Etymograph

English

leavenless

Leavenless comes from Middle English levayn ‘leaven’, from Latin levis ‘light, not heavy’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁lengʷʰ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁lengʷʰ-1‘lightweight’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁léngʰus2‘lightweight’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*leɣʷis3‘light’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElevis3‘light, not heavy’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElevō3
  6. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*levāmen3reconstructed
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400levain3
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500levayn3‘leaven’
  9. English1500–presentleaven3
  10. Englishtodayleavenless3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₁léngʰus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Proto-Italic *leɣʷis
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English leavenless

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁lengʷʰ-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₁léngʰus‘lightweight’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁léngʰusWiktionary, Proto-Italic *leɣʷis‘lightweight’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*leɣʷisWiktionary, English leavenless‘light’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElevisWiktionary, English leavenless‘light, not heavy’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElevōWiktionary, English leavenless
  6. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*levāmenWiktionary, English leavenlessreconstructed
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400levainWiktionary, English leavenless
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500levaynWiktionary, English leavenless‘leaven’
  9. English1500–presentleavenWiktionary, English leavenless
  10. EnglishtodayleavenlessWiktionary, English leavenless

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, levee, levitation, levitate, 24 more

through Latin levō

relief, relevant, elevator, elevation, relieve, lever, elevate, 20 more

through English leaven

unleavened, 4 more

Today it means

adj without any yeast or other raising agent

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “leavenless”; 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- / leavenless

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