See also: Lever

English

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

Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Middle English lever, levore, levour, from Old French leveor, leveur (a lifter, lever (also Old French and French levier)), from Latin levātor (a lifter), from levō (to raise). Doublet of levator.

Noun

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lever (plural levers)

  1. (mechanics) A rigid piece which is capable of turning about one point, or axis (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.
      • 1952 September, “Modernised Pull-and-Push Trains”, in Railway Magazine, page 617:
        Retractable steps and handrails are provided on each side of the cars. The steps, which are under the control of the guard, are operated by hand levers in the entrance vestibule.
  2. A small such piece to trigger or control a mechanical device (like a switch or a button).
  3. (mechanics) A bar, as a capstan bar, applied to a rotatory piece to turn it.
    • 2012 March, Henry Petroski, “Opening Doors”, in American Scientist[1], volume 100, number 2, pages 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.
  4. (mechanics) An arm on a rock shaft, to give motion to the shaft or to obtain motion from it.
  5. (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!’
Derived terms
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Translations
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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Verb

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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.
    • 1938 April, George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], chapter VII, in Homage to Catalonia, London: Secker & Warburg, →OCLC:
      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.
  2. (figuratively, transitive) To use, operate or move (something) like a lever (physically).
    • 1950, Norman Lindsay, Dust or Polish?, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 150:
      Sullen now, with stultified spleen, Mrs Dibble grappled her crutches and levered herself upright after an ungainly struggle.
    • 1961, V. S. Naipaul, A House for Mr Biswas, Vintage International, published 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.
    • 2023 October 12, HarryBlank, “Fire in the Hole”, in SCP Foundation[2], archived from the original on 22 May 2024:
      The guard at the door coughed up blood, and died instantly. Fina was carrying an empty rifle with a sharpened bayonet, and she'd thrust it straight up through his neck, severing the spinal cord. She levered him off the front stoop and into the bushes, then stood up on the tips of her toes to peer through the window in the door.
  3. (figuratively, transitive) To use (something) like a lever (in an abstract sense).
    • 2001 April 9, Joshua Cooper Ramo, “Bagging the Butcher”, in Time:
      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 December 8, Robert McCrum, “Biographies of the year — review”, in The Guardian:
      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 UK, 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,
Derived terms
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Translations
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Etymology 2

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From Middle English lever, comparative of leve, leef (dear, beloved, lief), equivalent to lief +‎ -er. Related to German lieber (rather).

Alternative forms

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Adverb

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lever (not comparable)

  1. (obsolete) Rather.
Translations
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Etymology 3

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Borrowed from French lever.

Noun

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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 September 21, Tim Blanning, “The reinvention of the night”, in Times Literary Supplement:
      Louis XIV’s day began with a lever at 9 and ended (officially) at around midnight.

Further reading

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References

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  1. ^ lever”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  2. ^ lever”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
  3. ^ lever”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.

Anagrams

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Danish

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Danish Wikipedia has an article on:
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Etymology 1

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From Old Danish liuær, from Old Norse lifr, from Proto-Germanic *librō, cognate with English liver and German Leber. The Germanic word may be an irregular remodelling of the Proto-Indo-European word for "liver", *yókʷr̥, cf. Ancient Greek ἧπαρ (hêpar) and Latin iecur.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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lever c (singular definite leveren, plural indefinite levere)

  1. liver
Inflection
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Declension of lever
common
gender
singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative lever leveren levere leverne
genitive levers leverens leveres levernes

Etymology 2

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See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): [ˈleːʋɐ], [ˈleːwɐ]

Verb

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lever

  1. present of leve

Etymology 3

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See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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lever or levér

  1. imperative of levere

Dutch

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Middle Dutch lēvere, from Old Dutch *levara, from Proto-West Germanic *libru, from Proto-Germanic *librō.

Noun

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lever f (plural levers, diminutive levertje n)

  1. liver
  2. edible animal liver as a dish or culinary ingredient
Derived terms
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Descendants
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  • Afrikaans: lewer
  • Berbice Creole Dutch: lefre
  • Negerhollands: leber
  • Aukan: lebii
  • Indonesian: lever
  • Saramaccan: lebèn
  • Sranan Tongo: lefre
    • Caribbean Javanese: léfer

Etymology 2

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See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

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lever

  1. inflection of leveren:
    1. first-person singular present indicative
    2. (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
    3. imperative

French

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Etymology

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Inherited from Middle French lever, from Old French lever, from Latin levāre (to lift; to lighten, relieve), from levis (light, not heavy).

