levir

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin levir.

Noun

levir (plural levirs)

  1. A husband's brother.
    • 2001, David L. Lieber; Jules Harlow, Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, page 236:
      The tie between the childless widow and the levir exists automatically from the moment of widowhood. Thus a sexual relationship with anyone other than the levir would be adulterous, an offense punishable by the death penalty, according to Lev. 20:10 and Deut. 22:22.

Usage notes

Anagrams

Ido

Verb

levir

  1. past infinitive of levar

Latin

Alternative forms

  • laevir

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *daiwēr, from Proto-Indo-European *dayh₂wḗr (one's brother-in-law), with its ending altered under the influence of vir (man).[1] For /*d/ > /l/ cf. Old Latin dingua and Classical Latin lingua.

Pronunciation

Noun

lēvir m (genitive lēvirī); second declension

  1. (Late Latin) one's husband's brother

Declension

Second-declension noun (nominative singular in -r).

Case Singular Plural
Nominative lēvir lēvirī
Genitive lēvirī lēvirōrum
Dative lēvirō lēvirīs
Accusative lēvirum lēvirōs
Ablative lēvirō lēvirīs
Vocative lēvir lēvirī

Antonyms

Descendants

  • English: levir, levirate

References

  1. De Vaan, Michiel (2008) Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 336
  • levir”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • levir in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
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