lever

See also: Lever

English

A lever

A lever diagram

Pronunciation

• (Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈliː.vɚ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈliː.və/,

  Audio (UK)

  (file)

  Hyphenation: lever

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈlɛ.vɚ/, /ˈliː.vɚ/

  Audio (GA)

  (file)

  Hyphenation: le‧ver, Hyphenation: lev‧er

• Rhymes: -ɛvə(ɹ), -iːvə(ɹ)
• Homophones: leaver, Lever (for the pronunciation /ˈliːvə(ɹ)/)

Etymology 1

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

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

rigid piece

• Arabic: رافعَة‎‎ f
• Armenian: լծակ (hy) (lcak)
• Catalan: alçaprem (ca) m, palanca (ca) f
• Central Melanau: tuwaih, suwil
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 槓桿 (zh), 杠杆 (zh) (gànggǎn)

• Classical Nahuatl: cuammītl
• Czech: páka (cs) f
• Dutch: hefboom (nl) m
• Esperanto: baskulo, levilo
• Finnish: vipu (fi)
• French: levier (fr) m
• Galician: cambón (gl) m, panca (gl) f, perpau m, palferro m, alzaprema f, palastra f, mourón (gl) m, gurra f, bimbarra f
• Georgian: ბერკეტი (berḳeṭi)
• German: Hebel (de) m
• Greek: μοχλός (el) m (mochlós)
• Gujarati: ઉચ્ચાલક (uccālak)
• Hindi: उत्तोलक (uttolak)
• Indonesian: tuas (id), pengungkit (id)
• Italian: leva (it) f
• Japanese: 梃子 (てこ, teko)
• Korean: 지레 (ko) (jire)
• Latin: vectis m

• Macedonian: лост m (lost)
• Malay: tuil, tuas, pengumpil, pengungkil, pengungkit
• Malayalam: ഉത്തോലകം (ml) (uttōlakaṃ)
• Maori: hua, tūwhiti
• Newari: थिँभः (thĩbhaː)
• Persian: اهرم‎‎ (fa) (ahrom)
• Polish: dźwignia (pl) f
• Portuguese: alavanca (pt) f
• Russian: рыча́г (ru) m (ryčág)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: полуга f

  Roman: poluga (sh) f

• Spanish: palanca (es)
• Swedish: hävstång (sv) c
• Tagalog: dalawit
• Tamil: நெம்புகோல் (ta) (nempukōl)
• Telugu: తులాదండము (te) (tulādaṇḍamu)
• Thai: คาน (th) (kaan)
• Turkish: kaldıraç (tr)
• Ukrainian: важіль (uk) m (vážil')
• Vietnamese: đòn bẩy
• Walloon: djîsse (wa) f, levî (wa) m

small such piece to trigger or control a mechanical device

• Dutch: hendel (nl)
• Esperanto: baskulo
• Finnish: vipu (fi)
• French: levier (fr) m, manette (fr) f
• Galician: travón m
• Georgian: ბერკეტი (berḳeṭi)

• German: Hebel (de) m
• Greek: μοχλός (el) m (mochlós)
• Korean: 지레 (ko) (jire)
• Portuguese: alavanca (pt) f
• 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 Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Afrikaans: ^{(please verify)} hefboom

• Ido: ^{(please verify)} levero (io)

Verb

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

to move with a lever

• Finnish: vivuta (fi)
• German: hebeln (de)
• Maori: huaranga

• Portuguese: alavancar
• Spanish: apalancar (es)

to use like a lever

• Finnish: vivuttaa

finance: to increase the share of debt

• Finnish: vivuttaa

Derived terms

Derived terms

• compound lever
• leverage
• lever escapement

• lever jack
• lever watch
• universal lever

Etymology 2

From the 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

rather — see rather

Etymology 3

Borrowed 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.

