▪ I. livery, n.
(ˈlɪvərɪ)
Forms: α. 3 liverei, 4 liveri, 4–5 levere, livere(e, Sc. lufre, 4–6 lyvere, -er(e)y, li-, lyveray, 4–7 livre, levery, li-, lyverie, -ye, (5 levore, Sc. liffray, luveray, lyvera, lewray), 5–6 leveray, liverey, -erie, (6 li-, lyveraie, -aye, livorie, Sc. leifray, lufray(e, 7 livrie, livory, Sc. lewerie), 5– livery. β. (?) 6 lyver, 7 liver.
[a. AF. liveré (1292 in Britton), F. livrée (1351 in Du Cange s.v. Liberare), fem. pa. pple. of livrer liver v.: see -y. Cf. It. livrea, Sp. librea (both from Fr.); med.L. had liberata.]
1. a. The dispensing of food, provisions, or clothing (cf. 2) to retainers or servants; hence gen., provision, allowance. b. The food or provisions so dispensed; an allowance or ration of food served out. Now Hist.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 2122 Þe thrid part..al on þis side þe greckes see, was Iaphet giuen til his liuere. Ibid. 19220 Wit þam i mai ha mete and drinc, Mi liuere haf wit-vten suinc. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 146 To London forto com, whan parlement suld be,..and tak þer his liuere. 13.. Test. Christi 376 (MS. Harl. 2382) in Archiv Stud. neu. Spr. LXXIX. 431 A cote-armur..the which y toke of thy lyuere. 1375 Barbour Bruce xiv. 233 Tharfor he maid of vyne lufre [MS. E. levere, ed. 1616 lewerie] Till ilk man. 1399 Rolls of Parlt. III. 452/1 That thei..gyf no Liverees of Sygnes, no make no Retenue of men. 1399 Langl. Rich. Redeles ii. 2 Moche now me merueileth..Of ȝoure large leuerey to leodis aboute. 1422 tr. Secreta Secret., Priv. Priv. 133 Syr Stewyn Serope..Hauynge the gouernaunce of Irlande, many extorcionys did, Lyuerez takynge. c 1450 Bk. Curtasye 371 in Babees Bk., Lyueray he hase of mete and drynke, And settis with hym who so hym thynke. Ibid. 839 Of candel liueray squiyers schalle haue. a 1483 Liber Niger in S. Pegge Cur. Misc. (1782) 79 Taking every of them, for his livery at night, half a chet loaf, one quart of wine, one gallon of ale; and for winter livery, from All-Hallowtide till Easter, one percher wax, one candle wax [etc.]. c 1492 Gest R. Hode clxi. in Child Ballads III. 64/1 There he made large lyueray, Bothe of ale and of wyne. 1573 Satir. Poems Reform. xlii. 409 Ȝe ar far large of Leueray. 1596 Spenser State Irel. Wks. (Globe) 623/2 In great howses, the liverye is sayd to be served up for all night, that is theyr nyghtes allowaunce for drinke. 1639 Davenport New Trick to Cheat Devil I, [Stage-direction. Ent. with Wine, Chan.] Chan. I have brought your Livery. 1670 Brooks Wks. (1867) VI. 47 They serve God for a livery, for loaves, and not for love. 1707 Chamberlayne St. Gt. Brit. ii. x. 140 To whom [the Lord Great Chamberlain] belongs Livery and Lodging in the Kings Court. 1861 Our Eng. Home 81 The butler..dispensed the stores to the cook, and gave out the rations or liveries of meat, wine, and beer. 1875 Stubbs Const. Hist. III. xxi. 531. |
| fig. 1633 Ford Broken H. iv. i, Great (faire one) grace my hopes with any instance Of Liuery, from the allowance of your fauour, This little sparke. [mod. ed. Attempts to take a ring from her finger.] 1643 Sir T. Browne Relig. Med. i. §47, I found upon a naturall inclination, and inbred loyalty unto vertue, that I could serve her without a livery. |
c. Allowance of provender for horses.
at livery: (of a horse) kept for the owner, and fed and groomed at a fixed charge. Now
rare or
obs. exc. in
livery-stable.
coynye and livery: see
coynye.
