levitate
/ˈlɛvɪteɪt/ verb
Forms levitates levitating levitated
- verb (transitive) To cause to rise in the air and float, as if in defiance of gravity. “The magician levitated the woman.”
- verb (intransitive) To be suspended in the air, as if in defiance of gravity. “The guru claimed that he could levitate.”
Synonyms
Etymology
First attested in 1673; borrowed from New Latin levitātus, perfect passive participle of levitō (“to levitate; to have one's motion directed upward, as opposed to the downward motion induced by gravity”) (first attested c. 1670), modeled on gravitō (“to gravitate”) (← Latin gravis (“heavy”)), from levis (“light”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix).
Webster’s 1913
- verb To rise, or tend to rise, as if lighter than the surrounding medium; to become buoyant; --opposed to gravitate. Sir. J. Herschel.
- verb To make buoyant; to cause to float in the air; as, to levitate a table. [Cant]
Etymology [L. levitas, -atis, lightness. See Levity.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “levitate”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details