means The large reddish-brown organ in the abdomen that filters toxins from the blood, makes bile, and handles a staggering range of metabolic chores to keep you alive.

from From Old English 'lifer', which came down through the Germanic family — German has 'Leber', Dutch 'lever', Old Norse 'lifr'. A long-loved folk story links it to 'life' and 'live', since the ancients believed the liver was the seat of vitality and even the soul. That connection is tempting but unproven; the resemblance to 'live' may be coincidence rather than shared root. What's solid is that 'liver' is one of the oldest body words in English, unchanged in spirit for well over a thousand years.