| a 1440 Sir Degrev. 1003 A thousaund hors and thre..Ylke nyȝt tok lyvere Off cowrne and off hay. 1481–4 Paston Lett. III. 280, I had my horsse with hym at lyvery. 1596 Spenser State Irel. Wks. (Globe) 623/2 What Liverye is, we by common use in England knowe well enough, namelye, that it is allowaunce of horse-meate. 1601 Holland Pliny I. 559 Champions and wrestlers, whose allowance was much like to the liurie giuen to laboring horses. 1631 R. Brathwait Whimzies, Keeper 49 A keeper of horses at livery. 1679–88 Secr. Serv. Money Chas. & Jas. (Camden) 70 Twelve guineys a year..which King Cha. the 2{supd} allowed him for a nagg's livery. 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), Livery of Hay and Oats, the giving out a certain Quantity for feeding Horses, &c. 1731 Bailey vol. II. s.v., To stand at Livery is to be kept at livery stables. 1829 Scott Rob Roy xix, There was a necessity..for arresting the horse, and placing him in Baillie Trumbull's stable, therein to remain at livery, at the rate of twelve shillings (Scotch) per diem. |
| fig. 1589 Pappe w. Hatchet D ij b, They finde all themselues good meales, and stand at liuerie as it were, at other mens tables. 1599 Massinger, etc. Old Law ii. i, To keepe you sixe at Liuery, and still munching. 1611 B. Jonson Introd. Verses to Coryat Crudities, And here he disdain'd not, in a forraine land, To lie at Livory, while the Horses did stand. 1618 Fletcher Chances iii. i, Best hang a signpost up to tell the Signiors Here ye may have lewdnesse at Liverie. 1647 R. Stapylton Juvenal 157 In whose [Venus'] temple at Corinth two hundred maids daily stood at livery. |
† d. Stipendiary allowance (for a fellow of a college or the like).
Obs.| 1587 R. Hovenden in Collect. (O.H.S.) I. 211 We willinglie and thanckfullie acknowledge great benefitt by the statute mentioned... But such benefitte as commethe to each on for his liverye risheth cheflie by fynes and woodsales; which liveryes..are in reazon somewhat increased but not dobbled. 1611 Cotgr. s.v. Livree, La Livrée des Chanoines, their liuerie, or corrodie; their stipend, exhibition, daily allowance in victuals or money. |
2. a. A suit of clothes, formerly sometimes a badge or cognizance (
e.g. a collar or hood), bestowed by a person upon his retainers or servants and serving as a token by which they may be recognized; in wider sense, a distinctive badge or suit worn by a servant or official, a member of a company, etc.;
† formerly, the uniform of a soldier or sailor. In generalized use, the distinctive uniform style of dress worn by a person's servants, etc. (now only men-servants).
in livery: wearing a particular livery.
out of livery: (of a servant) not dressed in livery; wearing plain clothes.
† In early use also, a set of distinctive badges or suits; in first
quot. = garments, clothes.
| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. A. 1107 And alle in sute her liurez wasse. 1375 Barbour Bruce xix. 36 Thre hundreth and sexte had he Of squyeris, cled in his liverye. c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 363 An haberdasshere and a Carpenter, A Webbe, a Dyere, and a Tapycer, And they were clothed in o lyueree Of a solempne and a greet fraternitee. 1389 in Eng. Gilds (1870) 21 Ye bretheren and sisteren of yis gilde..shul han a lyueree of hodes in suyte. 1399 Langl. Rich. Redeles ii. 79 That no manere meyntenour shulde merkis bere, Ne haue lordis leuere þe lawe to apeire. c 1440 Gesta Rom. xv. 51 (Add. MS.), xlti knyghtes of oone leveraye. 1463 Bury Wills (Camden) 41 Bothe my colers of silvir, the kyng's lyfre. 1473 J. Warkworth Chron. (Camden) 14 He..wered ane estryche feder, Prynce Edwardes lyvery. 1480 Wardr. Acc. Edw. IV (1830) 124 A gowne and a hoode of the liveree of the Garter for the Duke de Ferrare. 1485 Caxton Paris & V. 14 Every baron gaf hys lyverey that they shold be knowen eche fro other. 1522 Wriothesley Chron. (1875) I. 13 The kinge and he ridinge both together in one liverey. