germanic *līb, from Proto-Germanic *lībą (“life, body”), from *lībaną (“to remain, stay, be left”), from Proto-Indo-European *leyp- (“to stick, glue”). Cognate with German Low German Liev (“body”), Dutch lijf (“body”), English life, Swedish liv (“life, waist”).

Leib m (strong, genitive Leibes or Leibs, plural Leiber, diminutive Leibchen n)

(dated, higher register or religious) body
Synonym: Körper
- (Luke 22:19)
  Das ist mein Leib, der für euch hingegeben wird.
  This is my body, which is given for you.
by semantic narrowing more specifically
1. trunk, torso
  Synonyms: Rumpf, Oberkörper, Torso
2. belly, abdomen, stomach
  Synonyms: Bauch, Magen
3. womb
  Synonyms: Mutterleib, (informal) Bauch, (medical) Gebärmutter
  - (Line from the Hail Mary)
    Gebenedeit ist die Frucht deines Leibes, Jesus.
    Blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Still commonly found in derivatives and in fixed expressions, such as nichts am Leib haben (“to be naked”, literally “to have nothing on one's body”), Leib und Leben (“life and limb”, literally “body and life”), Leib und Seele (“body and soul”), etc.

Declension of Leib [masculine, strong]

¹Now rare, see notes.

Leib m (plural Leiver)