Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “cantilever” come from?

Cantilever comes from English lever and Latin cantus, canthus, and levis, with the senses developing from "light" or "edge" through musical or projecting meanings.

cantilever (English): A beam anchored at one end and projecting into...

Definitions

  1. A beam anchored at one end and projecting into...

Ancestry of “cantilever”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishleverA crowbar; A rigid piece which is capable of...
2FrenchleverTo raise, lift; To rise, stand up; To get up
3Middle Frenchleverto lift
4Old Frenchleverto lift; to get up
5Latinlevō—
6Latinlēvis—
7Proto-Italicleɣʷis—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁léngʰuslightweight
9Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁lengʷʰ-light

Words derived from “cantilever”

  • microcantilever
  • nanocantilever
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁lengʷʰ- →