livelihood

Etymology

From Middle English liflode, from Old English līflād (“course of life, conduct”), from līf (“life”) + lād (“course, journey”), later altered under the influence of lively, -hood. Compare life, lode.

noun

1. A means of providing the necessities of life for oneself (for example, a job or income).
   an independent livelihood;  to make / earn / gain a good livelihood
   1716, Joseph Addison, The Free-Holder, London: D. Midwinter and J. Tonson, No. 42, Monday May 14, p. 245, Trade […] employs Multitudes of Hands both by Sea and Land, and furnishes the poorest of our Fellow-Subjects with the Opportunities of gaining an honest Livelihood.
   [The Orthodox Jewish shopkeepers] could be seen behind their counters, wearing black skullcaps, full beards, and long earlocks, eking out their meager livelihoods and dreaming of Shabbat and festivals when they could close their stores and turn their attention to their prayers, their rabbi, their God. 1967, Chaim Potok, chapter 1, in The Chosen, New York: Fawcett Crest, published 1982, page 10
   The legal profession believes that client choice is the best way of ensuring standards remain high, because a lawyer's livelihood depends upon their reputation. 2013, Matthew Claughton, The Guardian, (letter), 25 April
2. (now rare) Property which brings in an income; an estate.
3. (obsolete) Liveliness; appearance of life.
4. (obsolete) The course of someone's life; a person's lifetime, or their manner of living; conduct, behaviour.