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VI, 173 b, The erle perceiving by the livery of the souldiors, that he was circumvented. ? a 1550 in Dunbar's Poems (1893) 319 Ȝe noble merchandis..Address ȝow furth..In lusty grene lufraye. a 1592 Greene Geo. a Greene (1599) F 1 b, Two liueries will I giue thee euerie yeere, And fortie crownes shall be thy fee. 1622 Bacon Hen. VII 58 Liveries, tokens, and other badges of factious dependance. 1631 Heywood Lond. Jus Hon. Wks. 1874 IV. 273 All this goodly band..in their City Liveries. 1671 Milton Samson 1616 Immediately Was Samson as a public servant brought, In thir state Livery clad. 1684 in Scott. Antiq. XV. 18 Skulking and vagrant persons who have hitherto imitated the livery of the king's sojors. 1707 Farquhar Beaux Strat. iii. i. 23 What sort of Livery has the Footman? 1710 Lond. Gaz. No. 4710/4 Deserted.., John Stephens, a Serjeant,..having his Serjeant's Livery on. 1814 Mrs. J. West Alicia de Lacy III. 113 Disguised in the livery of a trooper. 1841 Lytton Nt. & Morn. i. i, A Servant out of livery leaped from the box. 1863 Kinglake Crimea (1876) I. ii. 28 Hunting the country in the livery of the Salisbury Hunt. 1875 Stubbs Const. Hist. II. xvii. 610 The king out of compliment wore the livery of the duke of Lancaster. 1900 Blackw. Mag. Dec. 862/2 Servants in claret and yellow livery noiselessly served wine. |
| β 1512 Hen. VIII To Earl Shrewsbury in Rymer Foedera (1710) XIII. 338 Badges, Tokens or Lyvers to Were. 1660 tr. Amyraldus' Treat. conc. Relig. iii. i. 303 To wear the liver of an enemy to one's King. |
b. transf. and
fig.| ? c 1325 Earth ix. in E.E.P. (1862) 151 Whan erþ makiþ is liuerei he grauiþ vs in grene. 1412–20 Lydg. Chron. Troy ii. xiii, When that Flora..Hath euery playne, medowe, hil and vale.. clad in lyuery newe. 1494 Fabyan Chron. vi. clxxxii. 180 That Rollo shuld..take vpon hym the lyuerey of Cristes baptym. 1563 Homilies ii. Rogation Week iv. (1859) 495 Love and charity, which is the only livery of a Christian man. 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. ii. i. 113 The childing Autumne, angry Winter change Their wonted Liueries. 1611 Cotgr., Liripipionné,..faithfull to the pot, and therefore bearing the red-faced liuerie therof. 1661 Boyle Style of Script. (1675) 192 White (the livery of innocence). 1667 Milton P.L. iv. 599 Now..Twilight gray Had in her sober Livery all things clad. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 665 A Snake..has cast his Slough aside, And in his Summer Liv'ry rouls along. 1722 Wollaston Relig. Nat. v. 96 Trees receive annually their peculiar liveries, and bear their proper fruits. 1734 Berkeley Analyst §1 Wks. 1871 III. 258 Clothing themselves in the livery of other men's opinions. 1797–1804 T. Bewick Brit. Birds (1847) II. 112 The females may be seen in the livery either complete or partial, of the past Season. 1813 Scott Rokeby i. i, Sorrow's livery dims the air. 1835 Thirlwall Greece I. viii. 311 The rustic garb, which was the livery of his servitude. |
c. An emblem, device, or distinctive colour on a vehicle, product, etc., indicating its owner or manufacturer.
| 1938 H. A. Vallance Highland Railway xiv. 155 He introduced on the Highland Railway the style of painting which was afterwards so well-known on the south coast. Passenger engines were painted yellow... For goods engines a dark green livery was adopted. 1966 J. Thomas Callander & Oban Railway x. 169 The Caledonian 2–4–2 tanks..had the plain conical chimney..and the Prussian-blue passenger livery then standard on the line. 1970 Guardian 27 July 16/2 The Antonovs [sc. planes] are painted battleship grey, with red hammer and sickle emblems, not the normal livery of Aeroflot passenger aircraft. 1972 Times 13 Oct. 17/7 London Transport's intention can be simply stated. It is that the livery of the bus fleet will remain red, with a very strictly limited number offered to advertisers for all-over painted designs. 1973 Times 1 Dec. 17/7 As the designers responsible for the BEA livery we were invited, along with two other design groups, to make proposals for ‘British Airways’. 1974 P. Lovesey Invitation to Dynamite Party ii. 22 An enormous express locomotive painted in the brilliant golden ochre and dark olive green livery of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway Company. |
3. collect. sing. a. Retainers or servants in livery.
