levator 
part of the levator :mi, passing frimi the pubic ramus to 
the side uf the prostate, ami thence under thu gland to a 
median ruphe In front of the anus. 
levet. An obsolete variant of /(./', /<;-, }<-<-n . 
//'<', ami lii-f. 
levecelt, " A variant of Icfwl. 
levedt, " A Middle English form of leafed. 
levedyt. . A Middlr Knglish form of /<///. 
levee' (love' or lev'o), n. [< F. levee, a raising. 
1'inbankiug, embankment, a levy (also formerly 
a rising, as of the sun): we /</// 1, the naturalised 
form of the word iu E.] 1. An embankment 
on the margin of a river, to confine it within 
its natural channel: as, the levees of the Mis- 
sissippi. 
On the 15th of November, he had completed in front of 
New Orleans a levee, of eighteen hundred yards In length, 
and so broad that its summit measured eighteen feet In 
width. <:. 111,1 ,, , Hist. Louisiana, I. 382. 
Hence 2. A landing-place for vessels; a quay, 
pier, or landing-stage. [Southern and western 
U. 8. in both senses.] 
levee 1 (le-ve' or lev'e), v. t. [< levee 1 , .] To 
embank: as, to leree a river. [U. S.J 
levee 1 * (le-ye' or lev'e), . [< F. U-rer (pron. 
le-va' ), a rising (of the' sun), a rising ( from bed), 
a morning reception (on rising), < lever, raise, 
refl. rise : see levant 1 . The spelling leree was 
orig. intended to represent the F-pron. of lever. 
The word does not come from F. levee, which 
lias not the meaning 'a reception.'] If. The 
act or time of rising. 
Nothing Is more alluring than a Levee front a Couch in 
some Confusion. Consume, Way of the World, iv. 1. 
I aet out one morning before five o'clock, . . . and got 
to the sea-coast time enough to be at the sun's leree. 
Gray, To Mr. SichoUs. 
2. A morning reception held by a prince or great 
personage; a morning assembly. The term is 
chiefly applied In Great Britain to the stated public oc- 
casions on which the sovereign receives such persons as 
are entitled by rank or favor to the honor. It is distin- 
guished from &itratnng-rixnn in the respect that, whereas 
at a levee men alone appear (with the exception of the 
chief ladies of the court), both women and men attend a 
drawing-room. In old French usage, a levee (keer)was a 
reception of nobles by the king on hie rising from bed, or 
during or immediately after the making of his toilet. 
I humbly conceive the business of a levee is to receive 
tin; acknowledgments of a multitude. Spectator, No. 193. 
Of the three leveen in this street, the greatest U in this 
house. WtdpoU, To Maun, Nov. 30, 1743. 
That 4th of August was the eve of Louis X VI. 's last levee 
a brilliant spectacle, through which sad presages were 
felt and seen in many hearts and eyes. 
E. Dowden, Shelley, I. 7. 
3. A general or miscellaneous assemblage of 
guests, without reference to the time of day; 
a reception : as, the president's levee. 
He IBrougham] had a levee the other night, which was 
brilliantly attended the archbishops, Duke of Welling- 
ton, Lord Grey, a host of people. 
Grevitle, Memoirs, March 15, 1881. 
levee 2 (le-ve' or lev'e), v. t. [< levee"*, w.] To 
attend the levee of; fasten one's self on, or 
pester, at levees. [Rare.] 
Warm in pursuit, he levees all the great. Young. 
levefult, . [Also leeful, leful; < levc, now leave' 1 , 
permission, + -ful. In the form leeful, leful, 
appar. confused with lawful.] Allowable; per- 
missible; lawful. 
For levehd Is with force force of showve. 
Chaucer, Prol. to Reeve's Tale, L 58. 
Rich men sayen that it is both lefull and needful! to them 
to gather riches together. Fox, p. 372. (Saref.) 
level 1 (lev'el), n. and a. [< ME. level, levell, lin-l, 
< OF. livel, lireau, lereal, later nivel, niveau, F. 
itirritu (dial. l<-rcnu, Icrni. lire) = 8p. nirrl, nirel- 
lo = Pg. livel, nival = It. livello, < L. lihfllii, a 
balance, a level, dim. of libra, a balance, a level : 
sei libra, NAratel, etc.] I. n. 1. An instrument 
for determining the plane of the horizon, or the 
plane perpendicular to the direction in which 
bodies fall under the action of gravity. The 
simplest instrument used for this purpose is the plumb- 
line. This is now superseded for most purposes by the 
Spirit-level, mounted fur surveying 
Spirit-level. 
a, end view ; *, side view (part shown in section). 
bubble- or spirit-level, which consists of a frame of some 
kind firmly holding a glass tube, closed at the ends, 
nearly filled with anhydrous ether, or a mixture of etln-r 
and alcohol, and having its inner surface on the upper part 
ground -into the form of the outer part of an anchor-ring. 
