leaven
Noun · VerbUS[lev-uhn]/ˈlɛvən/2 syllables
Open English WordNet
Noun (2)
- a substance used to produce fermentation in dough or a liquidSynonyms: leaveningType of substanceKinds sourdough, baking powder, yeast
- an influence that works subtly to lighten or modify something“his sermons benefited from a leavening of humor”Synonyms: leaveningType of imponderable
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perniciousadjective
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Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Leav′en noun
Origin: 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, noun
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.
Leav′en transitive verb [past tense & past participle Leavened; present participle & verbal noun 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.— John Milton
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54