leaven
leaven(
leh
-
vihn
)A noun is a word referring to a person, animal, place, thing, feeling, or idea (e.g., man, dog, house).
1. (culinary)
a. la levadura (F)
(f) means that a noun is feminine. Spanish nouns have a gender, which is either feminine (like la mujer or la luna) or masculine (like el hombre or el sol).
A small amount of leaven was retained, and added to the next batch of bread.Se reservó una pequeña cantidad de levadura para añadirla a la próxima hornada de pan.
2. (figurative) (literary) (transforming element)
A phrase used as a figure of speech or a word that is symbolic in meaning; metaphorical (e.g., carrot, bean).
A word or phrase restricted in usage to literature or established writing (e.g., sex, once upon a time).
a. no direct translation
This refers to an idiomatic word or phrase for which there is no word-for-word translation.
The leaven of competition is what makes markets work.El estímulo de la competición es lo que hace funcionar los mercados.
These highly educated refugees became a leaven to the intellectual life of the city.Estos refugiados cultos se convirtieron en la chispa para la vida intelectual de la ciudad.
A transitive verb is a verb that requires a direct object (e.g., I bought a book.).
3. (figurative) (literary) (to lighten)
A phrase used as a figure of speech or a word that is symbolic in meaning; metaphorical (e.g., carrot, bean).
A word or phrase restricted in usage to literature or established writing (e.g., sex, once upon a time).
a. aligerar
Alfonso attempted to leaven the long hours of captivity by reading.Alfonso intentó aligerar las largas horas de cautiverio leyendo.
4. (culinary)
a. leudar
With this method, we leaven the bread overnight and bake it in the morning.Con este método, leudamos el pan la noche anterior y lo horneamos en la mañana.
Examples
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Conjugations
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