English
Levant
Levant comes from French levant ‘rising, sun's point of rising’, from lever ‘to rise’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁léngʰus ‘lightweight’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁léngʰus‘lightweight’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*leɣʷis‘light’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElevis‘light, not heavy’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CElevō‘to rise’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentlever‘to rise’
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentlevant‘rising, sun's point of rising’form of lever
- Englishearliest quotation 1948Levant
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁léngʰus‘lightweight’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*leɣʷis‘light’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElevis‘light, not heavy’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CElevō‘to rise’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentlever‘to rise’
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentlevant‘rising, sun's point of rising’form of lever
- Englishearliest quotation 1948Levant
Earliest quotation: 1948, Winston Spencer Churchill, The Gathering Storm (The Second World War): “I see by the newspapers that the Mediterranean Fleet…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁lengʷʰ- ‘lightweight’
light, lung, obliterate, 13 more
through Latin levis ‘light, not heavy’
oblivion, oblivious, alleviate, allege, leger, levitation, levity, levitate, 26 more
through Latin levō ‘to rise’
relief, relieve, elevator, elevation, elevate, unleavened, leaven, 21 more
through French lever ‘to rise’
Today it means
name A cultural region of West Asia, consisting of the countries bordering the eastern Mediterranean Sea, namely Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, Jordan and Cyprus (and sometimes, especially in a historical context, also including Turkey and Egypt, then part of the Ottoman Empire).
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₁léngʰus / Levant