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levata

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word levata

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
954
Ultimate origin
Latin levis#1
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin levis
Latin levo
French lever
English levee
Italian levare
Latin levata
From the same root
English oblivion ← levis
Latin levor ← levis
Latin elevo ← levo
Latin levamen ← levo
Latin levamentum ← levo
Latin relevo ← levo
French élever ← lever
French enlever ← lever
French relever ← lever
French soulever ← lever

Forms

levata f; first declension; also spelled levada, leveia and levea.[1][2] In Polish and Czech sources it also appears as a neuter plural, levata, levatorum.[3][4]

Etymology

It is from Latin levō1 (“to raise, lift”), a Medieval Latin formation.[2][3] The verb is formed from levis1 (“light”), which goes back to Proto-Italic *leχu- and Proto-Indo-European *h1legwh-u-.[5] Du Cange glosses several of its senses with French levée.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates its first occurrence, in a source cited by Niermeyer, to 954;[2] Niermeyer's senses are a weir, a draught of fish, a harvest and a tax.[1]

Semantic evolution

The word stayed a term of medieval charters and accounts.[6][1] A charter of 1216 lists it among the dues a lord may take, beside fishing, wool and fodder, and a charter of 1271 uses it for a raised road or embankment (calciata seu levata).[6] Other senses Du Cange records are a portion or share (1340) and the gathering of crops, glossed with French récolte.[6]

In Poland and Bohemia the neuter plural levata meant money received, dues or tribute, in documents from 1435 on.[3][4] The late statutes of Saint Victor at Marseille (1591) use it for the entrails of an animal, which Du Cange derives from Provençal levado.[6]

Timeline

  • 954 – First occurrence, according to Köbler.[2]
  • 1216 – A charter lists levata among a lord's dues.[6]
  • 1271 – A charter uses it for an embankment carrying a road.[6]
  • 1340 – An ordinance uses it for a portion or share.[6]
  • 1435 – A record uses the neuter plural for dues collected.[3]
  • 1591 – The statutes of Saint Victor at Marseille use it for animal entrails.[6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (Medieval Latin) A weir or dam.[1][2]
  2. (Medieval Latin) A draught (haul) of fish taken from the nets.[1]
  3. (Medieval Latin) A harvest, the gathering of crops.[1][6]
  4. (Medieval Latin) A levy or tax.[1][6]
  5. (Medieval Latin) An embankment, a raised road.[6][2]
  6. (Medieval Latin) A portion or share.[6]
  7. (Medieval Latin, neuter plural) Money received; dues, tribute.[3][4]
  8. (Medieval Latin) The entrails of an animal.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  2. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  3. ^ a b c d e Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
  4. ^ a b c Latinitatis medii aevi lexicon Bohemorum / Slovník středověké latiny v českých zemích (1977–), Prague: Academia; electronic version, Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences
  5. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
Cite this entry

“Levata.” Etymologically, 24 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/levata. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

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