Further reading

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

Anagrams

• Revel, elver, revel

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Danish

Etymology 1

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

• IPA^(key): /leːvər/, [leʊ̯ˀɐ]

Noun

lever c (singular definite leveren, plural indefinite levere)

1. liver

Inflection

Declension of lever

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

Etymology 2

See leve (“to live”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /leːvər/, [ˈleːʊ̯ɐ]

Verb

lever

1. present tense of leve

Etymology 3

See levere (“to deliver”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /leveːr/, [leˈʋeɐ̯ˀ]

Verb

lever or levér

1. imperative of levere

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Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈleːvər/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: le‧ver

Etymology 1

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

Noun

lever f (plural levers, diminutive levertje n)

1. liver
2. edible animal liver as a dish or culinary ingredient

Derived terms

• ganzenlever
• kalfslever
• kippenlever
• rundslever
• varkenslever
• leverbloem
• leverbotziekte
• leverextract
• leverkaas
• leverkleurig
• leverpastei
• levertraan
• levertumor
• leverworst
• leverziekte

Etymology 2

See etymology on the main entry.

Verb

lever

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

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French

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lə.ve/

• audio

  (file)

Verb

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

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)

		simple			compound
infinitive		lever			avoir levé
gerund		en levant			en ayant levé
present participle		levant /lə.vɑ̃/
past participle		levé /lə.ve/
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		je (j’)	tu	il	nous	vous	ils
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 historic1	levai /lə.ve/	levas /lə.va/	leva /lə.va/	levâmes /lə.vam/	levâtes /lə.vat/	levèrent /lə.vɛʁ/
	future	lèverai /lɛ.vʁe/	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	Use the present tense of avoir followed by the past participle
	pluperfect	Use the imperfect tense of avoir followed by the past participle
	past anterior1	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 je (j’)	que tu	qu’il	que nous	que vous	qu’ils
simple tenses	present	lève /lɛv/	lèves /lɛv/	lève /lɛv/	levions /lə.vjɔ̃/	leviez /lə.vje/	lèvent /lɛv/
	imperfect1	levasse /lə.vas/	levasses /lə.vas/	levât /lə.va/	levassions /lə.va.sjɔ̃/	levassiez /lə.va.sje/	levassent /lə.vas/
compound tenses	past	Use the present subjunctive tense of avoir followed by the past participle
	pluperfect1	Use the imperfect subjunctive tense of avoir followed by the past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nous	vous	–
		—	lève /lɛv/	—	levons /lə.vɔ̃/	levez /lə.ve/	—
1literary tenses

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

Noun

lever m (plural levers)

1. the act of getting up in the morning

Further reading

• “lever” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• lèvre

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Hungarian

Etymology

le- +‎ ver

Pronunciation

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

Verb

lever

1. (transitive) to knock down

Conjugation

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

• leverés

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Latin

Verb

lēver

1. first-person singular present passive subjunctive of levo

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Middle English

Etymology

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

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 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.

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Middle French

Etymology

From Old French lever.

Verb

lever

1. to lift

Conjugation

• 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

• French: lever

References

• Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle (1881) (lever, supplement)

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Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology 1

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

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

Verb

lever

1. present tense of leve
2. imperative of levere

References

• “lever” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

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

• IPA^(key): /ˈleːʋɛr/

Noun

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /²leːʋɛr/

Verb

lever

1. present tense of leva

Further reading

• “lever” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

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Old French

Etymology

From Latin lēvāre, present active infinitive of lēvō.

Verb

lever

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

Conjugation

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

• Middle French: lever
  • French: lever

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Old Swedish

Etymology

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

Noun

lēver m

1. loaf, bread

Declension

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

• Swedish: lev

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Swedish

Pronunciation

• audio

  (file)

Etymology 1

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

lever c

1. (anatomy) a liver

Declension

Declension of lever
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	lever	levern	levrar	levrarna
Genitive	levers	leverns	levrars	levrarnas

Etymology 2

Verb

lever

1. present tense of leva.