levy

[lev-ee]

noun, plural lev·ies.

an imposing or collecting, as of a tax, by authority or force.

the amount owed or collected.

the conscription of troops.

the troops conscripted.

verb (used with object), lev·ied, lev·y·ing.

to impose (a tax): to levy a duty on imports.

to conscript (troops).

to start or wage (war).

verb (used without object), lev·ied, lev·y·ing.

to seize or attach property by judicial order.

Origin of levy

1375–1425; late Middle English leve(e) < Middle French, noun use of feminine past participle of lever to raise < Latin levāre, akin to levis light; cf. levee²

Related formsre·lev·y, verb (used with object), re·lev·ied, re·lev·y·ing.self-lev·ied, adjectiveun·lev·ied, adjective

Can be confusedlevee levy

Synonyms for levy

6. draft, enlist, callup.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for levies

duty, fee, tariff, excise, burden, collect, exact, raise, gathering, imposition, muster, collection, custom, toll, impost, exaction, extort, set, wrest, gather

Examples from the Web for levies

Historical Examples of levies

He shall join the levies at Toulon in three days; in three days, mark me!
Tom Burke Of "Ours", Volume II (of II)
Charles James Lever
Early the next morning, the Pioneers and levies started to cross the pass.
Through Three Campaigns
G. A. Henty
On arriving at the top of the pass, the Hunza levies skirmished ahead.
Through Three Campaigns
G. A. Henty
It seemed that the levies bolted, as soon as they were fired on.
Through Three Campaigns
G. A. Henty
He levies blackmail on almost every crime named in the code.
The Root of Evil
Thomas Dixon

British Dictionary definitions for levies

levy

verb levies, levying or levied (tr)

to impose and collect (a tax, tariff, fine, etc)

to conscript troops for service

to seize or attach (property) in accordance with the judgment of a court

noun plural levies

the act of imposing and collecting a tax, tariff, etc
the money so raised

the conscription of troops for service
a person conscripted in this way

Derived Formslevier, noun

Word Origin for levy

C15: from Old French levée a raising, from lever, from Latin levāre to raise

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for levies

levy

"an act of levying," early 15c., from Anglo-French leve, Old French levée "a raising, lifting; levying," noun use of fem. past participle of lever "to raise" (see lever).

levy

early 13c., "act of raising or collecting," from Anglo-French leve, from Old French levée "act of raising," noun use of fem. past participle of lever "to raise" (see lever). Originally of taxes, later of men for armies (c.1500). Related: Levied; levying.