leaven
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
Middle English levain, from Old French, from Late Latin levamen, instead of levamentum, ultimately from Latin levō (“I raise”).
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Noun
leaven (plural leavens)
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] Translations
any agent used to make dough rise
[edit] Verb
leaven (third-person singular simple present leavens, present participle leavening, simple past and past participle leavened)
- (transitive) To add a leavening agent.
- (transitive) To cause to rise by fermentation.
- (transitive, figuratively) To temper an action or decision.
- 1992, Rudolf M. Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, page vii
- With fresh material, taxonomic conclusions are leavened by recognition that the material examined reflects the site it occupied; a herbarium packet gives one only a small fraction of the data desirable for sound conclusions. Herbarium material does not, indeed, allow one to extrapolate safely: what you see is what you get […]
- 1992, Rudolf M. Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, page vii
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] Translations
to cause to rise by fermentation
