different between level vs straight

English

Etymology

From Middle English level, from Old French livel, liveau m, later nivel, niveau, from Latin libella f (“a balance, a level”), diminutive of libra f (“a balance, a level”); see libra, librate.

The verb is from Middle English levelen, from the noun.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /?l?v.?l/
• Rhymes: -?v?l
• Hyphenation: lev?el

Adjective

level (comparative leveler or leveller, superlative levelest or levellest)

1. The same height at all places; parallel to a flat ground.
2. At the same height as some reference; constructed as level with.

3. Unvaried in frequency.

4. Unvaried in volume.

5. Calm.

6. In the same position or rank.
7. Straightforward; direct; clear.
   • 1873, Matthew Arnold, Literature and Dogma

     a very plain and level account

8. Well balanced; even; just; steady; impartial.
9. (phonetics) Of even tone; without rising or falling inflection; monotonic.
   • 1891, Henry Sweet, A History of English Sounds from the Earliest Period

     Intonation or tone is either level, rising, or falling, marked respectively

10. (physics) Perpendicular to a gravitational force.

Antonyms

• tilted
• unbalanced
• uneven

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Noun

level (countable and uncountable, plural levels)

1. A tool for finding whether a surface is level, or for creating a horizontal or vertical line of reference.

2. A distance relative to a given reference elevation.

3. Degree or amount.

4. Achievement or qualification.

5. (computer science) Distance from the root node of a tree structure.
6. (video games) One of several discrete segments of a game, generally increasing in difficulty and representing different locations in the game world.

   Synonyms: stage, zone, world

7. (role-playing games, video games) A numeric value that quantifies a character, ability, or item's experience and power.

8. A floor of a multi-storey building.

9. (Britain) An area of almost perfectly flat land.
   • 1820, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Oedipus Tyrannus; Or, Swellfoot The Tyrant: A Tragedy in Two Acts:

     The troops grow mutinous—the revenue fails—
     There’s something rotten in us—for the level
     Of the State slopes, its very bases topple,
     The boldest turn their backs upon themselves!

10. (Singapore, education) A school grade or year.

Hyponyms

Related terms

Descendants

• ? German: Level
• ? Irish: leibhéal
• ? Japanese: ??? (reberu)

Translations

See also

• Wikipedia article on newsgroup posting style

Verb

level (third-person singular simple present levels, present participle (US) leveling or levelling, simple past and past participle (US) leveled or levelled)

1. To adjust so as to make as flat or perpendicular to the ground as possible.
2. To destroy by reducing to ground level; to raze.

   • He levels mountains and he raises plains.

3. (role-playing games, video games) To progress to the next level.

4. To aim or direct (a weapon, a stare, an accusation, etc).
   • 1592, John Stow, The Annales of England

     Bertram de Gordon, standing on the castle wall, levelled a quarrel out of a crossbow.
5. To direct or impose (a penalty, fine, etc) at or upon (someone).
   • 1809, William Ross (Jr.), Abridgement of the laws of Scotland relating to hunting [etc], page 60:

     If the right of killing salmon belong exclusively to the King, and consequently to his donatories, why has not the Legislature secured the right by levelling penalties against such as should encroach upon it [...] ?

   • 1978, Parliamentary Debates of the New Zealand House of Representatives, page 4955:

     How can the Minister reconcile the first statement with the clause, when he is in fact levelling punishment at the woman and not at the errant father [...] ?

   • 1995, The Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) of the [Great British] House of Lords:

     There is no purpose in levelling fines because they would be merely paid from the £1.8 billion which the BBC collects.

   • 2007, Mary Jacoby, EU investigators endorse charges against Intel, Wall Street Journal Europe, 17 January, page 32, column 5:

     Ultimately, Ms. Kroes [European Union Antitrust Commissioner] could level a fine and order Intel to change its business practices.

6. (sports) To make the score of a game equal.
7. (figuratively) To bring to a common level or plane, in respect of rank, condition, character, privilege, etc.

8. To adjust or adapt to a certain level.

   • For all his mind on honour fixed is, / To which he levels all his purposes.

9. (usually with "with") To speak honestly and openly with.

