Etymograph

English

levitation

Levitation comes from Latin levitas ‘lightness’, and perhaps goes back to 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 CElevitas4‘lightness’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1972levitation4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₁léngʰus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Proto-Italic *leɣʷis
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin levitas
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English levitation
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1972, Lytle Robinson, USA: Berkley Publishing Corporation: “It was erected by the application of those universal…”.

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, Latin levitas‘light’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElevisWiktionary, Latin levitas‘light, not heavy’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElevitasWiktionary, English levitation‘lightness’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1972levitationWiktionary, English levitation. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1972, Lytle Robinson, USA: Berkley Publishing Corporation: “It was erected by the application of those universal…”

Formed from levitate + -ion

Latin levis

New Latin levitō ‘to levitate’

New Latin levitātus

English levitate

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₁lengʷʰ- ‘lightweight’

light, lung, obliterate, 10 more

through Proto-Italic *leɣʷis ‘light’

unleavened, leaven, 18 more

through Latin levis ‘light, not heavy’

leave, relevant, elevator, lever, elevation, oblivious, allege, alleviate, elevate, oblivion, levant, leger, levee, 27 more

Today it means

noun The raising of something, such as a body, without apparent physical cause, allegedly using the power of the mind.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “levitation”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *h₁léngʰus, Proto-Italic *leɣʷis, Latin levitas. 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- / levitation

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