level

pronunciation

How to pronounce level in British English: UK [ˈlevl] word uk audio image

How to pronounce level in American English: US [ˈlevl] word us audio image

Noun:

a position on a scale of intensity or amount or quality
a relative position or degree of value in a graded group
a specific identifiable position in a continuum or series or especially in a process
height above ground
indicator that establishes the horizontal when a bubble is centered in a tube of liquid
a flat surface at right angles to a plumb line
structure consisting of a room or set of rooms comprising a single level of a multilevel building
an abstract place usually conceived as having depth
Verb:

aim at
tear down so as to make flat with the ground
make level or straight
direct into a position for use
talk frankly with; lay it on the line
become level or even
Adjective:

having a horizontal surface in which no part is higher or lower than another
not showing abrupt variations
being on a precise horizontal plane
oriented at right angles to the plumb
of the score in a contest

Word Origin

level: level: [14] The Latin word for a ‘balance’ or ‘scales’ was libra (it has given English Libra the zodiacal sign [14] and also lies behind many terms for units of measurement, including litre and the abbreviation lb for ‘pound’). Its diminutive form was lībella, which denoted an ‘instrument for checking horizontality’, and hence a ‘horizontal line’. It passed into Old French as livel (which in modern French has become niveau ‘level’), and English took it over as level.=> litre

level (n.): mid-14c., "tool to indicate a horizontal line," from Old French livel "a level" (13c.), ultimately from Latin libella "a balance, level," diminutive of libra "balance, scale, unit of weight," from PIE *lithra. Cognate Spanish nivel, Modern French niveau are from the same source but altered by dissimilation. Meaning "horizontality" is from c. 1400. Meaning "position as marked by a horizontal line" is from 1530s. Phrase on the level "fair, honest" is from 1872; earlier it meant "moderate, without great ambition" (1790).

level (v.): mid-15c., "to make level," from level (n.). From c. 1600 as "to bring to a level;" 1958 as "to cease increasing." Meaning "to aim a gun" is late 15c. Slang sense of "tell the truth" is from 1920. To level up "to rise" is attested by 1863. A word here as to the misconception labored under by our English neighbor; he evidently does not understand the American manner of doing things. We never level down in this country; we are always at work on the up grade. "Level up! Level up!" is the motto of the American people. [James E. Garretson, "Professional Education," in "The Dental Cosmos," Philadelphia, 1865] To level off "cease rising or falling" is from 1920, originally in aviation.

level (adj.): early 15c., from level (n.). To do one's level best is from 1851.

adj.

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