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livery

UK/ˈlɪv(ə)ɹi/US/ˈlɪv(ə)ɹi/
nounC2Common in everyday speech and writing · #7,518 of 15,258mostly written

Other forms: liveries

Livery is the distinctive colours a company or servant wears. The airline's livery, in full livery, a new livery.

It now belongs above all to transport — an aircraft or a train in a company's livery is in its paint scheme. The word comes from what was delivered to servants: clothing issued as part of their keep, from the French for delivered.

Philip Allfrey · CC BY-SA 2.5

Definitions of livery

  1. 1nounliveryThe distinctive colours a company or servant wears.C2

    “The new trains will be painted in the company's green and gold livery.”

livery is a uniform.

Where it comes from

Old French livree means something delivered, from livrer, to deliver. Servants were issued clothing as part of their keep.

  1. Old French

    livree

  2. Anglo-Norman

    liveree

  3. Middle English

    livery

  4. English, today

    livery

From Middle English livery, liveree, from Anglo-Norman liveree, from Old French livree. Compare modern French livrée.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Word Building

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livery in the wild

  • There are 114 livery companies as of February 2026.

    Livery company

  • Most livery companies retain their historical religious associations, although nowadays members are free to follow any faith or none.

    Livery company

  • The Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors is one of the 114 livery companies of the City of London.

    Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors

  • The Worshipful Company of Launderers is one of the livery companies of the City of London.

    Worshipful Company of Launderers

  • The most ordinary livery is often called "SH Livery", which was established in 2001.

    Buses in Shanghai

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.