• LEVAMENT
n. 1623 obs. rare – ‘the comfort which one hath of his wife’
• LEVANT
vb. 1797 – to go away suddenly or secretly, to abscond
• LEVANTER
n. 1781 – one who absconds, esp. one who does so after losing bets
• LEVANTINE
adj. 1649 obs. – pert. to the east, eastern
• LEVANTING
adj. 1855 – absconding secretly
n. 1847 – secretly absconding
• LEVANT ME!
int. 1760 obs. – a mild form of imprecation
• LEVATION
n. 1656 obs. – an easing or diminishing of grief or pain
• LEVATIVE
adj. 1657 obs. – tending to alleviate or soothe; soothing
• LEVE
n. c950 obs. – belief, faith
vb. 1. c897 obs. – to grant permission to; to allow, to permit
vb. 2. c1175 obs. – to believe in; to trust, to give credence to a person or thing
vb. 3. c1489 obs. rare – to lift up
► LEVEABLE adj. that may be believed or trusted; credible, trustworthy → 1483 obs.
• LEVEE
n. 1. 1766 Amer. dial. – a formal or fashionable social event, often held in someone’s honour; a less formal social gathering, often held as a fundraiser
n. 2. 1882 Amer. dial. – a nickname for a red-light district, esp. one in Chicago
• LEVEL
adj. 1. 1820 rare – plain, point-blank
adj. 2. 1894 sl. – equal in quantity or position
n. 1. 1548 obs. – the equinox
n. 2. a1592 obs. – aim, purpose, design
n. 3. 1611 obs. – the ‘sight’ of a gun
vb. 1. 1580 obs. – to guess at
vb. 2. 1592 obs. – to shoot a missile out of a weapon
vb. 3. 1760-72 – to knock a person down
• THE LEVEL
n. 1848 rare – the earth’s surface
• LEVEL-COIL
adv. 1594 – turn and turn about, alternately
• LEVEL DOWN
vb. 1928 Amer. dial. – to work away
• LEVEL FULL
adj. 1902 Amer. dial. – completely full
• LEVELIKE
adj. a1300 obs. rare – credible
• LEVEL-LANDER
n. 1864 nonce word – a dweller on level land
• LEVELLER
n. 1814 – a knock-down blow
• LEVEL WITH
vb. 1920 sl., orig. US – to tell the truth
• LEVELY
adj. a1300 obs. rare – credible
• LEVEN
n. c1375 – eleven
• LEVENESS
n. c1400 obs. – faith, confidence
• LEVER
n. 1. Urquhart usage – the penis
n. 2. c1340 obs. rare – a believer
• LEVERET
n. 1. a1400 – a young hare, strictly one in its first year
n. 2. 1617 obs. – one who is petted, a pet
n. 3. 1617 obs. – a mistress
n. 4. 1630 obs. – a spiritless person
• LEVET
n. a1625 obs. – a trumpet call or musical strain to rouse soldiers and others in the morning
• LEVETS
n. 1528 obs. rare – leavings, fragments
• LEVIATE
vb. 1545 obs. rare – to relieve suffering
• LEVIATHAN
adj. 1624 – huge, monstrous
n. 1. c1400 obs. – the Devil, Satan
n. 2. 1607 – a man of vast and formidable power or enormous wealth, a rich and powerful person
n. 3. a1801 – a ship of huge size
• LEVIATHANIC
adj. 1848 – huge as a leviathan
• LEVIGABLE
adj. 1670 obs. – that can be polished
• LEVIGATE
adj. 1531 obs. – lightened, made less arduous
vb. 1612 obs. – to make smooth; to polish
• LEVIGATED
adj. 1578 obs. – made smooth; polished
• LEVIN
n. c1250 arch. – lightning; a flash of lightning; also, any bright light or flame
vb. a1300 obs. – to lighten, to emit flashes of light or lightning
• LEVING
n. 1533 obs. – believing
• LEVINING
adj. a1340 obs. – gleaming, glimmering, flickering
n. a1300 obs. – lightning; also, the bright flashing of any light
• LEVIR
n. 1865 – a brother-in-law, or one acting as such under the Jewish custom of ‘levirate’
• LEVIRATE
n. 1725 – the custom among the Jews and some other nations, by which the brother or next of kin to a deceased man was bound under certain circumstances to marry the widow
• LEVISOMNOUS
adj. 1656 – watchful, soon waked; light-sleeping → obs.
