means A rigid bar that pivots on a fixed point to multiply force, letting a small effort shift a heavy load.

from From Old French levier, 'a lifter,' from lever 'to raise,' which descends from Latin levare, 'to make light, lift up' — built on levis, 'light' in weight. The same Latin root quietly powers levity, alleviate, and elevate: a whole family of words about lifting burdens. Archimedes never said the famous line about moving the Earth in quite those words, but the principle he proved made the lever the original symbol of leverage.