Meanings
- historicaluncountableA boisterous and rowdy game formerly played on Christmas, in which players must quickly switch seats at a signal.
A daily Deluge over them does boyle: / The Earth and Water play at Level coyle.
1665, Andrew Marvell, The Character of Holland, London: T. Mabb, page 32 more examples
[…] so they did, and entred the Parler, found all this leuell coyle, and his pate broken, his face scratcht […]
1600, Robert Armin, “How Leanard a leane Foole, playde at slide groate by himselfe after dinner, when his belly was full.”, in Foole Upon Foole, Or, Six Sortes of Sottes, London: William Ferbrand, published 1605Level-Coile (from the Fr. leuer le Cul, i. to raise or remove the Buttock) is when three play at Tables, or other Game, where onely two can play at a time, and the loser removes his Buttock and sits out, and therefore called also Hitch-Buttock.
1656, Thomas Blount, “Level-Coile”, in Glossographia, London: Tho. Newcomb, published 1661
Origin
- Frenchlève-cul“lift the buttocks”
- Englishlevel-coil
A corruption of French lève-cul (“lift the buttocks”).
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
level-coil. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/level-coil
“level-coil.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/level-coil. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “level-coil,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/level-coil.
Source: level-coil on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.