From Old French levier 'lifting device,' from Latin levāre 'to raise,' from levis 'light in weight.'
A rigid bar resting on a pivot, used to move a heavy load with one end when force is applied to the other.
From Old French levier 'lever,' from lever 'to raise,' from Latin levāre 'to lift, raise,' from levis 'light (in weight).' The physics term was formalized by Archimedes, but the French word entered English as a practical tool name. Key roots: *h₁lengʷh- (Proto-Indo-European: "light, not heavy").