livery
- 01 C2 Proficiency
a special uniform worn by servants or workers, such as a hotel doorman or a private driver.
a distinctive identifying uniform worn by a group, traditionally by male servants or members of a guild.
Simple“The hotel staff were dressed in traditional blue livery with gold buttons.”
In context“The footmen were required to wear their formal livery whenever guests were being entertained at the manor.”
- 02 C2 Proficiency
the business of keeping and feeding horses for their owners, or renting out horses and carriages.
the boarding and care of horses for a fee, or the provision of horses and vehicles for hire.
Simple“She keeps her horse at a local livery stable because she doesn't have a field at home.”
In context“The historic inn once operated a thriving livery, providing fresh horses for travelers arriving by stagecoach.”
- 03 C2 Proficiency
the formal act of handing over property from one person to another.
the legal delivery of property, especially land, into the possession of a new owner.
Simple“The old laws required a formal ceremony for the livery of the land.”
In context“In medieval law, the livery of seisin was a public ceremony involving the physical transfer of a piece of turf to symbolize land ownership.”
From Middle English livery, liveree, from Anglo-Norman liveree, from Old French livree. Compare modern French livrée.
From Middle English *livery, from Old English lifriġ (“relating to the liver, livery”), equivalent to liver + -y.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.