Levite

Borrowed from Late Latin Levītēs, Lēvīta, itself borrowed from Ancient Greek Λευῑ́της (Leuī́tēs). By surface analysis, Levi +‎ -ite.

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ˈliː.vaɪt/

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• Hyphenation: Le‧vite

Levite (plural Levites)

1. A member of the Hebrew tribe of Levi.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Judges 17:7:

     And there was a young man out of Bethlehemjudah of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there.

2. (obsolete, humorous) A clergyman.
3. (now historical) A type of loose women's dress.
   • 1779, Horace Walpole, letter, 15 November:

     A habit-maker […] is gone stark in love with Lady Ossory, on fitting her with the new dress, I think they call it a Levite, and says he never saw so glorious a figure […] .

   • 2003, Aileen Ribeiro, in Robyn Asleson, Notorious Muse, Yale UNiversity Press 2003, p. 109:

     Gainsborough shows her wearing a blue and white striped silk wrapping gown, known as a levite: a clever and subtle choice of costume, vaguely ‘oriental’ in mood, deriving its name from the theatre.

Levite (not comparable)

1. Of or pertaining to Levi, or to the tribe of Levi.

• Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel)
• (descendants of the patriarch Jacob, later renamed Israel): Asher (Asherite), Benjamin (Benjaminite), Dan (Danite), Gad (Gadite), Issachar (Issacharite), Joseph (Josephite: Ephraim (Ephraimite), Manasseh (Manassite)), Judah (Judahite), Levi (Levite), Naphtali (Naphtalite), Reuben (Reubenite), Simeon (Simeonite), Zebulun (Zebulunite)
• Israel
• Israeli
• Israelite
• Israelitic
• Israelitish
• Jew
• Jewish
• Judah
• Judean

• velite