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level

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: Level and levél

English

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Etymology

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Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *leyH-der.
Proto-Indo-European *-dʰromder.
Proto-Italic *līðrā?
Latin lībra
Proto-Indo-European *-lós
Proto-Indo-European *-e-lós
Proto-Italic *-elos
Latin -la
Latin libella
Old French livelbor.
Middle English level
English level

    From Middle English level, from Old French livel, liveau m, later nivel, niveau, from Latin libella f (“a balance, a level”), diminutive of libra f (“a balance, a level”); see libra, librate. Doublet of libella and niveau.

    The verb is from Middle English levelen, from the noun.

    Pronunciation

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    • IPA(key): /ˈlɛvəl/, [ˈlɛvəl] ~ [ˈlɛvl̩]
    • Rhymes: -ɛvəl
    • Hyphenation: lev‧el

    Adjective

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    level (comparative leveler or leveller, superlative levelest or levellest)

    1. The same height at all places; parallel to a flat ground.
      Synonym: flush
      This table isn't quite level; see how this marble rolls off it?
    2. At the same height as some reference; constructed as level with.
      We tried to hang the pictures so that the bottom of the frames were level with the dark line in the wallpaper.
      • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 14, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
        Nanny Broome was looking up at the outer wall. Just under the ceiling there were three lunette windows, heavily barred and blacked out in the normal way by centuries of grime. Their bases were on a level with the pavement outside, a narrow way which was several feet lower than the road behind the house.
    3. Unvaried in frequency.
      His pulse has been level for 12 hours.
    4. Unvaried in volume.
      His voice has been unchanged. It has been level for 12 hours.
    5. Calm.
      He kept a level head under stress.
      He kept a level gaze.
    6. In the same position or rank.
    7. Straightforward; direct; clear.
    8. Well balanced; even; just; steady; impartial.
      a level head; a level understanding
    9. (phonetics) Of even tone; without rising or falling inflection; monotonic.
      • 1891, Henry Sweet, A History of English Sounds from the Earliest Period:
        Intonation or tone is either level, rising, or falling, marked respectively
    10. (physics) Perpendicular to a gravitational force.
      The earth's oceans remain level in relation to the pull of gravity.

    Antonyms

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    Derived terms

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    Translations

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    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
    Translations to be checked

    Noun

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    level (countable and uncountable, plural levels)

    2. A tool for finding whether a surface is level, or for creating a horizontal or vertical line of reference.
      Hand me the level so I can tell if this is correctly installed.
    3. A distance relative to a given reference elevation.
      By the end of the day, we'd dug down to the level of the old basement floor.
    4. Degree or amount.
      • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XVII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
        This time was most dreadful for Lilian. Thrown on her own resources and almost penniless, she maintained herself and paid the rent of a wretched room near the hospital by working as a charwoman, sempstress, anything. In a moment she had dropped to the level of a casual labourer.
      • 2013 May 17, George Monbiot, “Money just makes the rich suffer”, in The Guardian Weekly‎[2], volume 188, number 23, archived from the original on 11 October 2026, page 19:
        In order to grant the rich these pleasures, the social contract is reconfigured. […]  The public realm is privatised, the regulations restraining the ultra–wealthy and the companies they control are abandoned, and Edwardian levels of inequality are almost fetishised.
      The sound level is much too high; this hurts my ears.
      We've reached a new level of success.
    5. Achievement or qualification.
      Synonym: scale
      She achieved a high level of distinction.
    6. (computer science) Distance from the root node of a tree structure.
    7. (video games) One of several discrete segments of a game, generally increasing in difficulty and representing different locations in the game world.
      Synonyms: stage, zone, world
      • 2007 December, Chris Slate, “Get Ready to Smash”, in Nintendo Power, volume 222, page 49:
        Many of the levels change over time, from day to night or from one location to another, and some undergo a total transformation.
      It took me weeks to get to level seven.   Watch out for the next level; the bad guys there are really overpowered.
    8. (roleplaying games, video games) A numeric value given to a character (or other element of a game) that represents its relative power, challenge or eligibility to do things, used as a game mechanic to govern progression through a game.
      My half-orc barbarian reached fifth level before he was squashed by a troll.
    9. A floor of a multi-storey building.
      Take the elevator and get off at the promenade level.
    10. (UK) An area of almost perfectly flat land.
      • 1820, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Oedipus Tyrannus; Or, Swellfoot The Tyrant: A Tragedy in Two Acts:
        The troops grow mutinous—the revenue fails—
        There’s something rotten in us—for the level
        Of the State slopes, its very bases topple,
        The boldest turn their backs upon themselves!
    11. (Singapore, education) A school grade or year.
    12. (statistics) One of the specific values which may be taken by a categorical variable.
      The most common level of the colour variable is red. The other levels are blue and green.
    13. (Internet) age (especially used by cosplayers and TikTok users

    Hyponyms

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    Derived terms

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    Descendants

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    • → German: Level
    • → Irish: leibhéal
    • → Japanese: レベル (reberu)
    • → Tamil: லெவல் (leval)
    • → Turkish: level
    • → Welsh: lefel

    Translations

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