leven 
In Sinai's wilderness he saw 
The Mount, whero Israel heard the law, 
Mid thunder-dint, und flashing levin. 
.-.-", Marmlon, I. 23. 
leven 't, '' [Early mod. E. also leaven; < MK. 
l<-r<-iii-ii, /ii-i/iini, <. levenc , lightning: nee l<-nn [ . 
ii.] I. Irini.i. To smite with lightning. 
II. iiitmns. To flash; shine like lightning. 
Thonret full throly with a thlcke haile ; 
With a Uucnyny light as a luw tyre, 
Blaset all the brode Beo as it bren wold. 
Dettruclion qf Troy (E. E. T. 8.), 1. 1988. 
leven'-'t, An obsolete form of leaven. 
leven 3 (lev'n), n. [Origin obscure.] A lawn; an 
open space between or among woods. [Scotch.] 
And see ye not that braid braid road, 
That lies across that lily leven! 
Thomat the Ilhi/mer (Child's Ballads, I. 111). 
leven-brandt, . A bolt of lightning. 
His burning levin-brand in hand he tooke. 
Spenter, . Q., VII. vl. 30. 
leveningt, . [Early mod. E. also leavening; 
< ME. [evening, levenynge; verbal n. of leven 1 , 
.] Lightning. 
Sins that the flre of gods and king of men 
Htruke me with thonder, and with leavening blast. 
Surrey, ^neid, II. 
lever 1 (lev ' 6r or le ' ver), n. [Formerly also 
li'urcr; < ME. lever, levour, a lever, < OF. leveor, 
Icrcur, F. leveur, a lifter, a lever (also OF. and 
F. levier, a lever, with diff. suffix), < L. levator, 
a lifter, < Icrare, pp. levatus, raise: see levant*.] 
1. A simple machine, consisting of a bar or 
rigid piece of any shape, acted upon at different 
points by two forces which severally tend to 
rotate it in opposite directions about a fixed 
axis. The bearing of this axis Is called the fulcrum; of 
the two forces, one, conceived as something to be bal- 
anced or overcome, is termed the rengtance,load, orweiyht, 
while the other, conceived as voluntarily applied, Is termed 
the poiter. These are understood to act in the plane of 
rotation, and each perpendicularly to the line joining the 
point of Its application to the fixed axis. The lengths of 
these two lines are termed the anna of the lever. If the 
load is ten times as great as the power, but the power is 
ten times as far from the fulcrum as the load Is from the 
fulcrum or, generally, If the two forces are Inversely as 
their respective arms then the lever is in equilibrium. 
This principle, beautifully demonstrated by Archimedes, 
was adopted by Lagnmgc as one of the two fundamental 
principles of statics, the other being the principle of the 
inclined plane. A lever Is said to be of the flrstj second, 
or third kind, according as of the throe IM tints the ful- 
I.evers. 
F, fulcrum ; p. power ; w, load or weight, a and b are levers of the 
first kind, t ana (t of the second, and e and/ of the third. In , , 
and f the pulley is used in combination with the lever, f is a com- 
pound lever, or a combination of levers. 
crum, the point of application of the load, and that of the 
power the first, second, or third Is between the other 
two. But this distinction is InsigniHcant ; and when these 
three points are the vertices of a triangle, and the lever 
Is not in the form of a bar, which often happens, the 
distinction becomes confused. Among the Innumerable 
examples of levers may be mentioned the steelyard, the 
crowbar, oars, and the bones of the human limbs. 
A lever to uplift the earth 
And roll it In another course. 
Tennyson, In Memorial!!, cxiii. 
2. In special uses (a) In surg., an instru- 
ment for applying power, as one of the arms 
of an obstetrical forceps, used in delivery as 
a tractor ; the vectis. (b) In dentistry, an in- 
strument used in extracting the stumps of 
teeth, (c) In a steam-engine, a bar used to 
t-ontrol by hand the movement of the engine 
in starting or reversing it ; a starting-bar, 
(d) In firearms, in some forms of breech-load- 
ers, the piece by which tin- gun is opened or 
closed, as in the Douglas, Henry, and May- 
nard rifles. It may be a top, side, or under 
lever. E. H. Knight. 3. One of the chief 
supporters of the roof-timber of a house, be- 
ing itself not a prop, but a part of the frnme- 
work. ETulliiCKll. 4. The lower movable board 
3427 
of a barn-door. ffalliwcll. S. The first row 
of a fishing-net. 6. Generally, a rod or bar. 
There are certaine fish-shells, like Scalop-ihulls, fnmM 
on the shore, to great that two strong men with a Itatur 
can scarce draw one of them after them. 
Purcluu, Pilgrimage, p. 504. 
