leva
lever; military draft
noun LEH-vah Rare
Origin: Latin levare (to raise)
Also means
recruitment
Usage Note
Leva has two main uses: the mechanical leva del cambio (gear lever) and the historical military conscription — la leva obbligatoria was Italy's mandatory military service, suspended in 2004. In figurative speech, fare leva su qualcosa means 'to leverage something'.
Examples
"La leva del cambio è rotta."
Natural Translation
The gear lever is broken.
Related Words
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