levent

See also: Levent and lèvent

Latin

Verb

lēvent

1. third-person plural present active subjunctive of lēvō

Middle Low German

Etymology

Gerund of lēven (“to live”).

Pronunciation

• Stem vowel: ē²
  • (originally) IPA^(key): /lɪɛvənt/

Noun

levent n (genitive levendes, dative levende)

1. life

Alternative forms

• levend (less common form marking morphology rather than pronunciation)

Synonyms

• lif

Descendants

• Levend

Romanian

Alternative forms

• levint, livint — obsolete

Etymology

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish لوند (levend). First attested in the 18th century.

The positive senses mirror developments in other Balkan languages, such as Greek λεβέντης (levéntis) or Serbo-Croatian lèvēnta.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /leˈvent/
• Rhymes: -ent
• Hyphenation: le‧vent

Adjective

levent m or n (feminine singular leventă, masculine plural levenți, feminine/neuter plural levente)

1. (dated) gallant, well-mannered
   • 1879 October 1, Ion Luca Caragiale, “O noapte furtunoasă [A Stormy Night]”, in Iacob Negruzzi, editor, Convorbiri Literare, year 13, number 7, Iași, page 250:

     Mĕ rog, odată ce nu e bărbatul levent, ce fel de casă să mai fie ș’aia?

     I mean, if the man is not well-mannered, what sort of household even is that?

   • 1940, Liviu Rebreanu, Amândoi [Both]‎, Bucharest: Socec, page 72:

     Era proaspăt îndrăgostită de tânărul Pascal Delulescu, practicant fără leafă la judecătorie, care pe-atunci era un băiat drăguț, levent și desghețat de se scurgeau ochii fetelor după el.

     She was freshly in love with the young Pascal Delulescu, unpaid intern at the courthouse, back then a pretty, gallant and smart boy that the girls were fawning over.

   • 1978 October, Valentin Silvestru, Teatrul [Theatre], year 23, number 10, page 84:

     Conducea un redactor de televiziune, bărbat surîzător, cît se poate de pașnic și de levent.

     A TV redactor was in charge, a smiling man, as peaceful and gallant as it gets.

   • 2005 October 29, D.M., Tribuna Sibiului, Sibiu, page 2:

     Am despăgubit-o cu un pachet de țigări "Bega", pentru că sunt levent și nu mă uit la bani…

     I paid her damages with a pack of "Bega" cigarettes, since I am gallant and spare no expense…

2. (obsolete, of men) capable, in one's prime
   • 1718–1729, Radu Popescu, Istoriile domnilor Țării Românești [Histories of the rulers of Wallachia]; edited in Cronicari munteni [Muntenian chroniclers], volume 1, Bucharest: Editura pentru Literatură, 1961, page 505:

     Și așa în taină au mersu de au zis că fiind om mai sprinten, mai levent, ar putea face această treabă, să izgonească catanele du peste Olt.

     And thus, in secret, they went and said that he, being a more agile, more capable man, could do this thing—to expel the soldiers from beyond the Olt.

3. (obsolete, folk poetic, of hajduks) fearless
   • “La stîlpșor de brad” (traditional ballad gathered in 1899 from Gheorghe Lazăr, Ialomița); published in Folclor din Oltenia și Muntenia, volume 5, Bucharest: Minerva, 1970, page 71:

     Oastea de haiduci,
     De haiduci levinți,
     Duși de la părinți
     De cînd erau mici.

     The host of hajduks,
     Of fearless hajduks,
     Taken from their parents
     From a young age.

Noun

levent m (plural levenți) (historical)

1. levend (soldier of the Ottoman Navy)
   • 1737, Constantine Mavrocordatos, letter; transcribed and published in Nicolae Iorga, Studii și documente cu privire la istoria romînilor [Studies and documents concerning the history of the Romanians]‎, volume 16, Bucharest: Socec, 1909, page 4:

     […] să să rădice Măria Sa seraschiarĭ Murtazà-Pașà cu oștile înpărătești, cu 55 de steaguri de serdenghečti, și cu 40 de steaguri de levenț, și cu 30 de steaguri de aghialeturĭ […]

     […] for His Highness Murtaza Pasha Serasker to come up with the imperial armies, with 55 troops of serdengeçti, and with 40 troops of levends, and with 30 troops of provincial soldiers […]

2. Moldovan mercenary in Wallachia
3. member of a Hungarian nationalistic paramilitary group between 1920 and 1945
   • 1940 September 24, “Cel mai groaznic masacru din istoria modernă [The most horrible massacre in modern history]”, in Universul [Universe], year 57, number 263, Bucharest, page 5:

     Dela mânăstire, bandele de levenți au trecut în Țara Oașului și în Maramureș unde au masacrat toți românii întâlniți.

     From the monastery, the bands of levends went over to Oaș Country and Maramureș where they massacred every Romanian they met.

