levenna

levenna

Latin

Etymology

From the stem of the Latin word levis (“light, not heavy, trifling, trivial”) + a suffix -enna that was borrowed from Etruscan[1][2].

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /leˈu̯en.na/, [ɫ̪eˈu̯ɛnːä]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /leˈven.na/, [leˈvɛnːä]

Noun

levenna m (genitive levennae); first declension

1. (hapax) The exact meaning of this term is uncertain; it is attested only by mention in a passage equating the meanings of homo levenna and levis. Possible meanings include:
   1. a wimp, per Ostler
   2. a distracted, absent-minded person
   • c. 177 CE, Aulus Gellius, Noctes Atticae 16.7.11:

     Atque item in mimo, qui Saturnalia inscriptus est, botulum pro farcimine appellat et hominem levennam pro levi.

     And also in the farce entitled Saturnalia, he says 'botulus' for 'farcīmen' and 'homo levenna' for 'levis'.

Usage notes

• Mentioned once in a passage by Aulus Gellius about unusual words used in the works of Decimus Laberius (c. 105 BC – 43 BC).

Declension

First-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	levenna	levennae
Genitive	levennae	levennārum
Dative	levennae	levennīs
Accusative	levennam	levennās
Ablative	levennā	levennīs
Vocative	levenna	levennae

References

• “lĕvenna”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• lĕvenna in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette, page 903/1
• “leuenna” on page 1,019/3 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed., 1968–82)

1. Ostler, Nicholas (2007) Ad Infinitum: A Biography of Latin, page 324
2. Bonfante, Giuliano (1985) "Etruscan Words in Latin", Word, 36:3, 203-210, page 205