Leaven

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈlÉ›v.É™n/
• Rhymes: -É›vÉ™n
• Rhymes: -É›vɪn

Origin

Middle English levain, from Old French, from Late Latin levamen, instead of levamentum, ultimately from Latin levō ("I raise").

Full definition of leaven

Noun

1. Any agent used to make dough rise or to have a similar effect on baked goods.
2. (figurative) Anything that makes a general assimilating (especially a corrupting) change in the mass.
• Bible, Luke xii. 1Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

Derived terms

• leavenless
• natural leaven

Verb

1. (transitive) To add a leavening agent.
2. (transitive) To cause to rise by fermentation.
3. (transitive, figuratively) To temper an action or decision.
• Schuster Hepaticae V|viiWith fresh material, taxonomic conclusions are leavened by recognition that the material examined reflects the site it occupied; a herbarium packet gives one only a small fraction of the data desirable for sound conclusions. Herbarium material does not, indeed, allow one to extrapolate safely: what you see is what you get...
4. To imbue; to infect; to vitiate.
• MiltonWith these and the like deceivable doctrines, he leavens also his prayer.

Derived terms

• leavened
• leavening
• unleavened