English
levity
Levity comes from Latin levitās ‘lightness, frivolity’, and goes back to levis.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElevis‘lightness (in weight)’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CElevitās‘lightness, frivolity’
- Englishearliest quotation 1665levity
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history not traced here.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElevis‘lightness (in weight)’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CElevitās‘lightness, frivolity’
- Englishearliest quotation 1665levity
Earliest quotation: 1665, Daniel Defoe, A Journal of the Plague Year: “For though it be something wonderful to tell that…”
The story
Coined in 1564, from Latin levitās (‘lightness, frivolity’), from levis (‘lightness (in weight)’).
Linked words
through Latin levis ‘lightness (in weight)’
leave, relevant, elevator, elevation, oblivious, oblivion, lever, alleviate, elevate, allege, levant, leger, levee, 28 more
Today it means
noun A lightness of manner or speech, frivolity; flippancy; a lack of appropriate seriousness; an inclination to make a joke of serious matters.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin levis / levity