[le.ver] n [ME, fr. MF levier, fr. lever to raise, fr. L levare, fr. levis light in weight--more at light] (14c) 1 a: a bar used for prying or dislodging something b: an inducing or compelling force: tool "use food as a political ~ --Time"
2. a: a rigid piece that transmits and modifies force or motion when forces are applied at two points and it turns about a third; specif: a rigid bar used to exert a pressure or sustain a weight at one point of its length by the application of a force at a second and turning at a third on a fulcrum b: a projecting piece by which a mechanism is operated or adjusted
[2]lever vt le.vered ; le.ver.ing (1876) 1: to pry, raise, or move with or as if with a lever
2: to operate (a device) in the manner of a lever