English
levir
Levir comes from Late Latin lēvir ‘one's husband's brother’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *dayh₂wḗr.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dayh₂wḗr‘one's brother-in-law’reconstructed
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CElēvir‘one's husband's brother’
- Englishearliest quotation 2001levir
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dayh₂wḗr‘one's brother-in-law’reconstructed
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CElēvir‘one's husband's brother’
- Englishearliest quotation 2001levir
Earliest quotation: 2001, David L. Lieber, Jules Harlow: “The tie between the childless widow and the levir…”
Every English word from Proto-Indo-European *dayh₂wḗr
Today it means
noun A husband's brother.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dayh₂wḗr / levir