lever

Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search
See also: Lever

English[edit]

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
A lever
A lever diagram

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Borrowed 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[edit]

lever (plural levers)

  1. (obsolete, except in generalized senses below) A crowbar.
    • 1613, John Marston, William Barksted, The Insatiate Countess, IV.1:
      My lord, I brained him with a lever my neighbour lent me, and he stood by and cried, ‘Strike home, old boy!’
  2. (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.
  3. A small such piece to trigger or control a mechanical device (like a button).
  4. (mechanics) A bar, as a capstan bar, applied to a rotatory piece to turn it.
    • 2012 March 1, Henry Petroski, “Opening Doors”, in American Scientist‎[1], volume 100, number 2, page 112-3:
      A doorknob of whatever roundish shape is effectively a continuum of levers, with the axis of the latching mechanism—known as the spindle—being the fulcrum about which the turning takes place.
  5. (mechanics) An arm on a rock shaft, to give motion to the shaft or to obtain motion from it.
Translations[edit]
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 Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked

Verb[edit]

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

  1. (transitive) To move with a lever.
    • 1938, George Orwell, Homage to Catalonia, Chapter 7,[2]
      Someone found a pick and levered a burst plank out of the floor, and in a few minutes we had got a fire alight and our drenched clothes were steaming.
    With great effort and a big crowbar I managed to lever the beam off the floor.
  2. (figuratively, transitive) To use, operate or move (something) like a lever (physically).
    • 1961, V. S. Naipaul, A House for Mr Biswas, Vintage International, 2001, Part Two, Chapter 1,
      Suddenly he had levered himself up from the sofa, rocking the lame man violently, and was walking towards the receptionist.
  3. (figuratively, transitive) To use (something) like a lever (in an abstract sense).
    • 2001, Joshua Cooper Ramo, “Bagging the Butcher,” Time, 9 April, 2001,[3]
      He was a man who levered his way from small-time communist hack to political power by tapping into the most potent vein of historical juice in the Balkans: nationalism.
    • 2013, Robert McCrum, “Biographies of the year — review,” The Guardian, 8 December, 2013,[4]
      Credited with pioneering the detective novel, Collins has attracted many biographers over the years, drawn to his extraordinary life and work in the hope of levering open a new understanding of the Victorian psyche.
  4. (chiefly Britain, finance) To increase the share of debt in the capitalization of a business.
    • 1989 June 26, “Corporate America wants its privacy”, in 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,
Translations[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Derived terms

Etymology 2[edit]

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

Adverb[edit]

lever (not comparable)

  1. (obsolete) Rather.
Translations[edit]
rather — see rather

Etymology 3[edit]

Borrowed from French lever.

Noun[edit]

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.

Further reading[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 “lever” (US) / “lever” (UK) in Oxford Dictionaries, Oxford University Press.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 “lever” in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 “lever” in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.

Anagrams[edit]

Danish[edit]

Danish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia da

Etymology 1[edit]

From Old Danish liuær, from Old Norse lifr, from Proto-Germanic *librō, from Proto-Indo-European *leyp- (“to smudge, stick”), from *ley- (“to be slimy, be sticky, glide”).

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /leːvər/, [ˈleʊ̯ˀɐ], [ˈlewˀʌ]

Noun[edit]

lever c (singular definite leveren, plural indefinite levere)

  1. liver
Inflection[edit]
Declension of lever
common
gender 		Singular Plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative lever leveren levere leverne
genitive levers leverens leveres levernes

Etymology 2[edit]

See leve (“to live”).

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /leːvər/, [ˈleːʊ̯ɐ]

Verb[edit]

lever

  1. present tense of leve

Etymology 3[edit]

See levere (“to deliver”).

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /leveːr/, [leˈʋeɐ̯ˀ]

Verb[edit]

lever or levér

  1. imperative of levere

Dutch[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈleːvər/
  • Audio
    		(file)
  • Hyphenation: le‧ver

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle Dutch levere, from Old Dutch *livara, from Proto-Germanic *librō.

Noun[edit]

lever f (plural levers, diminutive levertje n)

  1. liver
  2. edible animal liver as a dish or culinary ingredient
Derived terms[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

See the etymology of the main entry.

