Dictionary

leavenous en · ADJ

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁lengʷʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-us Proto-Indo-European *h₁léngʰusder. ▲ Proto-Italic *breɣʷisinflu.? Proto-Italic *leɣʷis Latin levis Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin levō Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ Proto-Italic *-mn̥ Latin -men Vulgar Latin *levāmender. Old French levainbor. Middle English levayn English leaven Proto-Indo-European *h₃ed- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *h₃édosder.? Proto-Italic *-ŏ̄dsos? Old Latin -ōssus Latin -ōsus Old French -usbor. Middle English -ous English -ous English leavenous From leaven + -ous.

Meanings

1. Containing leaven; leavened.
2. (figuratively) Inducing change, especially a corrupting or vitiating change.
   • For our Religion where was there a more ignorant, profane, and vitious clergy, learned in nothing but the antiquitie of thir pride, thir covetouſnesſs and ſuperſtition; whoſe unſincere and levenous Doctrine corrupting the people, firſt taught them looſneſs, then bondage 1649, J[ohn] Milton, chapter IX, in ΕΙΚΟΝΟΚΛΆΣΤΗΣ [Eikonoklástēs] […], London: […] Matthew Simmons, […], →OCLC, pages 79–80:

Forms