levant1
/lɪˈvant
/verb [no object] archaic
Run away, typically leaving unpaid debts: the clerk had levanted before his employer returned from America...
- Clutching same, he levanted from Paris and headed for the US via London.
Origin
Early 17th century: perhaps from Levant: compare with French faire voile en Levant 'be stolen or spirited away', literally 'set sail for the Levant'.
Rhymes
Levant2
/lɪˈvant/archaic
The eastern part of the Mediterranean with its islands and neighbouring countries.
Origin
Late 15th century: from French, literally 'rising', present participle of lever 'to lift' used as a noun in the sense 'point of sunrise, east'.