Derived terms

Translations

References

• level on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Further reading

• level in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• level in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Indonesian

Etymology

From English level, from Middle English level, from Old French livel, liveau m, later nivel, niveau, from Latin libella f (“a balance, a level”), diminutive of libra f (“a balance, a level”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?l?v?l]
• Hyphenation: lè?vêl

Noun

level (first-person possessive levelku, second-person possessive levelmu, third-person possessive levelnya)

1. (colloquial) level.

   Synonyms: tingkatan, tataran, lapisan

Further reading

• “level” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia (KBBI) Daring, Jakarta: Badan Pengembangan dan Pembinaan Bahasa, Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Republik Indonesia, 2016.

English

Alternative forms

• streight (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English streight, streght, strei?t, the past participle of strecchen (“to stretch”), from Old English stre??an (past participle ?estreaht, ?estreht), from Proto-West Germanic *strakkjan (“to stretch”). Doublet of straught.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /st?e?t/
• Rhymes: -e?t
• Homophone: strait

Adjective

straight (comparative straighter, superlative straightest)

1. Not crooked or bent; having a constant direction throughout its length. [from 14^thc.]
   • 1811, Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility:

     I do not like crooked, twisted, blasted trees. I admire them much more if they are tall, straight and flourishing.

   • “Heavens!” exclaimed Nina, “the blue-stocking and the fogy!—and yours are pale blue, Eileen!—you’re about as self-conscious as Drina—slumping there with your hair tumbling à la Mérode! Oh, it's very picturesque, of course, but a straight spine and good grooming is better. […]”

   • 2011, Adharanand Finn, The Guardian, 22 March:

     The other people, I presume, are supposed to be standing to attention, but they're all smiling at me. The lines are not even straight.

2. (of a path, trajectory, etc.) Direct, undeviating. [from 15^thc.]
   • 1913, John Fox, Jr., The Kentuckians, page 185:

     Now, as the world knows, the straightest way to the heart of the honest voter is through the women of the land, and the straightest way to the heart of the women is through the children of the land; and one method of winning both, with rural politicians, is to kiss the babies wide and far.
3. Perfectly horizontal or vertical; not diagonal or oblique. [from 17^thc.]
   • 1925, United States House Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee No. 1, Charges Against William E. Baker, U.S. District Judge:

     Mr. Coniff: He did not have his hat on straight; that is the one thing, is it?
4. (cricket) Describing the bat as held so as not to incline to either side; on, or near a line running between the two wickets. [from 19^thc.]
   • 2011 March 15, Alan Gardner & Barney Ronay, The Guardian:

     Steyn continues and it's all a bit more orderly down his end as O'Brien defends the first three balls with a straight bat and a respectful dip of the head.

5. Direct in communication; unevasive, straightforward. [from 19^thc.]
   • 2003, Rosie Cowan, The Guardian, 24 April:

     Tony Blair issued a direct challenge to the IRA yesterday when he demanded they give straight answers to three simple questions […].
6. Free from dishonesty; honest, law-abiding. [from 16th c.]
   • 1879, Anthony Trollope, John Caldigate:

     ‘It wasn't the proper thing, squoire. It wasn't straight.’

   • 2010 August 4, The Guardian, Out of prison and trying to go straight [2]:

     How easy is it to go straight after a life spent in and out of prison?

7. Serious rather than comedic.
   • 1988, Ed Gould, Entertaining Canadians: Canada's international stars, 1900-1988, Cappis Pr Pub Ltd (?ISBN):

     Allan Blye, a CBC-TV mainstay in the early Sixties, worked as a singer, writer and straight and comedic actor.

   • 2004, Tammy Ravas, Peter Schickele: A Bio-bibliography, Greenwood Publishing Group (?ISBN):

     All of Peter Schickele's music, both straight and comedic are integrated side by side in this chapter.

   • 2005, Bob McCabe, The Rough Guide to Comedy Movies, Rough Guides Limited:

     More success followed, both straight and comedic, with hits such as Dead Poets' Society (1989), in which Williams scored another Oscar nomination for skilfully handling a classic "rogue teacher" role that hovers just this side of sentimentality, […]

8. In proper order; as it should be. [from 19^thc.]
   • 2010, Paul Gallagher, The Observer, 15 August:

     "If you wonder why folks can't take the news seriously, here's Exhibit A," said one blogger. "Lord Jesus, how can the reporter file this story with a straight face?"

