levity
/ˈlɛvəti/noun
Lightness of manner; lack of appropriate seriousness
From Latin, from French transmission lev- (Light in weight).
Lineage
The story
The word’s history begins with a physical sensation: something that weighs little. Latin levis meant “light,” and its noun levitās could describe both literal lightness and a person’s figurative lack of gravity. English took the word through French levite, with levity recorded in the 1560s; by the 16th and 17th centuries, it could even name the supposed force that made bodies rise, opposite gravity. That history links levity and gravity as verbal opposites, though their deeper roots are different. So when someone cracks a joke at a solemn moment, they are briefly making the room feel lighter—sometimes welcome, sometimes not.
Modern usage
Inappropriate humor during serious matters that lessens dread.
- Heard in
- humor
- See
- The Terminator: “Your levity is good, it relieves tension and the fear of death.”
Words from the same roots
lev- · Latin, from French transmission, ‘Light in weight; figuratively, light-minded or unserious’
Derivedlevitate, levitation, lever, levity