English
leaven
Leaven comes from Old French levain, from Latin levō ‘raise’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁lengʷʰ- ‘lightweight’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁lengʷʰ-1‘lightweight’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁léngʰus2‘lightweight’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*leɣʷis3‘light’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElevis3‘light, not heavy’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElevō3‘raise’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*levāmen3reconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400levain3
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500levayn3
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1604leaven3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₁léngʰus
- 2 Wiktionary, Proto-Italic *leɣʷis
- 3 Wiktionary, English leaven
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1603–1604, William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure: “Duke. No more euasion: We haue with a leauen'd,…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁lengʷʰ-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₁léngʰus‘lightweight’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁léngʰusWiktionary, Proto-Italic *leɣʷis‘lightweight’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*leɣʷisWiktionary, English leaven‘light’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElevisWiktionary, English leaven‘light, not heavy’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElevōWiktionary, English leaven‘raise’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*levāmenWiktionary, English leavenreconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400levainWiktionary, English leaven
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500levaynWiktionary, English leaven
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1604leavenWiktionary, English leaven. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1603–1604, William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure: “Duke. No more euasion: We haue with a leauen'd,…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁lengʷʰ- ‘lightweight’
light, lung, obliterate, 11 more
through Latin levis ‘light, not heavy’
alleviate, oblivion, oblivious, levant, allege, leger, levity, levitation, levitate, levee, 24 more
through Latin levō ‘raise’
relief, relevant, elevator, elevation, relieve, elevate, lever, 20 more
through Middle English levayn
Today it means
noun Any agent used to make dough rise or to have a similar effect on baked goods.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “leaven”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *h₁léngʰus, Proto-Italic *leɣʷis. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₁lengʷʰ- / leaven