lèvent

Lèvent is the third-person plural present indicative form of the French verb lever. It is pronounced with the first e as a mid-open vowel, and the final -ent is usually silent in ordinary speech, yielding a pronunciation close to [lɛv].

In use, lèvent means “they lift” or “they raise.” It takes a direct object to indicate what is being raised. For example, Ils lèvent les bras (They raise their arms) and Ils lèvent la tête (They lift their heads). The form appears in a wide range of contexts, from physical actions to figurative senses such as raising a flag, lifting a barrier, or elevating spirits.

Grammatically, lèvent is the present tense form for the subject pronoun ils/elles. It shares the same stem as the verb lever, whose other forms include lève, lèves, lève, levons, levez, and lèvent. The past participle of lever is levé, and the related noun levered concepts appear in phrases such as lever du jour (rise of day).

Etymology traces lever to the Latin levare, meaning to raise or lift, via Old French lever. The modern French verb retains that sense of raising or lifting, and lèvent is one of its standard conjugated forms.

See also: lever (to raise), lever (a tool), levée (the act of rising or a raised area).