Arithmetical lever, a straight lever, arranged so that 
different known weights can be placed at different known 
distances, either f"i illustrating t he principle of the lever, 
or for calculating the value of a sum of product* of two fac- 
tors. Bent lever, a lover having anus bent ut an angle, 
with the fulcrum at thcangle. Bent-lever balance. >' 
tangent balance. Catch-lever, a lever which carries a 
catch, aupart of the valve-gear of anenglne. Compound 
lever, a machine consisting of several simple levers com- 
bined together and acting on each other. Continual 
lever, or perpetual lever, a term soinutimes applied to 
the wheel and axle. - Crow'8-foot lever, a compound 
lever used In the middle ages for bending the arbalut and 
for other purposes. Goat '8-foot lever, a lever formed 
of two parts, formerly used for bending the hand-bow, ar- 
balist, or crossbow. Heteroclromous lever. See hete- 
rodromoui. Lever hand-car, a hand car which Is driven 
1 1) means of levers attached to crunks. Live lever. See 
//'-. Universal lever, a contrivance by means of which 
the reciprocating motion of a lever Is made to communi- 
cate a continuous rotatory motion to a wheel, and a con- 
tinuous rectilinear motion to anything attached by a rope 
to the axle of the wheel. (See also Jluating4eivr, liaiul- 
lever.) 
lever 1 (lev'er or le'ver), . t. [< taw*, n.] To 
act upon, as raising, lowering, etc., with a lever. 
One of these locks they picked, and then, by levtriny np 
the corner, forced the other three. 
/;. L. Stevenson, Francois Villon. 
Iever 2 t, . and ado. An obsolete comparative 
of lief. 
leverage (lev'er- or le'ver-aj), n. [< lever 1 4- 
-age.] 1. The action of a lever; the arrange- 
ment by which lever-power is gained. 
The fulcrum of the leverage. I. Taylor. 
2. Lever-power; the mechanical advantage or 
power gained by using a lever. 
The puny leverage of a hair 
The planet's impulse well may spare. 
\\'hilii,r, The Waiting. 
3. Figuratively, advantage for accomplishing 
a purpose ; increased power of action. 
A leverage is at once gained [by a certain procedure] for 
the removal of other obstacles and abuses. 
I>. A. Well, Merchant Marine, p. 160. 
Such men have the sensibilities that give leverage to the 
moralist. IF. R. Sorley, Ethics of Naturalism, p. 146. 
lever-board (lev'er-bord), n. A corruption of 
lout'cr-board. See louver-window. 
lever-brace (lev'er-bras), w. A brace worked 
by a lever, which has usually a ratchet motion, 
as in the ratchet-drill. 
lever-compressor (lev'er-kom-pres'or), . A 
device for applying pressure to an object un- 
der the microscope. E. H. Knight. 
lever-drill (lev'er-dril), n. A machine-tool in 
which the tool-spindle works with a spline in 
the socket of the wheel which rotates it, and is 
projected axially by a lever to bring it toward 
or away from its work. E. H. Knight. 
leveret, A Middle English form of livery. 
lever-engine (lev'er-en'jin), n. In steam-engin., 
a modification of a side-beam engine, in which 
the beams are levers not of the first but of the 
second order, the piston-rod connection being 
at one end of the beams, the fulcrum at the 
other, and the crank-connection at some inter- 
mediate point. In this kind of engine the "throw" 
of the crank is always less than the stroke of the piston. 
Also called grasshopper-engine. See cut under yratthop- 
per-beam. 
lever-escapement (lev'er-es-kap'ment), . See 
escapement, '2. 
leveret (lev'er-et), . [< OF. levret (cf. equiv. 
levreteau, and Itvrault, F. levraut), a young hare, 
dim. of levre, F. lievre = Sp. litbre = Pg. lebre 
= It. lepre, a hare, < L. lepus (lepor-), a hare: 
see Lepus. Cf. levrier.] A hare in its first 
year ; a young hare. 
leveret-skin (lev'er-et-skin), n. A name given 
to a Japanese ceramic glaze, usually deeply 
black, upon which thin silver lines are applied, 
having a fancied resemblance to hare's fur. 
lever-faucet (lev'er-fa'set), n. An automatic 
faucet which closes by a spring and opens by 
means of a handle or lever. Car-Builder's Diet. 
lever-frame (lev'er-fram), n. In a railroad 
hand-car, a wooden frame, shaped somewhat 
like a letter A, which supports the lever-shaft 
and lever on the platform. Car-Builder's Diet. 
lever-hoist (lev'er-hoist), w. A form of lifting- 
jack employing a lever revolving or reciprocat- 
iuf* on a fixed axis. A pair of short arms or stirrups 
are so attached to the lever that their ends lit into racks 
set upon both sides, and by catching upon the rack-teeth 
on alternate sides they enable the lever to raise a weight. 
Leverian falcon. See falcon. 
levigate 
lever-jack (lev'er-jak), n. A lifting device. 
