levee

Origin:
1710–20, Americanism; < French levée < Medieval Latin levāta embankment, noun use of feminine past participle of Latin levāre to raise, orig. lighten, akin to levis light, not heavy

Dictionary.com Unabridged

noun

(in Great Britain) a public court assembly, held in the early afternoon, at which men only are received.

a reception, usually in someone's honor: a presidential levee at the White House.

History/Historical. a reception of visitors held on rising from bed, as formerly by a royal or other personage.

Origin:
1665–75; < French levé, variant spelling of lever rising (noun use of infinitive) < Latin levāre to raise; see levee¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To levee

Collins

World English Dictionary

levee¹ (ˈlɛvɪ)

—n
1.	an embankment alongside a river, produced naturally by sedimentation or constructed by man to prevent flooding
2.	an embankment that surrounds a field that is to be irrigated
3.	a landing place on a river; quay

[C18: from French, from Medieval Latin levāta, from Latin levāre to raise]

levee² (ˈlɛvɪ, ˈlɛveɪ)

—n
1.	a formal reception held by a sovereign just after rising from bed
2.	(in Britain) a public court reception for men, held in the early afternoon

[C17: from French, variant of lever a rising, from Latin levāre to raise]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

levee

1719, "natural or artificial embankment to prevent overflow of a river," from New Orleans Fr. levée "raising, lifting, embankment," from Fr., originally fem. pp. of lever "to raise," from L. levare "to raise" (see lever). In an earlier sense borrowed from the lit. Fr.

meaning, it was used for "morning assembly held by a prince or king (upon rising from bed)," 1672.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage

Science Dictionary

levee

(lěv'ē) Pronunciation Key

A long ridge of sand, silt, and clay built up by a river along its banks, especially during floods.
An artificial embankment along a rivercourse or an arm of the sea, built to protect adjoining land from inundation.

Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia

levee

any low ridge or earthen embankment built along the edges of a stream or river channel to prevent flooding of the adjacent land. Artificial levees are typically needed to control the flow of rivers meandering through broad, flat floodplains. Levees are usually embankments of dirt built wide enough so that they will not collapse or be eroded when saturated with moisture from rivers running at unusually high levels. Grass or some other matlike vegetation is planted on the top of the levee's bank so that its erosion will be kept to a minimum.

Learn more about levee with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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Example sentences

The fragile, worn-out levee system threatens to give way and cause catastrophic

flooding if it is not upgraded soon.

The city is gradually sinking lower below sea level and becoming more dependent

on its extensive levee system to keep water out.

Explore this interactive map and ten signs of trouble for the levee system.

Coastal communities, many protected by small levee systems, already feel the

brunt.