[net.nlang] Does "livid" mean anything other than white?

cw (02/07/83)

A recent article suggests that "livid" means something other than white
or pale.  Let me submit that in its most common usage,

	George was livid with rage.

it means only that George's face was, to quote my dictionary,
"ashy pale".  It is a common misconception to believe that in
this usage, "livid" means that George's face was suffused with
blood or reddish.

It is true that the original root suggests a bluish color or
the color of lead; hence, "livid" could be used to describe
a bruise or contusion that had turned blue or blue/black.
However, I have never heard it used this way.  The suggestion
of a leaden hue is consistent with the pallor one sometimes
sees in an enraged person.

Charles

jss (02/09/83)

according to the 1977 Merriam-Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary (the
best we've got here at the office), there are 4 currently accepted meanings
for 'livid':
l. discolored by bruising: BLACK-AND-BLUE [their caps].
2. ASHEN, PALLID.
3. REDDISH.
4. very angry: ENRAGED.

now that i think about it, the caps are simply synonymous cross-references.

judith