Alleve

/əˈliːv/ verb

Definition

An archaic or dialectal variant spelling of alleviate, meaning to make something less severe or burdensome.

Etymology

Middle English aleven, from Old French alever (to raise up, lighten), from Latin ad- (to) and levis (light). This form represents an older orthographic convention before standardization.

Kelly Says

The word 'alleve' is a linguistic fossil showing how spelling was fluid and variable before dictionaries locked words into place—what we'd call a typo today was once simply an acceptable alternative.

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