9. In a row, in unbroken sequence; consecutive. [from 19^thc.]
   • 2008, "Bad vibrations", The Economist, 30 October:

     As of October 29th, three-month dollar Libor (the rate at which banks borrow from each other) had fallen for 13 straight days and was nearly one-and-a-half percentage points below its October 10th level.

10. (tennis) Describing the sets in a match of which the winner did not lose a single set. [from 19^thc.]
    • 2011 February 10, Press Association:

      Murray started well against Marcos Baghdatis before slumping to defeat in straight sets and the British No1 admitted he may not have been mentally prepared for the rigours of the ATP Tour after a gruelling start to 2011.

11. (US, politics) Making no exceptions or deviations in one's support of the organization and candidates of a political party.

12. (US, politics) Containing the names of all the regularly nominated candidates of a party and no others.

13. (colloquial) Conventional, mainstream, socially acceptable. [from 20^thc.]
    • 1998, Eileen Fitzpatrick & Dominic Pride, Billboard, 17 October 1998:

      ‘Her last album was a bit too straight,’ he says, ‘but this one puts her in a more contemporary framework and softens her music.’
14. (colloquial) Heterosexual, attracted to people of the opposite sex.
    • 2007, Layla Kumari, The Guardian, 17 September:

      Some of my friends – gay and straight – seem unable to understand the close but platonic nature of my and Gian's relationship, but have been supportive.
15. (colloquial, of a romantic or sexual relation) Occurring between people of opposite sex.

    straight marriage, sex, relationships

16. (colloquial) Not using alcohol, drugs, etc. [from 20^thc.]

    Synonym: straightedge

    • 1989, Gus Van Sant, Drugstore Cowboy:

      For all the boredom the straight life brings, it's not too bad.
17. (fashion) Not plus size; thin.

18. (rare, now chiefly religion) Strait; narrow.
19. (obsolete) Stretched out; fully extended. [15^th-16^thc.]
20. (slang) Thorough; utter; unqualified.
    • 2012, Pimpin' Ken, PIMPOLOGY: The 48 Laws of the Game, page 11:

      A real pimp is a gentleman, but these are pimps in gorilla suits. They hang around pimps, they have hoes on the track working for them, they may even look like pimps, but they are straight simps.

21. Of spirits: undiluted, unmixed; neat. [from 19^thc.]
22. (sciences, mathematics) Concerning the property allowing the parallel-transport of vectors along a course that keeps tangent vectors remain tangent vectors throughout that course (a course which is straight, a straight curve, is a geodesic).

Antonyms

• bent
• crooked
• curved

Derived terms

Descendants

• ? Japanese: ?????

Translations

Adverb

straight (comparative more straight, superlative most straight)

1. Of a direction relative to the subject, precisely; as if following a direct line.

   The door will be straight ahead of you.

   Go straight back.

2. Directly; without pause, delay or detour.

   On arriving at work, he went straight to his office.

   • I know thy generous temper well; / Fling but the appearance of dishonour on it, / It straight takes fire, and mounts into a blaze.

3. Continuously; without interruption or pause.

   He claims he can hold his breath for three minutes straight.

Translations

Noun

straight (plural straights)

1. Something that is not crooked or bent such as a part of a road or track.
2. (poker) Five cards in sequence.
3. (colloquial) A heterosexual.

   Synonyms: hetero, breeder

4. (slang) A normal person; someone in mainstream society.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:mainstreamer
5. (slang) A cigarette, particularly one containing tobacco instead of marijuana. [from 20th c.]

   Synonym: straighter

   • [1923, J[oseph] Manchon, Le slang : lexique de l'anglais familier et vulgaire : précédé d'une étude sur la pronunciation et la grammaire populaires, p. 296:

     A straight = a straighter = a straight cut, une cigarette en tabac de Virginie.]

Descendants

• ? Japanese: ????? (sutor?to)
• ? Portuguese: straight

Translations

Verb

straight (third-person singular simple present straights, present participle straighting, simple past and past participle straighted)

1. (transitive) To straighten.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of A. Smith to this entry?)

See also

Portuguese

Etymology

From English straight.

Noun

straight m (plural straights)

1. (poker) straight (five cards in sequence)