3. One whose course of life has some marked characteristic (expressed
by an adjective); as, a free liver.
Fast liver, one who lives in an extravagant and dissipated way. -- Free
liver, Good liver, one given to the pleasures of the table. -- Loose
liver, a person who lives a somewhat dissolute life.
Liv"er, n. [AS. lifer; akin to D. liver, G. leber, OHG. lebara, Icel.
lifr, Sw. lefver, and perh. to Gr. &?; fat, E. live, v.] (Anat.) A very
large glandular and vascular organ in the visceral cavity of all
vertebrates.
Most of the venous blood from the alimentary canal passes through it on
its way back to the heart; and it secretes the bile, produces glycogen,
and in other ways changes the blood which passes through it. In man it
is situated immediately beneath the diaphragm and mainly on the right
side. See Bile, Digestive, and Glycogen. The liver of invertebrate
animals is usually made up of cæcal tubes, and differs materially, in
form and function, from that of vertebrates.
Floating liver. See Wandering liver, under Wandering. -- Liver of
antimony, Liver of sulphur. (Old Chem.) See Hepar. -- Liver brown,
Liver color, the color of liver, a dark, reddish brown. -- Liver shark
(Zoöl.), a very large shark (Cetorhinus maximus), inhabiting the
northern coasts both of Europe and North America. It sometimes becomes
forty feet in length, being one of the largest sharks known; but it has
small simple teeth, and is not dangerous. It is captured for the sake
of its liver, which often yields several barrels of oil. It has gill
rakers, resembling whalebone, by means of which it separates small
animals from the sea water. Called also basking shark, bone shark,
hoemother, homer, and sailfish. -- Liver spots, yellowish brown patches
or spots of chloasma.
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Liv"er (lv"r), n. (Zoöl.) The glossy ibis (Ibis falcinellus); - - said
to have given its name to the city of Liverpool.
Liv"er-col`ored (-kl`rd), a. Having a color like liver; dark reddish
brown.
Liv"ered (lv"rd), a. Having (such) a liver; used in composition; as,
white- livered.
Liv"er-grown` (?), a. Having an enlarged liver. Dunglison.
Liv"er*ied (?), a. Wearing a livery. See Livery, 3.
The liveried servants wait.
Parnell.
Liv"er*ing, n. A kind of pudding or sausage made of liver or pork.
[Obs.] Chapman.
Liv"er*leaf` (?), n. (Bot.) Same as Liverwort.
Liv"er*wort` (?), n. (Bot.) 1. A ranunculaceous plant (Anemone
Hepatica) with pretty white or bluish flowers and a three-lobed leaf;
-- called also squirrel cups.
2. A flowerless plant (Marchantia polymorpha), having an irregularly
lobed, spreading, and forking frond.
From this plant many others of the same order (Hepaticæ) have been
vaguely called liverworts, esp. those of the tribe Marchantiaceæ. See
Illust. of Hepatica.
Liv"er*y (?), n.; pl. Liveries (#). [OE. livere, F. livrée, formerly, a
gift of clothes made by the master to his servants, prop., a thing
delivered, fr. livrer to deliver, L. liberare to set free, in LL., to
deliver up. See Liberate.] 1. (Eng. Law) (a) The act of delivering
possession of lands or tenements. (b) The writ by which possession is
obtained.
It is usual to say, livery of seizin, which is a feudal investiture,
made by the delivery of a turf, of a rod, or twig, from the feoffor to
the feoffee. In the United States, and now in Great Britain, no such
ceremony is necessary, the delivery of a deed being sufficient.