liver
n. countablen. a large organ in your body that cleans your blood. It also helps you digest food and stores energy.
n. a large glandular organ in the abdomen of vertebrates, responsible for detoxifying metabolites, synthesising proteins, and producing biochemicals necessary for digestion.
The doctor says his liver is healthy.
Heavy alcohol consumption over many years can cause permanent damage to the liver and other vital organs.
The liver plays a central role in metabolism, acting as a chemical processing plant that converts nutrients from our diet into substances the body can use.
From Middle English lyvere, lyver, from Old English lifer (“liver”), from Proto-West Germanic libru, from Proto-Germanic librō, from Proto-Indo-European leyp- (“to smear, smudge, stick”), from Proto-Indo-European ley- (“to be slimy, be sticky, glide”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Líeuwer, Lieuwer (“liver”), West Frisian lever (“liver”), Dutch lever (“liver”), German Leber (“liver”), Danish, Norwegian and Swedish lever (“liver”) (the last three from Old Norse lifr (“liver”)). Related to live.
From Middle English lyvere, livere, equivalent to live + -er.
From live (adjective) + -(e)r.
Countable when referring to the organ or a dish of food; uncountable when referring to the tissue in a general biological sense.