† Also
occas. a liveried servant. ?
Obs.| 1413 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton 1483) v. xiii. 104 In these ryall festes the kyng yeueth his leuery ful ryche and ryal robes. a 1577 Sir T. Smith Commw. Eng. (1609) 106 First of retainers, that no man should haue aboue a number in his Liuery or retinue. 1628 Shirley Witty Fair One i. ii. (1633), Her Father..rides..With halfe a douzen wholesome Liueries, To whom he gives Christian wages. Ibid. ii. ii, My lodging is next to her chambers, it is a confidence in my Master to let his Liuery lye so neere her. 1714 Steele Lover 11 Mar. (1723) 38 Seeing a Place in the second Row of the Queen's Box kept by Mrs. Lucy's Livery, I placed my self in the Pit directly over against her Footman. 1766 Chesterfield Let. to C'tess Suffolk Nov. (1892) III. 1349 If she is a Mrs. with a surname, she is above the livery, and belongs to the upper servants. 1791–1823 D'Israeli Cur. Lit. (1866) 450/2 As cross-humoured as the livery of this day, in their notices of what we now gently call our ‘supplies’. |
† b. Used for: Following, faction. (
Cf. F.
livrée in the sense of ‘party’.)
under (a person's) livery: in dependence on him.
Obs.| c 1477 Caxton Jason 116 b, As to the regarde of Hercules, Theseus [etc.]..they faylled not to be of the lyuereye of Iason. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VII 12 To compasse that the duchy of Bryteyne should breuely come vndre their liure and subjeccion. 1613 Milles tr. Mexia's Treas. Anc. & Mod. Times 722/2 All the other Christians, as Maronites..and others of that Liverie, never used it [circumcision]. |
c. = livery company (see 10 b) or the liverymen of a company. Also,
to take up one's livery (?
orig. in sense 2): to become a liveryman of one of the City companies.
| c 1521 Old City Acc. Bk. in Archæol. Jrnl. XLIII, Receyved of Brether admittid & taken into the lyuerey this yere. 1529 in Vicary's Anat. (1888) App. xiv. 252 A Remedye agaynst theym that wyll not be of the lyuerey, nor bere offyce. 1624 Massinger Renegado iii. ii, I should..nere be pittied By the liueries of those companies. 1637 Decree Star Chamb. in Milton's Areop. (Arb.) 17 Euery Master-printer that is of the Liuery of his Company. 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey) s.v., The Livery or Livery-men of a Company or Corporation, such Members as are advanc'd to a Degree above the Yeomanry, and have a Right to wear a Livery-gown upon solemn Occasions. 1839 Penny Cycl. XIV. 119/1 (London) Certain senior members of the livery, who form what is commonly called ‘The Court of Assistants’. Ibid., In more modern times..it has frequently been made imperative upon many freemen of the City to take up their livery in one of the Companies. 1854 Thackeray Newcomes v, We belong to the same Livery in the City. |
† d. slang. (See
quot.)
Obs.| 1680 Betterton Revenge i. 8 'Tis..out of fashion now to call things by their right names. Is a Citizen a Cuckold? no, he's one of the Liverie. |
† 4. The lodging provided or appointed for a person. Also, the quarters of a portion of an army.
Obs.| ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 241 The soueraingne..Assingnyde to the senatour certaygne lordes, To lede to his leuere. Ibid. 3078 In iche leuere on lowde the kynge did crye. 1525 Ld. Berners Froiss. II. clx. [clvi.] 440 The duke of Berrey was come to Auygnon and was lodged in the popes palais, but he came to Vyle neufe to the kynge, and laye in the lyuere [footn. hotel; Fr. en sa liuree] of arras, called Amontays, in the way to Mountpellyer. |
5. Law.
a. The legal delivery of property into a person's possession;
phr. to have livery,
give livery,
take livery.
to sue (also sue for, sue out) one's livery: to institute a suit as heir to obtain possession of lands which are in the hands of the court of wards. (Also
fig.)
b. The writ by which possession of property is obtained from the court of wards.
