lieve
むしろ
解説 Definition
古語で「喜んで、むしろ」を意味する副詞。'I had as lieve' のように使われる。
Lieve means rather or preferably. It is an old-fashioned or literary word, not common in modern everyday English. You may see it mainly in older texts.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
古語として単独で覚えるより、ほぼ定型句の `had as lieve A as B` で固めると残りやすいです。感覚は現代英語の `would rather A than B` に近く、「Aするほうがまだよい／むしろAしたい」。`lieve` 自体を日常語だと思わず、`rather` の古い言い方の化石と見るのがコツ。文語・古風な台詞で見たら「rather系だ」と即つなげると定着します。`believe` の一部のように見えても別語として処理すると混乱しません。
Do not try to learn `lieve` alone. It is easiest to remember in the old pattern `had as lieve A as B`, which is close to modern `would rather A than B`. It may look like part of `believe`, but it is a different word, so keep it in the fixed phrase.
例文
I had as lieve rest today as work late tonight.
私は今夜遅くまで働くよりむしろ今日は休みたい。
He had as lieve wait for the letter as guess the answer.
彼は答えを推測するよりむしろ手紙を待ちたい。
They had as lieve walk the quiet streets as take the noisy train.
彼らは騒がしい電車に乗るよりむしろ静かな通りを歩きたい。
lieve の類義語・関連語
lieve の語源・成り立ち Etymology
古英語 lēof（愛しい・大切な）から中英語 leve を経て副詞化した語。「愛するほど望ましい→むしろ～したい」と意味が変化した。ドイツ語 lieb（親愛な）と同根。関連語: love, believe（信じる＝大切に思う）。
This word comes from Old English leof, meaning "dear" or "beloved," which became Middle English leve and later developed an adverb use. The sense moved from "dear, pleasing" to "preferably" or "rather." It is related to German lieb, and also to English love and believe, which grew from the idea of holding something dear.
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