levee

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈlɛvi/, /ləˈvi/; /ˈlɛvi/, /ˈlɛveɪ/ (UK)^[1]

Etymology

There are two words, both from French lever (“to raise, (reflexive) to rise”), from Latin levāre (“to raise, lighten”).^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

The embankment (1719) is borrowed from French levée (“a raising; an embankment”), the feminine past participle of lever used as a noun, first used in English in descriptions of New Orleans.^[2][3][4][5]

The reception (1672) is borrowed from French lever (“a rising (from bed)”), the verb used as a noun, spelled to represent its French pronunciation,^[2][3][4][5] or else from levé.^[4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A reception of visitors on rising from bed, a morning assembly held by a prince or person of rank (1672).^[7][3][5][4]

Semantic evolution

French kings held levees in the morning while getting up and dressing.^[3] By the mid-18th century the word was used of assemblies or receptions held at any hour,^[4][7] including in Britain the early-afternoon court assembly at which the sovereign received men only (1760–72),^[7][5][8] and in the United States the President's receptions.^[7]

The embankment sense arose in Louisiana French and is recorded in English from 1719.^[3][4][7] Levees were also used as landing places, so the word came to mean a river quay or pier (1813 in Barnhart; 1842 in the OED).^[4][3][7] In geology it names the low natural ridge of sediment along a river (1870).^[7]

Timeline

• 1672 – a reception on rising.^[7][3][5]
• 1719 – an embankment against river floods.^[3][4][7]
• 1760–72 – a British royal afternoon assembly.^[7]
• 1766 – any reception of visitors.^[7]
• 1813 – a landing place, quay.^[3]
• 1832 – verb, to provide with a levee.^[7][5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. An embankment built to keep a river from overflowing.
2. (geology) A natural ridge of sediment along a river bank.
3. A small ridge bordering a field to be irrigated.
4. A landing place on a river; a pier or quay.
5. A formal reception, especially one held in someone's honour.
6. (historical) A reception of visitors held by a royal or noble person on rising from bed.

Verb

1. To provide with a levee or embankment.

Related words

• lever
• levy
• levity
• elevate
• relieve

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House