levee

See also:levéeandlévée

English

Alternative forms

• levée(rare)

Pronunciation

• (UK)IPA^(key):/ˈlɛvi/,/ˈlɛv.eɪ/

  • Audio(Southern England):

    (file)

• Rhymes:-ɛvi,-ɛveɪ
• Homophone:levy(some pronunciations only)
• (US)enPR:lev'i,IPA^(key):/ˈlɛvi/,/ləˈvi/,/ləˈveɪ/
• Rhymes:-ɛvi
• Homophones:levy,Levy

Etymology 1

FromFrenchlevée,fromlever(“to raise, rise”).

levee

Noun

levee(plurallevees)

1. An elevated geographical feature.
2. Anembankmentto preventinundation;as, the levees along the Mississippi.
3. (US)The steepbankof ariver.
4. (US)Theborderof anirrigatedfield.
5. (US)Apieror otherlandingplace on a river.

Synonyms

• (embankment):dike,floodwall

Translations

embankment to prevent inundation

• Bulgarian:насип(bg)m(nasip),дига(bg)f(diga)
• Catalan:mota(ca)f,cavalló(ca)m
• Czech:hrázka
• Danish:floddigen
• Esperanto:digo
• Finnish:tulvapato
• French:digue(fr)f
• German:Deich(de)m,Damm(de)
• Hungarian:töltés(hu),védőgát(hu),gát(hu),árvízvédelmitöltés/gát
• Macedonian:насипm(nasip)
• Maori:tupehau
• Ottoman Turkish:اور(or)
• Polish:grobla(pl)f
• Portuguese:encosta(pt),dique(pt)m
• Russian:да́мба(ru)f(dámba),на́сыпь(ru)f(násypʹ)
• Slovene:nasipm
• Spanish:malecón(es)m,dique(es)m
• Thai:คันดิน(kan-din)

steep bank of a river

• German:Uferböschung(de)f

Verb

levee(third-person singular simple presentlevees,present participleleveeing,simple past and past participleleveed)

1. (US,transitive)To keep within achannelby means of levees.

   toleveea river

Translations

to levee a river

• Finnish:padota(fi),rakentaarantavalli
• German:eindeichen(de)

Etymology 2

FromFrenchlevévariant of the nounlever(“the act of getting up in the morning”).

Noun

levee(plurallevees)

1. (obsolete)The act ofrising;getting up, especially in the morning after rest.
   • c. 1763,Thomas Gray,letter to Mr. Nichols

     And look before you were up in the morning, though you were a punctual courtier at the sun'slevee

   • 1749,Henry Fielding,Tom Jones,Folio Society, published1973,page414:

     The sturdy hind now attends theleveeof his fellow-labourer the ox[…]

2. Areceptionof visitors held after getting up.
3. Aformalreception,especially one given byroyaltyor other leaders.
   • 1834,L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon],chapter XV, inFrancesca Carrara.[…],volume II, London:Richard Bentley,[…],(successor toHenry Colburn),→OCLC,page179:

     I must take my leave, for the Cardinal holds aleveeto-day, and let those fail in attendance who want nothing.

   • 1992,Hilary Mantel,A Place of Greater Safety‎^[1],published1993,→ISBN,page195:

     At the King'sleveeon the morning of the 13th, Philippe was first ignored; then asked by His Majesty (rudely) what he wanted; then told, ‘Get back where you came from.’

Verb

levee(third-person singular simple presentlevees,present participleleveeing,simple past and past participleleveed)

1. (transitive)To attend the levee or levees of.
   • 1725–1728,[Edward Young], “(please specify the page)”,inLove of Fame, the Universal Passion. In Seven Characteristical Satires,4th edition, London:[…]J[acob]and R[ichard]Tonson[…],published1741,→OCLC:

     Heleveesall the great.

Anagrams

• eleve,leeve

Old French

Verb

levee

1. femininesingularof thepastparticipleoflever