*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of Levy

From the biblical name Levi. Unlike the biblical spelling, which descended through continuous liturgical traditions that preserved final secondary stress (causing it to shift to IPA⁽ᵏᵉʸ⁾: /ˈliːvaɪ/), the surname was re-i

3 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 3 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
name

A Jewish surname from Hebrew. · A male given name. · An unincorporated community in Washington County, Missouri, United States. · An unincorporated community in Jasper County, South Carolina, United States.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From the biblical name Levi. Unlike the biblical spelling, which descended through continuous liturgical traditions that preserved final secondary stress (causing it to shift to IPA⁽ᵏᵉʸ⁾: /ˈliːvaɪ/), the surname was re-introduced into English after the 1650s via French Lévy and German Levy. The pronunciation IPA⁽ᵏᵉʸ⁾: /ˈlɛvi/ arose from assimilation to the common noun levy, while IPA⁽ᵏᵉʸ⁾: /ˈliːvi/ preserves the historical long vowel of the first syllable without final stress.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Derivation mentionLévyfr
  • Derivation mentionLevyde
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "IPA",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "/ˈliːvaɪ/"
      },
      "expansion": "IPA⁽ᵏᵉʸ⁾: /ˈliːvaɪ/"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fr",
        "3": "Lévy"
      },
      "expansion": "French Lévy"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "de",
        "3": "Levy"
      },
      "expansion": "German Levy"
    },
    {
      "name": "IPA",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "/ˈlɛvi/"
      },
      "expansion": "IPA⁽ᵏᵉʸ⁾: /ˈlɛvi/"
    },
    {
      "name": "IPA",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "/ˈliːvi/"
      },
      "expansion": "IPA⁽ᵏᵉʸ⁾: /ˈliːvi/"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "Levi",
      "Levi#English"
    ],
    [
      "Lévy",
      "Lévy#French"
    ],
    [
      "Levy",
      "Levy#German"
    ],
    [
      "levy",
      "levy#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "A Jewish surname from Hebrew.",
        "A male given name.",
        "An unincorporated community in Washington County, Missouri, United States.",
        "An unincorporated community in Jasper County, South Carolina, United States."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "2d414510df501e1fa483d65448e7d72715a576b58be6db72f22138620bba0ea0",
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 5180773
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  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
name

A surname from Czech.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Czech Levý, from the adjective levý (“left”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Derivation mentionLevýcs
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "cs",
        "3": "Levý"
      },
      "expansion": "Czech Levý"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "Levý",
      "Levý#Czech"
    ],
    [
      "levý",
      "levý#Czech"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
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      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "A surname from Czech."
      ],
      "tags": [],
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
name

A surname from Irish.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Shortening of Irish Mac Duinnshléibhe (“son of the chief on the mountain”), from mac (“son”) + donn (“noble”) + sliabh (“mountain”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ga",
        "3": "Mac Duinnshléibhe",
        "t": "son of the chief on the mountain"
      },
      "expansion": "Irish Mac Duinnshléibhe (“son of the chief on the mountain”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "Mac",
      "Mac#Irish"
    ],
    [
      "Duinnshléibhe",
      "Duinnshléibhe#Irish"
    ],
    [
      "mac",
      "mac#Irish"
    ],
    [
      "donn",
      "donn#Irish:_noble"
    ],
    [
      "sliabh",
      "sliabh#Irish"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "A surname from Irish."
      ],
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 5180775
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for Levy →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-TGV2eQ