Declension

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	levent	leventul		leventi	leventii
genitive-dative	levent	leventului		leventi	leventilor
vocative	leventule			leventilor

Further reading

• “levent”, in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language) (in Romanian), 2004–2025
• Marius Sala, Gheorghe Mihăilă, editors (2008), Dicționarul Limbii Române‎, volume 4, Bucharest: Romanian Academy, pages 764–765

Turkish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /leˈvænt/

Etymology 1

Inherited from Ottoman Turkish لوند (levend), from Persian لوند (lavand, “flirtatious”).

Noun

levent (definite accusative levendi, plural leventler)

1. (historical, naval) infantry of the Ottoman Navy

Declension

Declension of levent

singular plural nominative levent leventler definite accusative leventi leventleri dative levente leventlere locative leventte leventlerde ablative leventten leventlerden genitive leventin leventlerin Possessive forms nominative singular plural 1st singular leventim leventlerim 2nd singular leventin leventlerin 3rd singular leventi leventleri 1st plural leventimiz leventlerimiz 2nd plural leventiniz leventleriniz 3rd plural leventleri leventleri definite accusative singular plural 1st singular leventimi leventlerimi 2nd singular leventini leventlerini 3rd singular leventini leventlerini 1st plural leventimizi leventlerimizi 2nd plural leventinizi leventlerinizi 3rd plural leventlerini leventlerini dative singular plural 1st singular leventime leventlerime 2nd singular leventine leventlerine 3rd singular leventine leventlerine 1st plural leventimize leventlerimize 2nd plural leventinize leventlerinize 3rd plural leventlerine leventlerine locative singular plural 1st singular leventimde leventlerimde 2nd singular leventinde leventlerinde 3rd singular leventinde leventlerinde 1st plural leventimizde leventlerimizde 2nd plural leventinizde leventlerinizde 3rd plural leventlerinde leventlerinde ablative singular plural 1st singular leventimden leventlerimden 2nd singular leventinden leventlerinden 3rd singular leventinden leventlerinden 1st plural leventimizden leventlerimizden 2nd plural leventinizden leventlerinizden 3rd plural leventlerinden leventlerinden genitive singular plural 1st singular leventimin leventlerimin 2nd singular leventinin leventlerinin 3rd singular leventinin leventlerinin 1st plural leventimizin leventlerimizin 2nd plural leventinizin leventlerinizin 3rd plural leventlerinin leventlerinin Predicative forms singular plural 1st singular leventim leventlerim 2nd singular leventsin leventlersin 3rd singular levent leventtir leventler leventlerdir 1st plural leventiz leventleriz 2nd plural leventsiniz leventlersiniz 3rd plural leventler leventlerdir

Adjective

levent

1. tall
2. (idiomatic) handsome

Derived terms

• leventlik

Etymology 2

From Ottoman Turkish لوند, from Italian levante.

Noun

levent (definite accusative levendi, plural leventler)

1. levante

Declension

Declension of levent

singular plural nominative levent leventler definite accusative leventi leventleri dative levente leventlere locative leventte leventlerde ablative leventten leventlerden genitive leventin leventlerin Possessive forms nominative singular plural 1st singular leventim leventlerim 2nd singular leventin leventlerin 3rd singular leventi leventleri 1st plural leventimiz leventlerimiz 2nd plural leventiniz leventleriniz 3rd plural leventleri leventleri definite accusative singular plural 1st singular leventimi leventlerimi 2nd singular leventini leventlerini 3rd singular leventini leventlerini 1st plural leventimizi leventlerimizi 2nd plural leventinizi leventlerinizi 3rd plural leventlerini leventlerini dative singular plural 1st singular leventime leventlerime 2nd singular leventine leventlerine 3rd singular leventine leventlerine 1st plural leventimize leventlerimize 2nd plural leventinize leventlerinize 3rd plural leventlerine leventlerine locative singular plural 1st singular leventimde leventlerimde 2nd singular leventinde leventlerinde 3rd singular leventinde leventlerinde 1st plural leventimizde leventlerimizde 2nd plural leventinizde leventlerinizde 3rd plural leventlerinde leventlerinde ablative singular plural 1st singular leventimden leventlerimden 2nd singular leventinden leventlerinden 3rd singular leventinden leventlerinden 1st plural leventimizden leventlerimizden 2nd plural leventinizden leventlerinizden 3rd plural leventlerinden leventlerinden genitive singular plural 1st singular leventimin leventlerimin 2nd singular leventinin leventlerinin 3rd singular leventinin leventlerinin 1st plural leventimizin leventlerimizin 2nd plural leventinizin leventlerinizin 3rd plural leventlerinin leventlerinin Predicative forms singular plural 1st singular leventim leventlerim 2nd singular leventsin leventlersin 3rd singular levent leventtir leventler leventlerdir 1st plural leventiz leventleriz 2nd plural leventsiniz leventlersiniz 3rd plural leventler leventlerdir

Further reading

• “levent”, in Turkish dictionaries, Türk Dil Kurumu