The condition of a thing that maintains itself and can end. Also the whole span of one such thing, from beginning to end.
Old English lif (life, existence), from Proto-Germanic liba, related to libban (to live), from a root meaning to remain, continue; the condition of a thing that maintains itself and can end.
The atom folded into every lifecycle this house names — a thing that is not just present but moves through stages, is tended for a while, and is eventually let go.