Etymograph

English

unleavened

Unleavened 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. Englishtodayunleavened3

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 unleavened

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 unleavened‘light’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElevisWiktionary, English unleavened‘light, not heavy’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElevōWiktionary, English unleavened
  6. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*levāmenWiktionary, English unleavenedreconstructed
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400levainWiktionary, English unleavened
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500levaynWiktionary, English unleavened‘leaven’
  9. English1500–presentleavenWiktionary, English unleavened
  10. EnglishtodayunleavenedWiktionary, English unleavened

Linked words

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

light, lung, obliterate, 10 more

through Latin levis ‘light, not heavy’

leave, alleviate, oblivion, oblivious, levant, allege, leger, levity, levee, levitation, levitate, 23 more

through Latin levō

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

through Middle English levayn ‘leaven’

leaven, 5 more

Today it means

adj Without any yeast or other raising agent.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “unleavened”; 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- / unleavened

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