Fine levels have besides a graihlaU-il .--r.-iK- tillu-i mi the 
glass or (.11 a nii'tallii- rnli- vt against it, so as to mark the 
precise position of thu bubble. Most tine 1 levels are pro- 
3426 
vi'led with a chamber to 
contrived that tin -length 
of the bubble can be 
altered. The spirit-level 
is usually reversed In use, 
and the mean of IU two 
indicatlonsadopted. The 
spirit-level is an attach- 
ment of most geodetlcal 
instruments; and there 
is a special instrument 
i all. M a level or leneliivj 
inxtrtnnent (which see). 
Of alle kyne craftes i< )i . imtrn ttede here !.,!., . . . 
And cast out by squire both lyne and leitett. 
Pitrt I'loutnan (C), xlL 127. 
In her lap she held a perpendicular or level, as the ensign 
of evenness and rest. 
B. Jorum, King James's Coronation Entertainment. 
2. An imaginary surface everywhere perpen- 
dicular to the plumb-line, or line of gravity, so 
that it might be the free surface of a liquid at 
ri st. Every such surface Is approximately that of an 
oblate spheroid, as the tea -level, for example, Is ; but for 
most of the purposes of ordinary life it Is convenient, and 
occasions no sensible error, to confound this surface with 
IU tangent plane at the point referred to the plane of 
its horizon. The vertical distance from any given lower 
level (In the stricter sense of the word). A, to a given 
higher level, /;, will vary with the latitude ; but the work 
required to raise a given weight from AtnBln everywhere 
the same. The level or horizontal surface Is ordinarily 
spoken of as belonging to anything lying or moving upon 
It, or to a liquid whose free surface in equilibrium will 
coincide with a portion of it, and frequently indicates, In 
addition, some reference to some other object having the 
same or a different vertical elevation. Thus, we speak of 
the /<<.-/ of a station (often with reference to some standard 
of elevation), or of the level of the sea ; a liquid is spoken 
of as finding it* lerel ; A Is said to be on a level iritlt B, or A 
and B are on a level or on the Mine level. 
Each place is alternately elevated and depressed ; but 
the ocean preserves its level. 
J. S. Mill. Pol. Econ., III. Hi. ( 1. 
The highest flood-mark was on a level with the terrace 
round the house. .>//. Oiiphant, Poor Gentleman, xiv. 
Hence 3. Figuratively, degree of elevation 
as regards standing, condition, or action; a 
height reached or aimed at, from a social, in- 
tellectual, or moral point of view. The idea of 
comparison, relativity, or parallelism Is prominent in this 
as in the literal signification of the word ; and a natural or 
in n m:il I'-r.l is often spoken of, after the analogy of a free 
1 ill N i. I surface. 
It was no little satisfaction to me to view the mixed 
mass of all ages and dignities upon a level, partaking of 
the same benefits of nature. Sieele, Guardian, No. 174. 
Foppish airs 
And histrionic miiinm ry, that let down 
The pulpit to the level of the stage. 
Cmrper, Task, II. 64. 
When merit shall find its level. F. W. Robertson. 
A common level of intercstsand social standing fostered 
unconventional ways of thought and speech, and friendly 
human sympathies. 
Lou-ell, Among my Books, :M ser., p. 205. 
4. An extent of land-surface approximately 
horizontal and unbroken by irregularities; a 
plain. 
We rode a league beyond. 
And, o'er a bridge of pinewood crossing, came 
On flowery lerrlx underneath the crag. 
Full of all beauty. Tennyton, Princess, ill. 
5. The point-blank aim of a missile weapon, 
including the line of fire and the range or dis- 
tance the missile is carried without deflection ; 
hence, purpose; aim. 
As if that name, 
Shot from the deadly levet of a gun, 
Did murder her. Shalt., R. and J., 111. 3. 108. 
Bring me within the In; I of your frown, 
But shoot not at me in your waken'd hate. 
5/KJ*., Sonnets, civil. 
Be the fair Level of thy Actions laid 
As Temp'rance wills, and Prudence may persuade. 
Prior, Solomon, HI. 
6. In mining, a drift or nearly horizontal exca- 
vation made in opening a mine. Levels are run 
to connect shafts and whites, so as to open and make 
ready for sloping a certain amount of ground. In a mine 
regularly opened on a permanent vein, the levels are 
usually from 60 to 100 feet apart, but vary in position 
with the varying richness of the lode. 
7. A leveling-instrument. See clinometer-lerel 
and Ifrelintj-iHutntmeiit Alta's level, a modified 
water-level, in which the horizontal part of the tube is 
replaced by long india-rubber tubing, for carrying lines 
of level round corners. Blind leveL See blindl. 
Bricklayers' level, a plummet attached to a wooden 
T having a line through the attachment of the plumb-line 
perpendicular to the edge of the wood. Carpenters' 
level. Same as bricklayer* few-/. Day level, in mininii, 
a level open to the surface at the side of a valley. Most 
mines have, when possible, at least one such level for 
drainage. Also called arlit or nough. Dead level, a 
stretch of land without hills, and very nearly horizontal ; 
hence, absolute uniformity; unvarying sameness; mo- 
notony. 
We bring to one dead level every mind. 
Pope, Dnnciad, Iv. 268. 
All unnecessary rises and foils (in roads] should be 
avoided, but a dead level Is unfavorable for drainage. 
' Brit., XX. 582. 
