Etymology

leaven

L1E1A1V4E1N1

Today it means: Any agent used to make dough rise or to have a similar effect on baked goods. Full definition →

Middle English levayn ← Old French levain ← Vulgar Latin *levāmen
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁lengʷʰ-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₁léngʰus
  3. Proto-Italic*breɣʷisinflu.
  4. Proto-Italic*leɣʷis
  5. Latinlevis
  6. Latinlevō
  7. Vulgar Latin*levāmen
  8. Old Frenchlevain
  9. Middle Englishlevayn
  10. English todayleaven

From Middle English levayn, borrowed from Old French levain, from Vulgar Latin *levāmen, a noun based on Latin levō (“raise”).

Words from the same roots

Latinlevō all →

levant

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.