lever

English

Wikipedia

Wikipedia

A lever

A lever diagram

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˈliː.və/, /ˈlɛ.və/, SAMPA: /li:"v@/, /lE"v@/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• (Canada, US) IPA: /ˈli.vɚ/, /ˈlɛ.vɚ/, SAMPA: /li:"v@`/, /lE"v@`/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛvə(r), -iːvə(r)

Etymology 1

From Old French leveor, leveur (“a lifter, lever (also Old French and French levier)”), from Latin levator (“a lifter”), from levare, past part. levatus (“to raise”); see levant. Compare alleviate, elevate, leaven.

Noun

lever (plural levers)

1. (mechanics) A rigid piece which is capable of turning about one point, or axis (the fulcrum), and in which are two or more other points where forces are applied; — used for transmitting and modifying force and motion.
   1. Specifically, a bar of metal, wood or other rigid substance, used to exert a pressure, or sustain a weight, at one point of its length, by receiving a force or power at a second, and turning at a third on a fixed point called a fulcrum. It is usually named as the first of the six mechanical powers, and is of three kinds, according as either the fulcrum F, the weight W, or the power P, respectively, is situated between the other two, as in the figures.
2. A small such piece to trigger or control a mechanical device (like a button)
3. (mechanics) A bar, as a capstan bar, applied to a rotatory piece to turn it.
4. (mechanics) An arm on a rock shaft, to give motion to the shaft or to obtain motion from it.

Translations

rigid thing turning about an axis, used for transmitting and modifying force and motion

Armenian: լծակ (hy) (lçak) Croatian: pòluga (hr) f. Czech: páka (cs) f. Dutch: hefboom (nl) m. Finnish: vipu (fi) French: levier (fr) m. Georgian: ბერკეტი (ka) (berveti) German: Hebel (de) m. Greek: μοχλός (el) (mochlós) m.

Italian: leva (it) f. Korean: 지레 (ko) (jire) Macedonian: лост (mk) (lost) m. Polish: dźwignia (pl) f. Portuguese: alavanca (pt) f. Russian: рычаг (ru) (ryčág) m. Serbian: poluga (sr) f. Swedish: hävstång (sv) c. Turkish: kaldıraç (tr)

small such piece to trigger or control a mechanical device

Dutch: hendel (nl) Finnish: vipu (fi) French: levier (fr) m., manette (fr) f. Georgian: ბერკეტი (ka) (berveti)

Greek: μοχλός (el) (mochlós) m. Korean: 지레 (ko) (jire) Spanish: palanca (es) Swedish: spak (sv) c.

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

Afrikaans: hefboom Ido: levero

Verb

lever (third-person singular simple present levers, present participle levering, simple past and past participle levered)

1. (transitive) To move with a lever.

   With great effort and a big crowbar I managed to lever the beam off the floor.

2. (figuratively) (transitive) To use, operate like a lever.
3. (chiefly UK, finance) To increase the share of debt in the capitalization of a business.
   • 1989 Jun 26, “Corporate America wants its privacy”, Minneapolis Star-Tribune:

     "The equity holders want you to 'lever up,' use as much debt as you can," said David Stanley, chairman of Kansas City-based Payless Cashways,

Derived terms

• leverage
• compound lever
• lever escapement
• lever jack
• lever watch
• universal lever

Etymology 2

From Middle English comparative of leve (“dear”) of Germanic origin (compare German lieb) or lief.

Adverb

lever (not comparable)

1. (obsolete) Rather.
   • 1530, John Heywood, The Four PP

     for I had lever be without ye / Then have suche besines about ye

   • 1537, William Tyndale et al, "Jonah", in The Byble

     Now therefore take my life from me, for I had lever die then live.

   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faery Queene

     For lever had I die than see his deadly face.

Translations

• Dutch: eer(der), liever

Etymology 3

From French lever.

Noun

lever (plural levers)

1. (rare) A levee.
   • 1742, Miss Robinson, Mrs. Delany's Letters, II.191:

     We do not appear at Phœbus's Levér.