| 1430–31 Rolls of Parlt. IV. 372/2 Noght havyng liveree of the saide Wolles. 1460 Ibid. V. 388/1 The Sollicitours for the Quene..causid the seid John and Isabell to sue a speciall Livere of the seid Londes and Tenementes. 1465 Paston Lett. II. 192 He desyryd me to mak hym levery of the seyd bests so taken. 1531 Dial. on Laws Eng. i. vii. 13 b, By way of surrendre..a freholde may passe without lyuerey. 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, ii. i. 129, I am denyde to sue my Liuerie here, And yet my Letters Patents giue me leaue. 1603 Owen Pembrokeshire (1891) 155 The Courte of Wardes and liveries, doeth allso call all Wardes in Wales to sue forth their lyveries there. 1622 Bacon Hen. VII, 210 The Kings Wards after they had accomplished their full Age, could not bee suffered to haue Liuerie of their Lands, without paying excessiue Fines. 1635 Quarles Embl. v. ix. (1718) 281 What mean these liv'ries and possession keys? 1649 Milton Eikon. xi. Wks. 1851 III. 426 It concern'd them first to sue out their Livery from the unjust wardship of his encroaching Prerogative. 1656 Blount Glossogr., Livery..3. It is the Writ which lies for the heir to obtain the possession or seizin of his lands at the Kings hands. 1660 Act 12 Chas. II, c. 24 §1 It is hereby Enacted That the Court of Wardes and Liveries and all Wardships Liveries Primer-Seizins and Ouster-le-mains..be taken away and discharged. 1707 Chamberlayne State Gt. Brit. ii. vi. 98 He [the king's eldest son] may that Day sue for the Livery of the said Dukedom [of Cornwall] and ought of Right to obtain the same. 1765 Act 5 Geo. III, c. 17 §1 Tythes or other incorporeal hereditaments only, which lie in grant and not in livery. 1818 Cruise Digest (ed. 2) IV. 318 Sir J. Palmer thought, that in a deed to pass an inheritance, where there was a common in gross, the word grant was absolutely necessary; for it could not pass by the livery. 1827 Hallam Const. Hist. (1876) III. xviii. 384 The recusants were allowed to sue for livery of their estates in the court of wards. 1875 Poste Gaius ii. Comm. (ed. 2) 173 In English law conveyance by livery was an older title than conveyance by deed. |
c. livery of seisin (
freq. erron. livery and seisin;
AF. livery de seisin): the delivery of property into the corporal possession of a person; in the case of a house, by giving him the ring, latch, or key of the door; in the case of land, by delivering him a twig, a piece of turf, or the like.
Virtually abolished by 8 & 9
Vict. cap. 106 §2, which provides that after 1 Oct. 1845 ‘all corporeal Tenements and Hereditaments shall as regards the Conveyance of the immediate Freehold thereof, be deemed to lie in Grant as well as in Livery’.
| c 1475 Partenay 560 After sette day of lyuerey and season, That men deliuer you possession. 1574 tr. Littleton's Tenures 13 a, In a leas for terme of yeares by deede or without deede, it nedeth no lyvery of seisin to be made to the lessee. 1596 Spenser F.Q. vi. iv. 37 She gladly did of that same babe accept As of her owne by liuerey and seisin. 1608 Dod & Cleaver Expos. Prov. xi–xii. 189 How large demeanes may a man be estated in by taking a turfe in way of liuery and seison? 1652 Evelyn Mem. (1857) I. 297, 22nd [Jan.] was perfected the sealing, livery and seisin of my purchase of Sayes Court. 1741 T. Robinson Gavelkind ii. iii. 195 The Livery of Seisin must be propriâ manu of the Infant. 1818 Cruise Digest (ed. 2) IV. 57 Livery of seisin is exactly similar to the investiture of the feudal law; it was adopted here..that the proprietor of each piece of land should be publicly known. 1876 Freeman Norm. Conq. V. xxii. 24 He who could neither show his writ, nor bring evidence, of personal livery of seisin, was held to have no lawful claim to the lands which he held. |
| transf. and fig. 1628 Jackson Creed ix. ix. §5 Abraham in that sacred banquet which the King of Salem exhibited to him did (as we say) take levery de seisin of the promised land. 1651 Biggs New Disp. ¶180 The Feaver, who hath now taken livery and seisen. 1659 Hammond On Ps. cx. 7. 566 To take livery and seizin of an hostile Countrey. |
† 6. a. gen. The action of handing over or conveying into a person's hands; delivery (of goods, money, etc., of a writ).