Pronunciation

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Verb

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lever

  1. (transitive) to raise, lift
    Antonym: baisser
  2. (reflexive) to rise, stand up
    Antonym: s’abaisser
  3. (reflexive, of celestial bodies) to rise, come up
    Antonym: se coucher
    Le Soleil se lève à l’est et se couche à l’ouest.The Sun rises in the East and sets in the West.
  4. (reflexive) to get up (out of bed)
    Antonyms: se coucher, s’allonger
    Je me lève, je me lave.I get up, I wash.
  5. (reflexive, of fog, rain, etc.) to clear, lift

Conjugation

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This verb is conjugated like parler, except the -e- /ə/ of the second-to-last syllable becomes -è- /ɛ/ when the next vowel is a silent or schwa -e-, as in the third-person singular present indicative il lève and the third-person singular future indicative il lèvera.

Derived terms

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Noun

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lever m (plural levers)

  1. the act of getting up in the morning

Further reading

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Anagrams

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Hungarian

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Etymology

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le- +‎ ver

Pronunciation

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

Verb

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lever

  1. (transitive) to knock down

Conjugation

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Conjugation of lever
Click for archaic forms 1st person sg 2nd person sg
informal
3rd person sg,
2nd p. sg formal
1st person pl 2nd person pl
informal
3rd person pl,
2nd p. pl formal
indica­tive indica­tive pre­sent indef. leverek leversz lever leverünk levertek levernek
def. leverem levered leveri leverjük leveritek leverik
2nd obj leverlek
past indef. levertem levertél levert levertünk levertetek levertek
def. levertem leverted leverte levertük levertétek leverték
2nd obj levertelek
future
Future is expressed with a present-tense verb with a completion-marking prefix and/or a time adverb, or—more explicitly—with the infinitive plus the conjugated auxiliary verb fog, e.g. le fog verni.
archaic
preterite
indef. leverék leverél levere leverénk leverétek leverének
def. leverém leveréd leveré leverénk leverétek leverék
2nd obj leverélek
archaic past Two additional past tenses: the present and the (current) past forms followed by vala (volt), e.g. lever vala, levert vala/volt.
archaic future indef. leverendek leverendesz leverend leverendünk leverendetek leverendenek
def. leverendem leverended leverendi leverendjük leverenditek leverendik
2nd obj leverendelek
condi­tional pre­sent indef. levernék levernél leverne levernénk levernétek levernének
def. leverném levernéd leverné levernénk
(or levernők)
levernétek levernék
2nd obj levernélek
past Indicative past forms followed by volna, e.g. levert volna
sub­junc­tive sub­junc­tive pre­sent indef. leverjek leverj or
leverjél
leverjen leverjünk leverjetek leverjenek
def. leverjem leverd or
leverjed
leverje leverjük leverjétek leverjék
2nd obj leverjelek
(archaic) past Indicative past forms followed by légyen, e.g. levert légyen
infinitive leverni levernem leverned levernie levernünk levernetek leverniük
other
forms
verbal noun present part. past part. future part. adverbial participle causative
leverés leverő levert leverendő leverve (levervén) leveret
The archaic passive conjugation had the same -(t)at/-(t)et suffix as the causative, followed by -ik in the 3rd-person singular
(and the concomitant changes in conditional and subjunctive mostly in the 1st- and 3rd-person singular like with other traditional -ik verbs).
The prefix can split from the verb stem, e.g. nem ver le or le is ver.
Potential conjugation of lever
Click for archaic forms 1st person sg 2nd person sg
informal
3rd person sg,
2nd p. sg formal
1st person pl 2nd person pl
informal
3rd person pl,
2nd p. pl formal
indica­tive indica­tive pre­sent indef. leverhetek leverhetsz leverhet leverhetünk leverhettek leverhetnek
def. leverhetem leverheted leverheti leverhetjük leverhetitek leverhetik
2nd obj leverhetlek
past indef. leverhettem leverhettél leverhetett leverhettünk leverhettetek leverhettek
def. leverhettem leverhetted leverhette leverhettük leverhettétek leverhették
2nd obj leverhettelek
archaic
preterite
indef. leverheték leverhetél leverhete leverheténk leverhetétek leverhetének
def. leverhetém leverhetéd leverheté leverheténk leverhetétek leverheték
2nd obj leverhetélek
archaic past Two additional past tenses: the present and the (current) past forms followed by vala (volt), e.g. leverhet vala, leverhetett vala/volt.
archaic future indef. leverhetendek
or leverandhatok
leverhetendesz
or leverandhatsz
leverhetend
or leverandhat
leverhetendünk
or leverandhatunk
leverhetendetek
or leverandhattok
leverhetendenek
or leverandhatnak
def. leverhetendem
or leverandhatom
leverhetended
or leverandhatod
leverhetendi
or leverandhatja
leverhetendjük
or leverandhatjuk
leverhetenditek
or leverandhatjátok
leverhetendik
or leverandhatják
2nd obj leverhetendelek
or leverandhatlak
condi­tional pre­sent indef. leverhetnék leverhetnél leverhetne leverhetnénk leverhetnétek leverhetnének
def. leverhetném leverhetnéd leverhetné leverhetnénk
(or leverhetnők)
leverhetnétek leverhetnék
2nd obj leverhetnélek
past Indicative past forms followed by volna, e.g. leverhetett volna
sub­junc­tive sub­junc­tive pre­sent indef. leverhessek leverhess or
leverhessél
leverhessen leverhessünk leverhessetek leverhessenek
def. leverhessem leverhesd or
leverhessed
leverhesse leverhessük leverhessétek leverhessék
2nd obj leverhesselek
(archaic) past Indicative past forms followed by légyen, e.g. leverhetett légyen
infinitive (leverhetni) (leverhetnem) (leverhetned) (leverhetnie) (leverhetnünk) (leverhetnetek) (leverhetniük)
other
forms
positive adjective negative adjective adverbial participle
leverhető leverhetetlen (leverhetve / leverhetvén)
The prefix can split from the verb stem, e.g. nem verhet le or le is verhet.