   • 2011, Tim Blanning, "The reinvention of the night", Times Literary Supplement, 21 Sep 2011:

     Louis XIV’s day began with a lever at 9 and ended (officially) at around midnight.

External links

• lever in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• lever in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911

Anagrams

• elver
• revel

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Anglo-Norman

Verb

lever

1. to raise; to lift
2. (reflexive, se lever) to get up

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Danish

Wikipedia ^da

Etymology 1

From Old Norse lifr.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /levər/, [lewˀɐ]

Noun

lever c. (singular definite leveren, plural indefinite levere)

1. liver

Inflection

    Inflection of lever

common gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative, dative and accusative	lever	leveren	levere	leverne
genitive	levers	leverens	leveres	levernes

Etymology 2

See leve (“to live”).

Pronunciation

• IPA: /leːvər/, [ˈleːvɐ]

Verb

lever

1. present of leve

Etymology 3

See levere (“to deliver”).

Pronunciation

• IPA: /lever/, [leˈveˀɐ]

Verb

lever or levér

1. imperative of levere

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Dutch

Etymology 1

From Old Dutch *livara *levara, from Proto-Germanic *librō. Germanic, cognate with liver, German Leber, Norwegian and Swedish lever etc.

Noun

lever ? (plural levers, diminutive levertje) m. and f.

1. (anatomy) The organ liver
2. An edible animal liver as a dish or culinary ingredient

Derived terms

• (by species) ganzenlever, kalfslever, kippenlever, rundslever, varkenslever
• leverbloem
• leverbotziekte
• leverextract n.
• leverkaas m.
• leverkleurig
• leverpastei
• levertraan m.
• levertumor
• leverworst
• leverziekte

Etymology 2

cognate with deliver, German liefern

Verb

lever

1. first-person singular present indicative of leveren.
2. imperative of leveren.

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French

Etymology

From Latin levāre, present active infinitive of lēvō (“to elevate”), from levis (“light, not heavy”)

Pronunciation

• audio

  (file)

Verb

lever

1. (transitive) to raise, to lift
2. (reflexive) to rise
3. (reflexive) to get up (out of bed)

   Je me lève, je me lave.

   I get up, I wash.

4. (reflexive, of fog, rain and etc) to clear, to lift

Antonyms

• (to raise): baisser
• (to rise): s'abaisser
• (to get up): se coucher, s'allonger

Related terms

• levage m.
• levant, Levant, Levantin m.
• levé
• lève
• lève-Dieu
• levée
• se lever
• lever du soleil
• lève-tard
• leveur m.
• levure

Conjugation

• This verb is conjugated mostly like the regular -er verbs (parler and chanter and so on), but the -e- /ə/ of the second-to-last syllable becomes -è- /ɛ/ before a silent or schwa -e-. For example, in the third-person singular present indicative, we have il lève rather than *il leve. Other verbs conjugated this way include acheter and mener. Related but distinct conjugations include those of appeler and préférer.

   Conjugation of lever (see also Appendix:French verbs)

		simple			compound
infinitive		lever			avoir or être levé
gerund		en levant			en ayant levé or en étant levé
present participle		levant
past participle		levé
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		je (j’)	tu	il	nous	vous	ils
simple tenses	present	lève	lèves	lève	levons	levez	lèvent
	imperfect	levais	levais	levait	levions	leviez	levaient
	past historic1	levai	levas	leva	levâmes	levâtes	levèrent
	future	lèverai	lèveras	lèvera	lèverons	lèverez	lèveront
	conditional	lèverais	lèverais	lèverait	lèverions	lèveriez	lèveraient
compound tenses	present perfect	Use the present tense of avoir or être followed by the past participle
	pluperfect	Use the imperfect tense of avoir or être followed by the past participle
	past anterior1	Use the past historic tense of avoir or être followed by the past participle
	future perfect	Use the future tense of avoir or être followed by the past participle
	conditional perfect	Use the conditional tense of avoir or être followed by the past participle
subjunctive		que je (j’)	que tu	qu’il	que nous	que vous	qu’ils
simple tenses	present	lève	lèves	lève	levions	leviez	lèvent
	imperfect1	levasse	levasses	levât	levassions	levassiez	levassent
compound tenses	past	Use the present subjunctive of avoir or être followed by the past participle
	pluperfect1	Use the imperfect subjunctive of avoir or être followed by the past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nous	vous	–
		—	lève	—	levons	levez	—
1literary tenses

