Dictionary formlevis, leve

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Coloured illustration of levis
#786 of 1,000Core 1000

Translation

light, not heavy; slight, trivial; fickle

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Examples

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A light wind moves through the wood.

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He received a slight wound.

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Light shadows moved across the plain.

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A trivial cause started a war.

pugnabant.

They fought with light arms.

Levis, leve is a third declension adjective of two terminations, the exact opposite of gravis and declined identically: levi in the ablative, levia in the neuter plural, levium in the genitive plural. Physical lightness leads to slightness, then to triviality, then to being unreliable, so a levis homo is a lightweight in the English sense.

There is a genuine second word here. Levis with a short first vowel is "light"; levis with a long one, from the same spelling in an unmarked text, means "smooth, polished" and is unrelated. Only context and metre separate them. Manuscripts write leuis for both. English levity, alleviate, elevate and lever come from the "light" one; levigate comes from the other.

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levis: worksheet, infographic and listicle

Free printable study downloads for the Latin word "levis" (light, not heavy; slight, trivial; fickle): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.

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This word is taught in chapter 4, lesson 12: levis, porta, amplius and 11 more words.