Verb[edit]

lever

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

French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

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

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

lever

  1. (transitive) to raise, to lift
  2. (reflexive) to rise, to stand up
  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

Conjugation[edit]

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/ when the next vowel is 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)
present participle levant
/lə.vɑ̃/
past participle levé
/lə.ve/
infinitive
simple lever
compound avoir + past participle
gerund1
simple levant
/lə.vɑ̃/
compound ayant + past participle
singular plural
first second third first second third
indicative je (j’) tu il, elle nous vous ils, elles
(simple
tenses) 		present lève
/lɛv/ 		lèves
/lɛv/ 		lève
/lɛv/ 		levons
/lə.vɔ̃/ 		levez
/lə.ve/ 		lèvent
/lɛv/
imperfect levais
/lə.vɛ/ 		levais
/lə.vɛ/ 		levait
/lə.vɛ/ 		levions
/lə.vjɔ̃/ 		leviez
/lə.vje/ 		levaient
/lə.vɛ/
past historic2 levai
/lə.vɛ/ 		levas
/lə.va/ 		leva
/lə.va/ 		levâmes
/lə.vam/ 		levâtes
/lə.vat/ 		levèrent
/lə.vɛʁ/
future lèverai
/lɛ.vʁɛ/ 		lèveras
/lɛ.vʁa/ 		lèvera
/lɛ.vʁa/ 		lèverons
/lɛ.vʁɔ̃/ 		lèverez
/lɛ.vʁe/ 		lèveront
/lɛ.vʁɔ̃/
conditional lèverais
/lɛ.vʁɛ/ 		lèverais
/lɛ.vʁɛ/ 		lèverait
/lɛ.vʁɛ/ 		lèverions
/lɛ.və.ʁjɔ̃/ 		lèveriez
/lɛ.və.ʁje/ 		lèveraient
/lɛ.vʁɛ/
(compound
tenses) 		present perfect present indicative of avoir + past participle
pluperfect imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle
past anterior2 past historic of avoir + past participle
future perfect future of avoir + past participle
conditional perfect conditional of avoir + past participle
subjunctive que je (j’) que tu qu’il, qu’elle que nous que vous qu’ils, qu’elles
(simple
tenses) 		present lève
/lɛv/ 		lèves
/lɛv/ 		lève
/lɛv/ 		levions
/lə.vjɔ̃/ 		leviez
/lə.vje/ 		lèvent
/lɛv/
imperfect2 levasse
/lə.vas/ 		levasses
/lə.vas/ 		levât
/lə.va/ 		levassions
/lə.va.sjɔ̃/ 		levassiez
/lə.va.sje/ 		levassent
/lə.vas/
(compound
tenses) 		past present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
pluperfect2 imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative – tu – nous vous –
simple — lève
/lɛv/ 		— levons
/lə.vɔ̃/ 		levez
/lə.ve/ 		—
compound — simple imperative of avoir + past participle — simple imperative of avoir + past participle simple imperative of avoir + past participle —
1 Only usable with preposition en.
2 In less formal writing or speech, the past historic, past anterior, imperfect subjunctive and pluperfect subjunctive tenses may be found to have been replaced with the indicative present perfect, indicative pluperfect, present subjunctive and past subjunctive tenses respectively (Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81).

Antonyms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

Noun[edit]

lever m (plural levers)

  1. the act of getting up in the morning

Further reading[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Hungarian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

le- +‎ ver

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): [ˈlɛvɛr]
  • Hyphenation: le‧ver

Verb[edit]

lever

  1. (transitive) to knock down

Conjugation[edit]

conjugation of lever
Infinitive leverni
Past participle levert
Present participle leverő
Future participle leverendő
Adverbial participle leverve
Potential leverhet
1st person sg 2nd person sg informal 3rd person sg,
2nd person sg formal 		1st person pl 2nd person pl informal 3rd person pl,
2nd person pl formal
Indicative mood Present Indefinite leverek leversz lever leverünk levertek levernek
Definite leverem
én téged/titeket
leverlek 		levered leveri leverjük leveritek leverik
Past Indefinite levertem levertél levert levertünk levertetek levertek
Definite levertem
én téged/titeket
levertelek 		leverted leverte levertük levertétek leverték
Conditional mood Present Indefinite levernék levernél leverne levernénk levernétek levernének
Definite leverném
én téged/titeket
levernélek 		levernéd leverné levernénk levernétek levernék
Subjunctive mood Present Indefinite leverjek leverj
or
leverjél 		leverjen leverjünk leverjetek leverjenek
Definite leverjem
én téged/titeket
leverjelek 		leverd
or
leverjed 		leverje leverjük leverjétek leverjék
Conjugated infinitive levernem leverned levernie levernünk levernetek leverniük

Derived terms[edit]

Latin[edit]

Verb[edit]

lēver

  1. first-person singular present passive subjunctive of levo

Middle English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Comparative of leve (“dear”) of Germanic origin (compare German lieb) or lief.