Noun

lever m. (plural levers)

1. the act of getting up in the morning

Anagrams

• lèvre

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Hungarian

Etymology

le- + ver

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈlɛvɛr/
• Hyphenation: le‧ver

Verb

lever

1. (transitive) To knock down

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Latin

Verb

lēver

1. first-person singular present passive subjunctive of lēvō

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Middle English

Adverb

lever

1. Rather.

   For him was lever have at his bed's head
   Twenty bookes, clad in black or red,
   . . . Than robes rich, or fithel, or gay sawtrie. —The Cantebury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer

   But lever than this worldés good
   She would have wist how that it stood —Tales of the Seven Deadly Sins, John Gower.

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Norwegian

Etymology 1

From Old Norse lifr, cognate with liver, Dutch lever, German Leber, Swedish lever.

Noun

lever

1. (anatomy) A liver

Inflection

    Inflection of lever

	indefinite singular	definite singular	indefinite plural	definite plural
Bokmål m	lever	leveren	levere/levre/levrer	leverne/levrene
Bokmål f	lever	levra	levre/levrer	levrene
Nynorsk f	lever	levra	levrar	levrane

Etymology 2

Verb

lever

1. present tense of leve, leva (Nynorsk)

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Old French

Etymology

Latin lēvō

Verb

lever

1. to lift (up)

Conjugation

• This verb conjugates the same as other verbs ending -er, apart from an extra 'i' is inserted in some of the conjugated forms. Old French conjugation varies significantly by date and by region. The following conjugation should be treated as a guide.

   Conjugation of lever (see also Appendix:Old French verbs)

		simple			compound
infinitive		lever			avoir levé
gerund		en levant			Use the gerund of avoir followed by the past participle
present participle		levant
past participle		levé
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		jeo, jou	tu	il	nos, nous	vos, vous	ils
simple tenses	present	leve, lieve	leves, lieves	leve, lieve	levons	levez, levés	levent, lievent
	imperfect	levoe, leveie, levoie	levoes, leveies, levoies	levot, leveit, levoit	levions, leviions	leviez, leviiez	levoent, levient, levoient
	past historic	leva	levas	leva	levames	levastes	leverent
	future	leverai	leveras	levera	leverons	leverez, levereiz	leveront
	conditional	leveroe, levereie, leveroie	leveroes, levereied, leveroied	leverot, levereie, leveroie	leverions, leveriions	leveriez, leveriiez	leveroent, levereient, leveroient
compound tenses	present perfect	Use the present tense of avoir followed by the past participle
	pluperfect	Use the imperfect tense of avoir followed by the past participle
	past anterior	Use the past historic tense of avoir followed by the past participle
	future perfect	Use the future tense of avoir followed by the past participle
	conditional perfect	Use the conditional tense of avoir followed by the past participle
subjunctive		que jeo, jou	que tu	qu’il	que nos, nous	que vos, vous	qu’ils
simple tenses	present	leve, lieve	leves, lieves	leve, lieve	levons	levez	levent, lievent
	imperfect	levasse	levasses	levast	levissons	levissez, levissiez	levassent
compound tenses	past	Use the present subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle
	pluperfect	Use the imperfect subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nos, nous	vos, vous	–
		—	leve, lieve	—	levons	levez	—

Descendants

• French: lever

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Swedish

Pronunciation

• audio

  (file)

Etymology 1

Germanic, cognate with liver, Dutch lever, German Leber, Norwegian lever.

Noun

lever c.

1. (anatomy) a liver

Declension

Declension of lever

	singular		plural
Common	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	lever	levern	levrar	levrarna
genitive	levers	leverns	levrars	levrarnas

Etymology 2

Verb

lever

1. present tense of leva.