Obs.| c 1400 Beryn 1896 The marchandise within Is nat in my charge; ye know as wele as I To make therof no lyuery. c 1440 York Myst. xxv. 65 What are ȝe þat makis here maistrie, To loose þes bestis with-oute leverie? 1442 Rolls of Parlt. V. 64/2 At the tyme of the sale, and tofore the lyvere of hem from the seid Staple. 1444 Ibid. 125/2 Upon the levere of him so arrested. 1464 Ibid. 560/2 After the lyvere of the said Writte. 1465 Paston Lett. II. 192 He desyred me to mak hym levery of the seyd bests so taken. 1579–80 North Plutarch, Camillus (1595) 150 He sent an Herauld before to Rome, to demand liuerie of the man that had offended him, that he might punish him accordingly. 1745 Observ. conc. Navy 14 Had they arrived in the Ship at her Port of Livery. |
† b. Delivery or dealing (of blows).
Obs.| c 1350 Will. Palerne 1233 Þanne lente he swiche leuere to ledes þat he ofrauȝt, Þat [etc.]. Ibid. 3822 William..leide on swiche liuere..þat [etc.]. 13.. Coer de L. 4029 Swilke levery he hem delte, Al that he hytte anon they swelte. 1399 Langl. Rich. Redeles iii. 330 They..lente hem leuere of her longe battis. c 1400 Laud Troy Bk. 7613 Ector deled about lyueray To alle that euere come In his way. |
† 7. A due or tribute.
Cf. med.L.
livrea (Du Cange).
Obs. rare—1.
| 1577 Harrison England ii. ii. (1877) i. 58 S. Davids hath Penbroke and Caermardine shires, whose liuerie or first fruits to the see of Rome was one thousand and five hundred ducats at the hardest. |
8. A particular sort of wool (see
quot. 1837).
| 1837 Youatt Sheep iii. 67 The livery—principally the skirtings and edgings, and the short coarse or breech wool, that which comes from the breech of the animal. 1843 Penny Cycl. XXVII. 551/1 The [wool] sorter has to make his selection in relation to the fineness, the softness, the strength, the colour, the cleanness, and the weight of the wool; and in reference to these qualities he separates the wool into many parcels, which receive the names of—‘prime’, ‘choice’,..‘fine abb’, ‘coarse abb’, ‘livery’, &c. 1875 in Knight Dict. Mech. s.v. Wool-sorting. |
9. U.S. = livery-stable. (
Cent. Dict.) Also
attrib.| 1845 F. Douglass Narr. Life F. Douglass 16 His stable and carriage-house presented the appearance of some of our large city livery establishments. 1888 C. D. Ferguson Experiences Forty-Niner i. 15 We placed our horses in a livery on Third street. 1902 W. N. Harben Abner Daniel 29, I could 'a' gone to a livery an' ordered out a team. 1903 A. Adams Log of Cowboy xiii. 81 Long before we reached the Mulberry, a livery rig came down the trail to meet us. 1936 E. G. Barnard Rider Cherokee Strip 210 They met a traveling man who was driving a good livery team to a buckboard. 1940 W. Faulkner Hamlet ii. 32 The village consisted of a livery barn and lot and a contiguous shady though grassless yard. |
10. attrib. and
Comb. a. Simple
attrib. passing into
adj., in various senses: (
a)
† given as or constituting a livery; intended for servants' use (
obs.), as
livery arrows,
livery bedstead,
livery bow,
livery feather-bed,
livery meal,
livery towel; (
b) pertaining to, forming part of, or used as a livery, as
livery beard,
livery button,
livery cloak (in
quot. fig.),
livery cloth,
livery coat,
livery collar,
livery colour,
livery gown,
livery hat,
livery lace,
livery plush,
livery red,
livery suit; (
c) kept at livery or for hire, as
livery horse,
livery nag;
transf. livery friend,
livery mistress,
livery punk; (
d) wearing a livery, as
livery attendant.
