short-lived

The compound "short-lived" is a transparent English formation, directly combining the native Germanic adjective "short" with the participial adjective "lived." The logic is entirely literal: "having a life that is short." The term first appeared in the late 16th century, with "lived" pronounced with a short 'i' (/lɪvd/) to match the vowel in the noun "life," from which it is derived, rather than the long 'i' (/laɪvd/) of the verb "live." This construction follows a common English pattern for creating descriptive adjectives (e.g., "long-legged," "sharp-eyed"), where a characteristic is attributed to the subject by describing the nature of one of its features.

Structure: short (brief) + lived (having life) - short: From Old English sceort, of Germanic origin, meaning "not long" or "brief." Functions as an adjective modifying the second element. - lived: From the verb live (Old English libban, lifian), with the past tense/past participial suffix -ed. In this compound, it functions as an adjective meaning "having a life of a specified kind."