It consist* of a post, a slidlng-rack working In guide- 
ways formed in or attached to the post and carrying a step 
which supports the object to be lifted, a pawl pivoted to 
the post and engaging the gliding-rack to bold the litter 
from descending, and a lever which Is pivoted to the post, 
and carries a pawl which engages the teeth of the rack and 
slides It upward, thus raising the weight 
leverock (lev'er-ok), w. A variant of laverock, 
lever-press (lev'er-pres), H. In mach., anv 
press in which power i applied to the "fol- 
lower" or platen by means of a lever, or a 
combination of levers, as by a treadle, etc., as 
distinguished from a pendulum-, screw-, or fly- 
press. The name Is applied more particularly, however, 
to presses which have only one lever of the second order. 
generally operated by weight* hung upon the end of the 
lever, but sometimes by a screw used as a substitute for 
the weights. Compound lever-press, a press compris- 
ing a system of compound levers. Duplex lever-press, 
a press having two cam-faced levers drawn together by 
a screw. 
lever-punch (lev'er-punch), . In mach., any 
punch operated by lever mechanism ; in par- 
ticular, a punch operating upon the principle 
of the duplex lever-press. 
lever-valve (lev'er-valv), n. A safety-valve 
kept down by the pressure of an adjustable 
weight. In locomotives a spring is substituted for the 
weight* and the pressure is regulated by a screw and In- 
dicated on a brass plate. See valre and mjety ralve. 
leverwood (lev er-wud), n. The hop-hornbeam 
or ironwood, Ostrya f'irginica. See Ostrya. 
levett (lev'et), . [< F. leter, raise, < L. letare: 
see I: rii ut 1 . \ A musical call or strain intended 
to arouse or excite; a blast of a trumpet to 
awaken soldiers in the morning. 
Come, sirs, a quaint level, 
To waken our brave general ! then to our labor. 
Fletcher, Double Marriage, II. 1. 
Waked very early ; and when It was time, did call up 
Will, and we rose, and muslque (with a bandore for the 
base) did give me a levett. Pepyi, Diary, I. 3S5. 
levetenantt, ; Same as lieutenant. 
levettest, pi- [Early mod. E., appar. irreg. 
(for the sake of the rime, in this one instance) 
< leve 1 , now leave 1 , + -et.] Leavings. 
Then gadder they vp their levettu, 
Not the best morsels, but gohbettts, 
Which vnto pover people they deale. 
RoyandBarlmv, RedemeandbenottWroth.p. 80. (Dane.) 
leviable (lev'i-a-bl), a. [< leryl + -able.] 1. 
Capable of being levied and collected. 
Hence, M. Doniol's would-be purchaser Is warned that 
It never can be worth his while to make improvements on 
his property, since they would only add to the standard 
of the fine leciaUe In these eventualities. 
Maine, Early Law and Custom, p. 309. 
2. That may be levied upon ; capable of being 
seized upon execution. 
leviathan (le-vi'a-than), M. [= F. Mviathan 
= Sp. leriatd'n = Pg. teriathan, < LL. leviathan, 
< Heb. livydthdn, an aquatic animal (see def.) ; 
cf. Heb. lard, cleave; Ar. latca, bend, twist.] 
1. An aquatic animal mentioned in the Old 
Testament. It Is described In Job ill. apparently as 
a crocodile; In Isa. xxvii. 1 it Is called a piercing and a 
crooked serpent ; and it Is mentioned Indefinitely In I's. 
Ixxiv. 14 (as food) and I's. civ. 26. 
Hence, in modern use 2. Any great or mon- 
strous marine animal, as the whale. 
Wend we bv Sea? the drad Leviathan 
Turns vpsiue-down the boyling Ocean. 
Sylvester, tr. of Du Barias's Weeks, ii., The Furies. 
There leriathan. 
Hugest of living creatures, on the deep 
Stretch'd like a promontory, sleeps or swims. 
WRM, P. L., vll. 412. 
3. Anything of vast or huge size. 
The oak tovtdlAaiu, whose huge ribs make 
Their clay creator the vain title take 
Of lord of thee [the ocean). 
Byron, Childe Harold, Iv. 181. 
Leviathan canvas, coarse canvas used for decorative 
needlework, the strands being made of two or even three 
threads each, laid side by side. Leviathan wool, a soft 
and loosely laid wool or worsted, used for needlework on 
leviathan canvas. 
levicellular (lev-i-sel'u-iar), a. [< L. leri*, 
smooth, + NL. cellula, cell: see cellular.] Per- 
taining to or consisting of unstriated muscle- 
fiber. Levicellular myoma, a myoma composed of 
smooth muscle-fibers. 
levier (lev'i-er), n. [< levy 1 + -er 1 .] One who 
levies. Imp. Diet. 
levigable (iev'i-ga-bl), a. [< 1eciga(te)l + 
-feteTj Capable of being rubbed or ground 
down to fine powder. 
levigate 1 (lev'i-gat), v. t.: pret. and pp. levi- 
gated, ppr. levigating. [< L. lerigatus, pp. of 
levigare (> It. lengare = Sp. Pg. lerigar = F. 
le'riger), make smooth, < leris, erroneously te- 
w (= Or. Xfioc, for 'MlF* ; el. equiv. poet. Xn>- 
