lifelong; livelong.
“Lifelong” = lasting for all or most of one’s life {Seymour’s lifelong dream was to conduct the New York Philharmonic}. Livelong = (of a time period, esp. a day or a night) whole, entire {“the eyes of Texas are upon you, all the livelong day”}. Confusion of these words isn’t as rare as it ought to be — e.g.:
o “Born in Providence, a son of the late Peter Gomes and the late Mary Fortes, he had been a livelong [read ‘lifelong’] resident of Providence, moving to Brockton eight years ago.” “Late Obituary: Bernard D. ‘Chicken’ Fortes,” Providence J.-Bull., 18 Jan. 1995, at C6.
o “Berning pursued a livelong [read ‘lifelong’] interest in the golf swing.” Larry Bohannan, “Making Ends Meet,” Desert Sun (Palm Springs), 12 Feb. 2002, at C8.
o “A native and livelong [read ‘lifelong’] resident of the Tampa area, he attended Riverview High School.” “McGowan, Mitchell Curtis” (obit.), St. Petersburg Times, 4 Sept. 2002, at B7.
For information about the Language-Change Index click here.
Quotation of the Day: “Language communicates most effectively to those who love it, just as food more easily nourishes a man who is hungry.” John Wain, “An Instrument of Communication” (1958), in A Language Reader for Writers 227, 232 (James R. Gaskin & Jack Suberman eds., 1966).
