Levity

noun

A jocular or irreverent character
The physical quality of being light or floating

Usage

Everyone loves to laugh every now and again, but some people take that to the extreme, even in instances where it might not be proper. If you've ever been in a courtroom or at a funeral and noticed that one person clowning around, sticking out like a sore thumb, you know exactly what it looks like when joking goes too far. These moments of levity are more than just humor in poor taste, but really out-of-place.

Levity is a state of lightheartedness or frivolousness. When said of a person, levity denotes a jovial, cheeky mood or overall character. An idea or action that possesses levity has a distinct lack of seriousness, an element of foolishness, or even a streak of naiveté. Though it can embody this easygoing nature in certain contexts, an object that has levity can also mean one that is light in weight, or that floats. Most often, a thing that has levity floats in water, but it could float in the air as well, at which point one could say it levitates.

The sense of levity of a joking air often implies that in addition to having a comical attitude, one's humor is not appropriate for the current setting. If someone's behavior is silly, they make light of things, but if it is one of levity, they might do so a bit too often or readily.

Example: The levity of Mark's comments during the World War II lecture was not only distracting to his friend, but a bit distasteful.

Example: Emily injected some much-needed levity into the conversation to take her friend's mind off her looming exam.

Example: The levity of the reproduction three-masted ship was surprising considering how many passengers and how much cargo it could hold.

Origin

The first English use of levity occurred sometime in the mid-16th century, and meant "lacking seriousness" or "frivolity." The term traced back to the Latin word levitas, meaning "lightness," which itself came from the Latin word for "light (in weight)," levis.

Similar Words

Elevate: The word elevate is a verb meaning to lift or pull something upwards, and also to raise the level of something. The word is distantly related to levity, as elevate traces back to the Latin word elevatus, which in turn derives from levis, for "light." This common root is evident from the fact that both words pertain to the quality of lightness of some kind: in the case of elevate, this is literal in the sense that the object is light enough to be lifted, while with levity it is a lightness of spirit through humor.

Example: To add a challenge to his run, he decided to elevate the incline on his treadmill.

Example: After performing meritorious service in the face of danger, the soldier's commander decided to elevate his rank as a reward.

Levitate: Related to levity is the word levitate, which means to make something float up into the air, particularly by some supernatural means. The meaning of levitate, like with levity, hinges on the idea of lightness and, appropriately, both words are linked by their shared common ancestor, the Latin word levitas.

Example: By playing with visual perspective, the street artist's sidewalk drawing made it appear as though pedestrians levitate as they cross over it.

In Literature

From Margaret Atwood's The Blind Assassin:

But thoughtless ingratitude is the armour of the young; without it, how would they ever get through life? The old wish the young well, but they wish them ill also: they would like to eat them up, and absorb their vitality, and remain immortal themselves. Without the protection of surliness and levity, all children would be crushed by the past - the past of others, loaded on their shoulders. Selfishness is their saving grace.

Atwood describes both the immensity of the pressures put on the young by older generations and the perfect countermeasures the young have against them by virtue of their own nature. By combining a somewhat antisocial tendency with silliness and irreverence, or levity, children thwart their elders' demands on them.

In Pop Culture

From Terminator 3 (dailymotion.com):

Your levity is good, it relieves tension and the fear of death.

In this scene, the Terminator encourages his comrades to indulge in making light of the situation in order to cope with it, as it is otherwise an extraordinarily stressful (not to mention dangerous) one.

Mnemonic

If you display too much levity in a serious setting, you might be asked to leave.
With levity, comedy has longevity.