Audio Help [lev-uh
n] Pronunciation Key | 1. | a substance, as yeast or baking powder, that causes fermentation and expansion of dough or batter. |
| 2. | fermented dough reserved for producing fermentation in a new batch of dough. |
| 3. | an element that produces an altering or transforming influence. |
| 4. | to add leaven to (dough or batter) and cause to rise. |
| 5. | to permeate with an altering or transforming element. |
] | Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
leaven
To learn more about leaven visit Britannica.com
| © 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |
| leav·en
Audio Help (lěv'ən) Pronunciation Key
n.
tr.v. leav·ened, leav·en·ing, leav·ens
[Middle English, from Old French levain, from Vulgar Latin *levāmen, from Latin levāre, to raise; see legwh- in Indo-European roots.] |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
leaven (n.)
| Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper |
| leaven | |
noun | |
| 1. | a substance used to produce fermentation in dough or a liquid |
| 2. | an influence that works subtly to lighten or modify something; "his sermons benefited from a leavening of humor" |
verb | |
| 1. | cause to puff up with a leaven; "unleavened bread" [syn: raise] |
| WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University. |
Leaven
Leav"en\, n. [OE. levain, levein, F. levain, L. levamen alleviation, mitigation; but taken in the sense of, a raising, that which raises, fr. levare to raise. See Lever, n.]1. Any substance that produces, or is designed to produce, fermentation, as in dough or liquids; esp., a portion of fermenting dough, which, mixed with a larger quantity of dough, produces a general change in the mass, and renders it light; yeast; barm. 2. Anything which makes a general assimilating (especially a corrupting) change in the mass. Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. --Luke xii. 1.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Leaven
Leav"en\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Leavened; p. pr. & vb. n. Leavening.]1. To make light by the action of leaven; to cause to ferment. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. --1 Cor. v. 6. 2. To imbue; to infect; to vitiate. With these and the like deceivable doctrines, he leavens also his prayer. --Milton.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Leaven
(1.) Heb. seor (Ex. 12:15, 19; 13:7; Lev. 2:11), the remnant of dough from the preceding baking which had fermented and become acid. (2.) Heb. hamets, properly "ferment." In Num. 6:3, "vinegar of wine" is more correctly "fermented wine." In Ex. 13:7, the proper rendering would be, "Unfermented things [Heb. matstsoth] shall be consumed during the seven days; and there shall not be seen with thee fermented things [hamets], and there shall not be seen with thee leavened mass [seor] in all thy borders." The chemical definition of ferment or yeast is "a substance in a state of putrefaction, the atoms of which are in a continual motion." The use of leaven was strictly forbidden in all offerings made to the Lord by fire (Lev. 2:11; 7:12; 8:2; Num. 6:15). Its secretly penetrating and diffusive power is referred to in 1 Cor. 5:6. In this respect it is used to illustrate the growth of the kingdom of heaven both in the individual heart and in the world (Matt. 13:33). It is a figure also of corruptness and of perverseness of heart and life (Matt. 16:6, 11; Mark 8:15; 1 Cor. 5:7, 8).
| Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary |
View results from: Dictionary | Thesaurus | Encyclopedia | All Reference | the Web
Perform a new search, or try your search for "leaven" at:
- Amazon.com - Shop for books, music and more
- Reference.com - Encyclopedia Search
- Reference.com - Web Search powered by Ask.com
- Thesaurus.com - Search for synonyms and antonyms













