Nearby Words

levity

[lev-i-tee] Origin

lev·i·ty

[lev-i-tee]
noun, plural -ties.
1.
lightness of mind, character, or behavior; lack of appropriate seriousness or earnestness.
2.
an instance or exhibition of this.
4.
lightness in weight.

Origin:
1555–65; < Latin levitās lightness, frivolity, equivalent to levi(s) light + -tās -ty2


1, 2. frivolity, flippancy, triviality, giddiness.

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Levity is a GRE word you need to know.
So is innocuous. Does it mean:
harmless
any award, honor, or laudatory notice; a light touch on the shoulder with the flat side of the sword, done in the ceremony of conferring knighthood
Collins
World English Dictionary
levity (ˈlɛvɪtɪ)
 
n , pl -ties
1.  inappropriate lack of seriousness
2.  fickleness or instability
3.  archaic lightness in weight
 
[C16: from Latin levitās lightness, from levis light]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

levity
1560s, from L. levitas (gen. levitatis) "lightness, frivolity," from levis "light" in weight (see lever) + -ity.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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