Timeline for Meaning of "levee"

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Jun 2, 2019 at 18:20	comment	added	Hot Licks		I'm thinking I've seen "levee" used, in older works, in the sense not so much as "floodwall", but as a guard against waves or possibly boats -- sort of a dock without top planking. But of course I can't point to an example.
Jun 2, 2019 at 17:19	comment	added	BoldBen		@HotLicks According to the OED entry the 'reception' meaning originated in the 17th century and was used in England but the 'mud bank' meaning is from 18th century America. Both meanings come from French, of course, and are, I suspect, independent of each other. Also a mud bank flood defence isn't as commonly called a 'levee' in Br English, it tends to be called a 'bank' or a 'dyke'. Calling something a 'dyke' can be confusing in Br English as it can refer both to a bank and to a ditch.
Jun 1, 2019 at 20:05	comment	added	Hot Licks		I'm guessing that, by the late 1700s, the two definitions had merged somewhat, in a metaphorical sense. A notable person, such as Johnson, would tend to gather a crowd of admirers around him in any open social gathering, and this would provide something akin to a "levee" of protection (from annoying people such as Boswell) around him.
May 31, 2019 at 20:10	history	answered	BoldBen	CC BY-SA 4.0