English
level
Level comes from Middle English level, from Old French livel, from Latin libella ‘a balance, a level’, diminutive of lībra ‘a balance’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElībra1‘a balance, a level’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElibella1‘a balance, a level’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400livel1
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500level1
- Englishearliest quotation 1591level1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English level
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1591, Edmund Spenser, Prosopopoia. Or Mother Hubberds Tale.: “For all his mind on honour fixed is, /…”.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElībraWiktionary, English level‘a balance, a level’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElibellaWiktionary, English level‘a balance, a level’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400livelWiktionary, English level
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500levelWiktionary, English level
- Englishearliest quotation 1591levelWiktionary, English level. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1591, Edmund Spenser, Prosopopoia. Or Mother Hubberds Tale.: “For all his mind on honour fixed is, /…”
Linked words
through Proto-Italic *līðrā ‘the weight of an ingot’
through Latin lībra ‘scales, a tool used to balance two weights to…’
deliberate, equilibrium, lira, libra, deliberation, deliberative, 8 more
Today it means
adj The same height at all places; parallel to a flat ground.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “level”. 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 lībra / level