Adverb[edit]

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 Canterbury 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.

Middle French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old French lever.

Verb[edit]

lever

  1. to lift

Conjugation[edit]

  • Middle French conjugation varies from one text to another. Hence, the following conjugation should be considered as typical, not as exhaustive.
   Conjugation of lever
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 ie (may be i' before a vowel) tu il nous vous ilz, elles
simple
tenses 		present leve leves leve levons levez levent
imperfect levois, levoys levois, levoys levoit, levoyt levions, levyons leviez, levyez levoient, levoyent
past historic leva levas leva levasmes levastes leverent
future leverai, leveray leveras levera leverons leverez leveront
conditional leverois, leveroys leverois, leveroys leveroit, leveroyt leverions, leveryons leveriez, leveryez leveroient, leveroyent
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 ie que tu qu'il que nous que vous qu'ilz, qu'elles
simple
tenses 		present leve leves leve levons levez levent
imperfect levasse levasses levast levassions levassiez 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 – nous vous –
— leve — levons levez —

Descendants[edit]

References[edit]

  • Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IXe au XVe siècle (1881) (lever, supplement)

Norwegian Bokmål[edit]

Norwegian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia no

Pronunciation[edit]

Phonetik.svg This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

Etymology 1[edit]

From Old Norse lifr, from Proto-Germanic *librō, from Proto-Indo-European *leyp- (“to smudge, stick”), from *ley- (“to be slimy, be sticky, glide”).

Noun[edit]

lever m, f (definite singular leveren or levra, indefinite plural levere or levre or levrer, definite plural leverne or levrene)

  1. (anatomy) a liver
  2. liver (eaten as food)

Etymology 2[edit]

Verb[edit]

lever

  1. present tense of leve
  2. imperative of levere

References[edit]

Norwegian Nynorsk[edit]

Norwegian Nynorsk Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nn

Etymology 1[edit]

From Old Norse lifr, from Proto-Germanic *librō, from Proto-Indo-European *leyp- (“to smudge, stick”), from *ley- (“to be slimy, be sticky, glide”). Akin to English liver.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

lever f (definite singular levra, indefinite plural levrar or levrer, definite plural levrane or levrene)

  1. (anatomy) a liver
  2. liver (eaten as food)

Etymology 2[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

lever

  1. present tense of leva

Further reading[edit]

Old French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin lēvāre, present active infinitive of lēvō.

Verb[edit]

lever

  1. to lift (up)
  2. (reflexive, se level) to get up (get out of bed)

Conjugation[edit]

This verb conjugates as a first-group verb ending in -er. The forms that would normally end in *-v, *-vs, *-vt are modified to f, s, t. This verb has a stressed present stem liev distinct from the unstressed stem lev. 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 jo tu il nos vos il
simple
tenses 		present lief lieves lieve levons levez lievent
imperfect levoie, leveie, levoe, leveve levoies, leveies, levoes, leveves levoit, leveit, levot, leveve leviiens, leviens leviiez, leviez levoient, leveient, levoent, levevent
preterite levai levas leva levames levastes leverent
future leverai leveras levera leverons leveroiz, levereiz, leverez leveront
conditional leveroie, levereie leveroies, levereies leveroit, levereit leveriiens, leveriens leveriiez, leveriez leveroient, levereient
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 preterite 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 jo que tu qu’il que nos que vos qu’il
simple
tenses 		present lief lies liet levons levez lievent
imperfect levasse levasses levast levissons, levissiens levissoiz, 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 vos –
— lieve — levons levez —

Descendants[edit]

Old Swedish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old Norse hleifr, from Proto-Germanic *hlaibaz.

Noun[edit]

lēver m

  1. loaf, bread

Declension[edit]

Declension of lēver (a-stem)
singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative lēver lēfr lēva(r) lēvani(r), -ane(r)
accusative lēf lēfin lēva lēvana
dative lēvi, -e lēvinum, -enom lēvum, -om lēvumin, -omen
genitive lēfs lēfsins lēva lēvanna

Descendants[edit]

Swedish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Old Norse lifr, from Proto-Germanic *librō, from Proto-Indo-European *leyp- (“to smudge, stick”), from *ley- (“to be slimy, be sticky, glide”).

Noun[edit]

lever c

  1. (anatomy) a liver
Declension[edit]
Declension of lever 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative lever levern levrar levrarna
Genitive levers leverns levrars levrarnas

Etymology 2[edit]

Verb[edit]

lever

  1. present tense of leva.
Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=lever&oldid=50670488"