From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
A livery is a uniform, worn by a person. In the time of Chaucer "livery" referred to an allowance of any kind, but especially clothes delivered (French livrée) to servants and members of the household. Such things might be kept in a "livery cupboard." The sense later contracted to servants' rations and distinctive standardized outfits, like the knee-breeches worn by footmen in grand houses until World War I, and to provender for horses, from which we have inherited "livery stable" (1705).
From this core meaning, multiple extended or specialist meanings have derived. Examples include:
- A livery company is one of the ancient guilds of the City of London; members of the company were allowed to dress their servants in the distinctive uniform of their trade, and the companies' charters enabled them to to prevent others from using it.
- A livery is the common design and paint scheme a company will use on its vehicles, often using specific colors and logo placement. In this sense, the term is applied to railway locomotives and rolling stock, aeroplanes, and road vehicles. For example, United Parcel Service has trucks with an internationally known brown livery.
