Where does “levee” come from?
Levee comes from French levée, the feminine past participle of French lever, derived from Latin levare meaning "to lift," itself from Latin levis meaning "light" in weight, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h₁lengʷʰ-.
levee (English): An embankment to prevent inundation; as, the...
Definitions
- An embankment to prevent inundation; as, the...
Ancestry of “levee”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | levée | removal; levee; feminine singular of the past... |
| 2 | French | lever | To raise, lift; To rise, stand up; To get up |
| 3 | Middle French | lever | to lift |
| 4 | Old French | lever | to lift; to get up |
| 5 | Latin | levō | — |
| 6 | Latin | lēvis | — |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | leɣʷis | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁léngʰus | lightweight |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁lengʷʰ- | light |
Words derived from “levee”