I Would Liefer

Hello, you have A Way with Words.

Hi, my name is Grace and I’m calling from Fort Worth, Texas.

Hi, Grace, how you doing?

Hi, I’m good, how are you?

Alright, you sound very lively.

Cool.

What can we help you with?

In my English class last year, we read The Moor of Venice after we finished Othello, and there was this line that Desdemona says to the Moor, and it just, I just, here’s the line anyway.

She says, and in truth, I think you love me little were you to leave me here in Venice, denying me to bear you company, or could believe that I would leave for abide in safety here, then share the safeties that await you.

So when I read Liefer, I’m also taking German, so I immediately made this connection between the German word Lieber, and in the context of the passage, it sounds as if she’s saying that Lieber means that she would rather or that she would prefer doing that, and that’s kind of how you’d use Lieber in German as well.

So I was wondering if I’m right in making that connection and also why we don’t use that word anymore.

This is brilliant.

Not only have you provided the question, you’ve provided the answer.

Talk to you later.

Thanks for calling, Grace.

You’re exactly right.

Leif or leifer means rather.

I’d rather not tell her.

I’d leif tell her, right?

I would leifer bide in safety.

L-I-E-F-E-R, right?

That’s right, yeah.

And it’s related to the English words for love and to leave.

And we have this rare meaning of leave in English that you’ll find in books, but we don’t use really in spoken speech much anymore.

I give you leave to ask her hand in marriage.

That kind of leave, right?

By your leave, my lord.

By your leave, yes, exactly.

That sort of thing.

So these are all kind of, if you did a Venn diagram and made circles for each of these words in the German and the English, there would be a little bit of overlap in the middle where they’re all kind of related to each other, but they’ve gone their own path in the history of their languages.

Same with believe, too.

Exactly.

Oh, yeah.

Having an affinity.

So you’re exactly right.

So you’re studying German, reading Shakespeare.

What kind of wizard are you?

I’m just your average 17-year-old, I guess.

Yeah!

Yeah, right.

You know what?

I hope that you are exactly average because that means there are a lot of brilliant people coming up in the world.

Cool.

Thanks for calling, Grace.

Really appreciate it.

Oh, thank you.

Take care.

Good luck with your studies.

Thanks.

Bye-bye.

Later.

Grant, there’s hope for our future.

Call us 877-929-9673.