| 1549 Privy Council Acts (1890) II. 350 *Lyverey arrowes, xv{supc} shef. |
| 1599 Nashe Lenten Stuffe Ep. Ded., His patient *liuery attendant. |
| 1641 Brome Joviall Crew iv. i. Wks. 1873 III. 417 All the Servants wear *Livery-Beards. |
| 1610 Althorp MS. in Simpkinson The Washingtons App. p. iv, The Butler's Chamber. Impr. a *leverye bedstead, with a tester of buckram. |
| 1566 Act 8 Eliz. c. 10 §3 Bowes..of the course sorte, called *Livery Bowes. 1590 Sir J. Smyth Disc. Weapons 19 b, All Liueray or warre Bowes. |
| 1848 Thackeray Bk. Snobs xxxiv, A *livery-button maker. |
| 1599 Marston Sco. Villanie 167 Sirra, *liuorie cloake, you lazie slipper slave. |
| 1791 J. Learmont Poems 179 Ye gie them wage, board, *livery-claith. 1842 J. Bischoff Woollen Manuf. II. 151, I have sold a large quantity of livery cloths for the use of London. |
| 1551 T. Wilson Logike 45 b, A *liverie coate garded with velvet. 1575–85 Abp. Sandys Serm. v. 83 Loue is the Liuerie-coate of Christ. 1820 Scott Abbot vi, Showing you it was your Lady's livery-coat which I spared, and not your flesh and blood, Master Roland. |
| 1473 in Ld. Treas. Acc. Scotl. (1877) I. 68 A *leueray colare of the Kingis. |
| 1621 Bury Wills (Camden) 167 Two of the ordinarie *lyverie fetherbedes. |
| a 1637 B. Jonson Disc. (1641) 105 They have *Livery-friends, friends of the dish, and of the Spit. |
| 1462 Paston Lett. II. 120, I have but on gowne at Framyngham and an other here, and that is my *levere gowne. 1606 Progr. Jas. I (1828) II. 67 The Companies of London, in their lyverie-gownes and hoodes. 1778 Eng. Gazetteer (ed. 2) s.v. Hartford, The chief bailiff was then allowed by the king 20s. a year for his livery-gown. |
| 1890 Army & Navy Stores Catal. Mar. 1173 *Livery Hat. |
| 1838 H. Colman 1st Rep. Agric. Mass. (Mass. Agric. Survey) 17 The number of stage and *livery horses kept in the county cannot fall short of one thousand,..who depend on the purchase of hay. |
| 1865 Mrs. Carlyle Lett. III. 301 Putting Mr. C. to the cost of a livery-horse. |
| 1701 Lond. Gaz. No. 3716/4 Some new Cloth and *Livery-Lace. |
| 1799 J. Robertson Agric. Perth 341 The practise of giving them six and a half bolls of meal..is daily becoming more general. These farmers, who keep any married servants, have them all on this establishment of *livery meal. 1623 Massinger Dk. Milan iv. ii, He that at euerie stage keeps liuerie Mistresses. |
| 1784 Cowper Tiroc. 901 Wouldst thou with a Gothic hand Pull down the schools..Or throw them up to *liv'ry-nags and grooms? |
| 1851 Illustr. Catal. Gt. Exhib. 1055 *Livery plushes, of various qualities. |
| 1624 Massinger Renegado iii. ii, His ships, his goods, his *liuery-puncks, confiscate. |
| 1708 Lond. Gaz. No. 4447/4 Their *Livery Red, lin'd and fac'd with Yellow. |
| 1705 Ibid. No. 4162/4 Two *Livery-Suits, of a deep blue. 1888 Wardrop Poems & Sk. 232 John, that livery suit and hat, please. |
| 1582 Wills & Inv. N.C. (Surtees 1860) 46, vij long table towells, and iiij *liveraye towells. |
b. Special comb.:
livery company, one of the London City companies which had formerly a distinctive costume used for special occasions;
† livery cupboard, a cupboard in which ‘liveries’ of food were served out; in later times,
app. an ornamental buffet or sideboard;
livery fine, the payment due from those who become liverymen in a London company;
livery-fish Anglo-Irish, the striped wrasse,
Labrus mixtus;
livery list, the list of the liverymen of a company;
livery office (see
quot.);
† livery pot, a pot in which ‘liveries’ of wine were served out;
livery servant, (
a) a servant who wears livery; (
b)
= livery-fish;
† livery table, a table on which ‘liveries’ or rations were put; hence, a side table;
livery tavern, an inn at which horses may be kept at livery. Also
livery-man,
livery-stable.