Gravatt's Surveyors' Level. 
level 
Flying level, In engin. a trial leveling m IT the track of a 
projected road, railroad, or canal, to ascertain the fltnest 
f tin- ui <iu ml. Gunners' level, a brass Instrument with 
a steel sliding SJTO and a spirit-level, us<-<l 1m i>Miiini!itf t In- 
line of highting-polutaon a gun. Hand-level, in mutiny, 
a level about four feet high and three feet wide, giving 
Just room for a man to pass through in a constrained 
position, pushing a little wagon called a driving-wagon. 
[ Yorkshire, Kng. ] - Line and level See line* Lines 
Of level, lines on a map representing the intersections of 
the surface of the ground with I. M I surfaces; contour 
lino. Locke level (Invented by John Locke), a tube, like 
a small spy-glass, held in the hand, and so contrived that 
when the bubble oecuples the center of a small mlrrur 
within the tube, the axis of the instrument, the puftltlon 
of which Is indicated by a cross-hair in the field, Is level. 
This instrument, which is extrcniHy eonvenient for Meld 
geologists, is used forgetting the height of slopes of mix! 
erate extent by holding the iiiMtriimi-nt tn tile eye, noting 
the point tn the ascending slope where, when the Instru- 
ment is level, the cross-hair strikes the ground, then walk- 
ing to that and repeating the process, until the spot l> 
reached of which the height is desired. The result i 
given by multiplying the height of the observer's eye 
above the ground by the number of stations. Of course 
the Instrument can be used only on a continuously as- 
cending grade. Masons' level. Same as plummet level. 
Mercurial level, a fluid-level In which mercury serves 
in place of water or 
alcohol in the tube 
or trough. Re- 
flecting level. 
Same as Locke level. 
Self-recording 
level, a machine 
which when passed 
over the ground 
makes a profile or 
vertical section of 
a line of survey; a 
grade - indicator. 
Surveyors' level, 
a telescope with a 
spirit-level attach- 
ed, for measuring 
differences of ele- 
vation, in connection with a level ing-staff. For the Gra- 
vatt surveyor? level, see dumpy-level. Water-level, a 
horizontal tube with two upright branches, mounted on a 
tripod, and partly filled with water, so that one can sight 
across from the surface of the water in one upright branch 
to that In the other. (See also artillery -level, batter-level, 
foot-level, spirit-level, Y-leoel.) 
II. a. 1. Lying in or constituting a horizon- 
tal surface ; not having one part higher than 
another; horizontally even or flat; not sloping: 
as, lerel ground ; a lerel floor or pavement. 
The .iiij. syde lyeth to the moutayne warde. and that 
nedeth no walle, and it is dreased so yt it Is leuell aboue 
and voughteil thrughout vnder nethe. 
Sir R. Quylforde, Pylgrymage, p. 34. 
O < .'ml ! that one might read the book of fate. 
And see the revolution of the times 
Make mountains level. Shak., 2 Hen. IV., 111. 1. 47. 
In the more lerel parts of Xavarin Island, these bands 
of stratification were nearly horizontal. 
Darn-in, (ieol. Observations, II. 448. 
2. Lying in such a surface that no work is 
gained or lost in the transportation of a par- 
ticle from any one point of it to any other; 
equipotential. 3. Existing or acting in the 
same plane or course; continuing without 
change of relative elevation ; even with some- 
thing else. 
Now shaves with Ir.ttl wing the deep, then soars 
Up to the fiery concave towering high. 
Hilton, P. L.. II. 634. 
Round and full the glorious sun 
Walks with lerel steps the spray, 
Through his vestibule of Day. 
B. Taylor, Ariel in the Cloven Pine. 
Its [Scripture) having some things In It hard to be un- 
derstood Implies that it has but some, and that most 
things in It are easy to be understood, lie open and level 
to the meanest understandings, 
Up. AUerbvry, Sermons, II. ix. 
Where Pope, as In the "Rape of the Lock," found a sub- 
ject exactly level with his genius, he was able to make 
what, taken for all in all, is the most perfect poem in the 
language. Lmrell. Study Windows, p. 432. 
The light thrilled towards her, HUM 
With angels in strong lerel flight. 
D. O. Itnaetti, The Blessed Damozel. 
4. With reference to color, especially in dye- 
ing, even; unbroken; uniform. 
The perfection of cotton dyeing Is to produce on these 
warps the same tone and depth of colour as are found on 
the worsted, so that the entire piece may appear tml, and 
free from any cheeky character. 
Wort fltitp Receipt*, 2d ser. , p. 222. 
5. Equal in rank or degree. 
And your conceal'd Bins, thongh you work like moles, 
Lie lerel to their justice. 
Beau, and PI., Thierry and Theodore!, L 1. 
Be level in preferments, and you will soon be as lerel in 
your learning. Bentley. 
6. Well-aimed: direct: straight; in a right line: 
conformable. 
Everything lies level to our wish. 
Shak., 2 Hen. IV., IT. 4. 7. 
Levtl as a cannon to Its blank. SAo*. , Hamlet, iv. 1. 41 
7. Steady : iu equipoise. [Kare.] 