• LEVITANT
n. 1875 – one who practices levitation
• LEVITATE
vb. 1686 obs. – to make lighter or of less weight
• LEVITATION
n. 1686 obs. – the act of becoming lighted; also, the quality of being comparatively light
• LEVITE
n. 1640 obs. – a somewhat contemptuous term of a clergyman
• LEVITY
n. 1. 1607 obs. – lightness in movement; agility
n. 2. 1613 obs. rare – smoothness; an instance of this, a smooth surface
n. 3. 1630 nonce use obs. – lightness of spirit; freedom from care
• LEVY
n. 1. L19 Brit. rhyming sl. for’ wank’ (Levy and Frank) – masturbation
n. 2. Bk1903 sl. – 1 shilling
vb. L19 Brit. rhyming sl. for ‘wank’ (Levy and Frank) – to masturbate
• LEVY AND FRANK
n. L19 Brit. rhyming sl. for’ wank’ – masturbation
vb. L19 Brit. rhyming sl. for ‘wank’ – to masturbate
• LEW
adj. 1. c1000 obs. exc. Eng. dial. – warm; sunny
adj. 2. c1300 obs. exc. Eng. dial. – lukewarm, tepid
adj. 3. c1325 Eng. dial. – weak; also, of a leaden or pale colour; pale, wan
adj. 4, 1674 obs. exc. Eng. dial. – sheltered from the wind
int. c1460 obs. – lo! behold!
n. 1. 1591 obs. exc. Sc. – warmth, heat
n. 2. 1825 Eng. dial. – shelter
vb. 1. 971 obs. exc. Eng. dial. – to make warm or tepid; to become warm
vb. 2. 1664 obs. exc. Eng. dial. – to shelter
vb. 3. 1923 Sc . – to involve, to inveigle, to draw in
• LEWD
adj. 1. c890 obs. – lay, not in holy orders, not clerical
adj. 2. a1225 obs. – unlearned, unlettered, untaught, ignorant
adj. 3. 1362 obs. – of things: bad, worthless, poor, sorry
adj. 4. c1380 obs. – belonging to the lower orders; common, low, vulgar, base
adj. 5. c1380 obs. – foolish, unskilful, bungling; ill-bred, ill-mannered
adj. 6. c1386 obs. – of persons, their actions, etc.: bad, vile, evil, wicked, base; unprincipled, ill-conditioned; good-for-nothing; worthless
adj. 7. c1425 obs. – of speech and the like: rude, artless, inelegant
• LEWDER
n. 1. 1802 Sc. – a long, stout, rough stick; a club, a cudge
n. 2. 1825 Sc. – any wooden lever or crowbar
n. 3. 1825 Sc. – a heavy blow
vb. 1850 Sc. – to hammer, to batter; to beat severely, to thrash
• LEWD FRERE
n. c1380 obs. – a lay-brother
• LEWDHEDE
n. 1401 obs. rare – ignorance; want of skill, knowledge, or good-breeding; foolishness
• LEWD HOUSE
n. 17C – a dwelling, not necessarily a brothel, where illicit copulation takes place
• LEWD INFUSION
n. E20 euphemism – coition; the process of impregnating with semen
• LEWD INFUSION
n. 19C Brit. euphemism – semen
• LEWDLY
adv. 1. c1380 obs. – ignorantly; foolishly
adv. 2. 1382 obs. – wickedly, evilly, vilely, mischievously
adv. 3. c1386 obs. – badly, poorly, ill
• LEWDNESS
n. 1. 1362 obs. – ignorance; want of skill, knowledge, or good-breeding; foolishness
n. 2. 1387 obs. – wickedness; evil behaviour
n. 3. 16C euphemism – fornication
n. 4. 16C euphemism – prostitution
• LEWDSBY
n. 1594 obs. – a lewd or lecherous person
• LEWDSTER
n. 1598 rare – a lewd or obscene person
• LEWD WOMAN
n. 20C US euphemism – a sexually loose woman; a prostitute
• LEWE
adj. c1000 obs. – treacherous
• LEWED
adj. 1. c1325 obs. – ignorant, unlearned
adj. 2. c1386 obs. – lascivious
• LEWTIFULL
adj. 1563 Sc. obs. – faithful, loyal; upright, honourable
• LEW-WARM
adj. c1450 obs. exc. Sc. & Eng. dial. – lukewarm, tepid
• LEZ; LEZZ
n. 1929 sl., chiefly derogatory – a lesbian
• LEZO; LEZZO
n. 1945 Aust. sl., chiefly derogatory – a lesbian
• LEZZY
n. 1929 sl., chiefly derogatory – a lesbian
• L.H.B.
n. Bk1942 Amer. college sl. – an attractive girl (Lost Heart Beat)
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Lexicophilia 