liver

Liver comes from Middle English lyvere, from Old English lifer, tracing back through Proto-West Germanic *libru to Proto-Germanic *librō, and further to a Proto-Indo-European root *leyp- meaning 'to smear, smudge, stick,' itself connected to *ley-, 'to be slimy, be sticky, glide.'

The word's deep root described something slick or sticky, a fitting description for the organ's texture, and it settled into Old English as lifer before smoothing into modern liver.

Liver is related to the English word live, sharing ancient Germanic ground with it.