levain
French, noun/lə.vɛ̃/
levain is spelled L-E-V-A-I-N (6 letters) and appears about once in every 1 million words in written French, the 34,022nd most frequent French word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Levain is a French masculine noun meaning “sourdough” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “Morceau de pâte aigrie qui, mêlée à la pâte dont on veut faire du pain, sert à la faire lever, à la faire…”.
What does levain mean in English?
noun
- 1
masculinesourdough
- 2
masculineleaven (any agent used to make dough rise)
Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How French dictionaries define it
noun: 1. Morceau de pâte aigrie qui, mêlée à la pâte dont on veut faire du pain, sert à la faire lever, à la faire fermenter. 2. Substance capable de produire une fermentation interne dans le corps avec lequel on l’a mêlé et d’y exciter un gonflement. 3. Germes de certaines passions violentes.
The definition in the French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), in French.
Source: French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of levain
- levains plural
Source: English Wiktionary and French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce levain?
- /lə.vɛ̃/
- \lə.vɛ̃\
- [lə.vɛ̃]
Sources: English Wiktionary, French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to levain
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is levain in French?
levain appears about once in every 1 million words in written French.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).