Unleavened is from un- ('not') + leavened, past participle of leaven, from Old French levain ('leaven'), from Latin levamen ('relief, alleviation'), from levare ('to raise, lighten'), from levis ('light'). Important recorded forms include un- (Old English), levain (Old French), levare (Latin), and levis (Latin). Morphologically, the un- element marks negation, reversal, removal, or deprivation, while the base supplies the action, quality, or state being denied or undone. The modern sense is largely compositional, with the historical elements narrowing into a stable English lexical item. In current use it covers made without yeast or rising agent. The wider family includes related words such as leaven, leavened, and levain.