levant

verb

le·vant lə-ˈvant

levanted; levanting; levants

chiefly British

: to run away from a debt

Etymology

perhaps from Spanish levantar to break camp, ultimately from Latin levare

First Known Use

1797, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of levant was in 1797

See more words from the same year

Style

“Levant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/levant. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.

Copy Citation

Levant

Le·vant lə-ˈvant

the countries bordering on the eastern Mediterranean Sea

—often thought of as extending from Greece to Egypt

Levantine

ˈle-vən-ˌtīn

-ˌtēn

lə-ˈvan-

adjective or noun

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