Derived terms

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Further reading

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  • lever in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.

Indonesian

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Dutch lever.

Alternative forms

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Noun

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lèvêr (plural lever-lever)

  1. liver
    Synonym: ( more common) hati

Etymology 2

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Borrowed from Dutch leveren (to deliver).

Noun

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lever (active melever, passive dilever)

  1. (colloquial, rare) to send goods; to deliver

Further reading

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Latin

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Verb

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lēver

  1. first-person singular present passive subjunctive of lēvō

Middle English

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Etymology 1

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

Adverb

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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.

Etymology 2

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Noun

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lever

  1. Alternative form of lyvere (liver)

Etymology 3

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Noun

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lever

  1. Alternative form of lyvere (living being)

Middle French

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Etymology

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From Old French lever.

Verb

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lever

  1. to lift

Conjugation

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  • Middle French conjugation varies from one text to another. Hence, the following conjugation should be considered as typical, not as exhaustive.

Descendants

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References

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

Norwegian Bokmål

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Norwegian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia no

Pronunciation

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

Etymology 1

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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

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lever m or 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)
Derived terms
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Etymology 2

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Verb

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lever

  1. present tense of leve
  2. imperative of levere

References

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Norwegian Nynorsk

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Etymology 1

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Norwegian Nynorsk Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nn

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

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Noun

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

  1. (anatomy) a liver
  2. liver (eaten as food)
Alternative forms
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Derived terms
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Etymology 2

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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lever

  1. present of leve

Further reading

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Old French

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Etymology

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From Latin lēvāre.

Verb

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lever

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

Conjugation

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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.

Descendants

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Old Swedish

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Etymology

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

Noun

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lēver m

  1. loaf, bread

Declension

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Descendants

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Swedish

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Swedish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia sv

Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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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

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lever c

  1. (anatomy) liver
Declension
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Derived terms
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  • levra (clot, coagulate)

Etymology 2

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Verb

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lever

  1. present indicative of leva

References

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