Reconstruction:Latin/levius

This Latin entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Latin

Etymology

Alteration of Latin levis. First attested in Old Occitan.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlɛβʲʊs/

Adjective

*levius (feminine *levia, neuter *levium); first/second-declension adjective (Proto-Romance)

1. light (in weight)

Reconstruction notes

Took on the sense of "cork" throughout most of Gallo-Romance. Original sense of "light" survives in other branches of Romance as well as Gascon.

Derived terms

• *leviārius

Descendants

• Italo-Romance:
  • Neapolitan: lieggio, liggio
  • Sicilian: lieggiu, leggiu
• Insular Romance:
  • Sardinian:

    Campidanese: lebiu

    Logudorese: lebiu

    Nuorese: lepiu

• Gallo-Romance (all meaning "cork"):
  • Franco-Provençal: liéjo, lyezhou, lidzo, yédzo
  • Oïl:
    • Angevin: iage
    • Bourbonnais-Berrichon: iege
    • Bourguignon: liage
    • Champenois: guêche, iyide
    • Franc-Comtois: lîdje, lidzou
    • French: liège
    • Gallo: liaije
• Occitano-Romance:
  • Old Occitan: leuge (“light”) ⇒ leujor (“lightness”)
    • Gascon:

      lèuge (“light, empty”)

      lèujas, lhejas (“lungs”)

      ⇒ lauyíu (“light, of little worth”)

  • Old Occitan: liege, leuge (“cork”)
    • Auvergnat: lèuge
    • Gascon: lèuge, léuja
    • Languedocien: lèuge
    • Limousin: lèuge
    • Provençal: lègi, lhège

      Niçard lèuge

    • Vivaro-Alpine: lhèage, lhège

References

• Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002) “*levius”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, volume 5: J L, page 291