levigate

L1E1V4I1G2A1T1E1
/ˈlɛvɪɡeɪt//ˈlɛvɪɡət/

verb

To make smooth or polish.

OriginLatin lēvigātus →
First used 1531Scrabble 12
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Meanings

verblevigate (third-person singular simple present levigates, present participle levigating, simple past and past participle levigated)

present singular third person levigates · participle present levigating · participle past levigated · past levigated · alternative nonstandard laevigate · alternative nonstandard lævigate

  1. transitiveTo make smooth or polish.
  2. transitiveTo make into a smooth paste or fine powder.
  3. transitiveTo separate finer grains from coarser ones by suspension in a liquid.
  4. raretransitiveTo lighten.
  5. raretransitiveTo belittle.
  6. obsoleteTo render mild; to alleviate, assuage.
  7. obsoleteparticiplepastpast participle of levigateFirst known use 1531

    […] whereby his labours beinge leuigate and made moꝛe tollerable he ſhall gouerne with the better aduiſe and conſequently with a moꝛe perfecte gouernance.

    1531, Thomas Elyot, chapter 1, in The Boke Named the Governour […], London: […] Tho[mas] Bertheleti, →OCLC, 1st boke, folio 13, verso
adjectivelevigate (comparative more levigate, superlative most levigate)

comparative more levigate · superlative most levigate · alternative nonstandard laevigate · alternative nonstandard lævigate

  1. Smooth.

Origin

  1. Latinlēvigō“to smoothen”
  2. Latinlēvigātus
  3. Englishlevigate

Borrowed from Latin lēvigātus, perfect passive participle of Latin lēvigō (“to smoothen”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from lēvis (“smooth”).

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian изглаждам, стривам
  • изглаждам (izglaždam)to make smooth or polish
  • стривам (strivam)to make into a smooth paste or fine powder
  • правя на паста (pravja na pasta)to make into a smooth paste or fine powder
Finnish tasoittaa, kiillottaa
  • tasoittaato make smooth or polish
  • kiillottaato make smooth or polish
  • hienontaato make into a smooth paste or fine powder
  • kelluttaato separate finer grains from coarser ones by suspension
Spanish levigar
  • levigarto make smooth or polish

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

legative
Cite this entry
APA

levigate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/levigate

MLA

“levigate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/levigate. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “levigate,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/levigate.

Source: levigate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.