Leven

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /ˈlɛvən/

Definitions

1. To cause to rise or lift, often used in relation to bread dough or the surface of a liquid
2. Describes the action of something swelling or increasing in height, particularly in cooking or natural forms
3. Involves the process of rising or elevating, such as when bread dough expands or water swells

Etymology: Leven is a variant spelling of leaven, both as the noun for the substance that makes dough rise and as the verb meaning to make something rise. Leaven comes from Old French "levain," which traces back to Latin "levare," meaning to raise or lift. The same root gave English "elevate." The spelling is easy to confuse. It looks like "eleven," the number, which is a separate word, and like "levin," an old word for lightning, which is also unrelated. Only the sense of rising, whether in dough or on the surface of a liquid, belongs to the Latin "raise" family.