Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “lever” come from?

Lever comes from French lever, from Latin levare meaning to lift, derived from Latin levis meaning light, which traces to Proto-Indo-European lewh₃-.

lever (English): A crowbar; A rigid piece which is capable of...

Definitions

  1. A crowbar; A rigid piece which is capable of...

Ancestry of “lever”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1FrenchleverTo raise, lift; To rise, stand up; To get up
2Middle Frenchleverto lift
3Old Frenchleverto lift; to get up
4Latinlevō—
5Latinlēvis—
6Proto-Italicleɣʷis—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁léngʰuslightweight
8Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁lengʷʰ-light

Words derived from “lever”

  • leverage
  • levers
  • cantilever
  • microcantilever
  • leverman
  • deleverage
  • nanocantilever
  • overleverage
  • leverageable
  • delever
  • underlever
  • microlever
  • leverager
  • multilever
  • leverless
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁lengʷʰ- →