liveriedadj.
/ˈlɪv(ə)rɪd/, U.S. /ˈlɪv(ə)rid/ 1. Esp. of a domestic servant: dressed in or wearing a livery; provided with a livery. Also as the final element in compounds (see well-liveried adj.). (Now chiefly in historical contexts.)
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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > wearing clothing > [adjective] > wearing clothing for specific people > wearing uniform > types of
liveried1637
bloody-backed1770
plain clothes1822
well-liveried1835
red-breeches1840
uniform1895
1637 J. Milton Comus 16 A thousand liveried angels lackie her.
c1660 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1633 (1955) II. 11 He had 116 Servants in Liveryes, every one liveryed in greene sattin doublets.
1738 A. Pope One Thousand Seven Hundred & Thirty Eight 9 Our Youth, all liv'ry'd o'er with foreign Gold, Before her dance; behind her crawl the Old.
?1760 J. Langhorne Poems Several Occasions 93 There, ranged in Rows, no liveried Train E're beg'd their Master's Beef again.
a1817 J. Austen Northanger Abbey (1818) II. v. 71 The fashionable chaise-and-four—postilions handsomely liveried . View more context for this quotation
1839 C. Dickens Nicholas Nickleby x. 93 A liveried footman opened the door.
1869 A. J. Evans Vashti vi. 79 Some red-liveried, sulphur-scented Imp of Abaddon.
1883 Harper's Mag. Aug. 482/1 It was his fashion to ride in a gorgeous coach and four, with liveried postilions and footman.
1927 Amer. Mercury Feb. 168/1 Every man's wife will wear broadtail and ermine, and ride behind a liveried chauffeur.
1961 A. Hosain Sunlight on Broken Column ii. i. 118 [The crest] was stamped on their stationery and silver, and was worn as a badge on the turbans of their liveried servants.
2002 B. Hoey Her Majesty i. 9 There may be liveried footmen at her beck and call twenty-four hours a day, but, as with breakfast, the Queen likes to serve herself at teatime.
2. In figurative and extended uses.
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a1639 H. Wotton Reliquiæ Wottonianæ (1651) 524 All look't gay, all full of Chear, To welcome the New-liveri'd yeare.
1750 C. Smart in Student 1 No. 6. 225 The livery'd clouds shall on thee wait.
1831 S. Woodworth Melodies (ed. 3) 151 The liveried trees their yellow coats forego.
1851 R. H. Stoddard Castle in Air ii. 37 My rivers flow beyond, with guardant ranks Of silver-liveried poplars on their banks.
a1895 E. Field Second Bk. Verse (1908) 147 We envied not the liveried pomp nor proud estate of kings.
1902 J. Davidson Test. No. III 55 The liveried lightning's conduit manifold.
1995 T. Hughes Coll. Animal Poems 40 All sorts of liveried listenings Tiptoe along the lanes and peer over hedges.
2001 Express (Nexis) 10 Feb. 80 [The] liveried trumpets [of Gentiana ternifolia] are borne aloft in late summer, a perfect way to herald in the autumn.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2009; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1637