Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun To remain.
  • With speed; quickly; eagerly.
  • Presently; ere long; by and by; anon: sometimes merely expletive.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adverb obsolete Forthwith; speedily; quickly.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb intransitive To remain, stay.
  • verb intransitive To abide, continue.
  • adverb Quickly, forthwith.
  • adverb dialectal Soon, presently, before long; by and by; anon

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English beliven, from Old English belīfan ("to remain"), from Proto-Germanic *bilībanan (“to remain”), from Proto-Indo-European *lip- (“to stick, glue”). Cognate with West Frisian bliuwe ("to stay"), Dutch blijven ("to remain"), German bleiben ("to remain"), Danish blive ("to be, remain"). More at leave.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English belive, bilife ("actively", literally, "by life"). More at by, life.

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