Levite
adj, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A member of the Hebrew tribe of Levi, particularly in its role as a priestly caste.
"And there was a young man out of Bethlehemjudah of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there."
- 2 a member of the Hebrew tribe of Levi (especially the branch that provided male assistants to the temple priests) wordnet
- 3 A clergyman. humorous, obsolete
- 4 A type of loose dress. historical
"A habit-maker […] is gone stark in love with Lady Ossory, on fitting her with the new dress, I think they call it a Levite, and says he never saw so glorious a figure […] ."
- 1 Of or related to Levi, the Levites, or their priestly role. not-comparable
Example
More examples"A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who both stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. By chance a certain priest was going down that way. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. In the same way a Levite also, when he came to the place, and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he travelled, came where he was. When he saw him, he was moved with compassion, came to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. He set him on his own animal, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him."
Etymology
Borrowed from Late Latin Levītēs, Lēvīta, itself borrowed from Ancient Greek Λευῑ̈́της (Leuī̈́tēs). By surface analysis, Levi + -ite.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.