| 1766 Entick London IV. 73 This is also a *livery company. 1871 W. H. Ainsworth Tower Hill i. ix, The barges of the twelve livery companies. |
| 1571 Bury Wills (Camden) 267 A carpet for the *lyvery cubberd. 1632 J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena 184 The livery cupbords of gold inlaid with rich pretious stones. 1737 tr. Le Comte's Mem. & Rem. China vi. 172 A livery cupboard borne by the officers of the palace. 1821 Scott Kenilw. xxxii, The livery cupboards were loaded with plate of the richest description. |
| 1837 2nd Rep. Munic. Corp. Comm., Lond. Companies 18 Prior to the 15th December 1796, the *Livery fine was 13l. 6s. 8d. |
| 1880–4 F. Day Brit. Fishes I. 258 Cook wrasse, blue-striped wrasse,..Livery-servant and *livery-fish in the north of Ireland. |
| 1861 Evening Star 4 Oct., The proceedings in the City Registration Court during the revision of the *Livery lists. |
| 1848 Wharton Law Lex., *Livery-office, an office appointed for the delivery of lands. |
| 1575 Laneham Let. (1871) 8 A payree [sic] of great whyte syluer *lyuery Pots for wyne. 1656 Sir J. Finett For. Ambass. 133 An old guilt Livery Pot that had lost its fellow. |
| 1702 Order in Council 8 Mar. in Lond. Gaz. No. 3791/4 That..all Lords..do..cloath their *Livery Servants with Black Cloth. 1822 Hazlitt Table-t. II. ii. 24 They will go in the character of livery-servants to stand behind the chairs of the great. |
| 1601 Holland Pliny II. 297 To remoue the cupbourd of plate, & *liuery table [L. mensam vel repositorium], whiles one of the guests is a drinking. 1650 Fuller Pisgah v. xviii. 173, I conceive therefore the other nine [Tables of Shew Bread], onely as side-cupboards, or Livery tables ministeriall to that principall one. |
| 1787 M. Cutler in Life, Jrnls. & Corr. (1888) I. 252 My companion conducted me to..a *livery tavern. |
Hence
† liveryless a.
Add:
[9.] b. Horse-riding colloq. (
a) A horse from a livery-stable, or one for which livery is needed; (
b) a place for a horse at a livery-stable; (
c) an owner of a horse kept at livery.
| 1896 Dialect Notes I. 420 Livery, a turn-out from a livery stable. 1948 Horse & Hound 3 Jan. 14/3 (Advt.), Liveries. Ye Olde Felbridge Livery Stables... Horses taken at livery. Ibid. 14 Feb. 15/4 (Advt.), A unique opportunity! Two liveries, good stables, exercise, every care. 1950 Ibid. 23 Sept. 22/4 (Advt.), Accommodation available for 2 or 3 good hunting liveries. 1982 Daily Tel. 15 Dec. 10/8 (Advt.), McLeod liveries. Full Hunter Horse liveries available. Take the worry out of hunting. 1986 Horse & Rider Sept. 35/1 Livery yards could be more helpful..by putting a notice somewhere prominent where all liveries will see it. |
▪ II. livery, a. (
ˈlɪvərɪ)
[f. liver n.1 + -y.] 1. Of the consistency or colour of liver;
dial. (of soil) heavy, tenacious.
| 1778 W. H. Marshall Minutes Agric. 28 Mar. 1775 The surface is..remarkably fine for such a livery, leathery, water-shaken Ley. 1857 Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. XVIII. i. 101 [Potatoes] not heavy, livery balls,..but light and flowery. 1877 N.W. Linc. Gloss. s.v., Clay or warp land is said to turn up livery when, on ploughing the soil, it is found to be sad and heavy, without tendency to crumble into mould. |
2. colloq. = liverish 2.
| 1937 in Partridge Dict. Slang 487/2. 1968 R. Jeffries Traitor's Crime iii. 34 You had too much port: port always makes you livery. |
▪ III. † ˈlivery, v. Obs. rare.
[f. livery n.] trans. To array in a livery: in
quot. fig.| 1597 Shakes. Lover's Compl. 105 His rudenesse so with his authoriz'd youth Did liuery falsenesse in a pride of truth. 1611 Florio, Liureáre, to liuery, to giue or put into liueries. |