Etymograph

English

legerity

Legerity comes from Middle French legerete, from Old French legier ‘light (not heavy)’, and ultimately from Latin levis.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElevis1‘lightweight’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*levius1‘light (in weight)’reconstructed
  3. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*leviārius1reconstructed
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400legier2‘light (not heavy)’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400legierte2
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600legerete2
  7. Englishtodaylegerity2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Old French legier
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English legerity

Earlier history not traced here. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElevisWiktionary, Old French legier‘lightweight’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*leviusWiktionary, Old French legier‘light (in weight)’reconstructed
  3. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*leviāriusWiktionary, Old French legierreconstructed
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400legierWiktionary, English legerity‘light (not heavy)’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400legierteWiktionary, English legerity
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600legereteWiktionary, English legerity
  7. EnglishtodaylegerityWiktionary, English legerity

Linked words

through Latin levis ‘lightweight’

leave, relevant, elevator, elevation, alleviate, oblivion, oblivious, lever, elevate, levant, allege, levee, levitation, levitate, levity, 25 more

Today it means

noun Nimbleness or quickness of mind or body.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “legerity”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Old French legier. 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 / Latin levis / legerity

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