A levee is an embankment built to prevent a river or another body of water from overflowing. A levy is a fee or tax collected by the government.
The word levee is derived from the French lever, meaning "to raise or lift." A levee is usually built near a river to protect neighborhoods, businesses, and families from storms that can cause flooding. Depending on the area, a levee can be constructed or raised using soil, stone, concrete, or metal. A levee also means a formal reception for visitors or guests. We get this sense from the French royalty: long ago, when kings rose from their beds to receive visitors, the occasion was called a levee. Check out these uses of levee below:
He would be safe in their house on Dart Street, he figured, far from any levees, with two stories, plenty of tools, and food. (Zeitoun)
Downstream, farmers and cities have erected hundreds of miles of levees and canals. (The New York Times)
In the evening President Jackson held a levee at the White House. (Hidden Treasures)
Levy has a number of meanings, too. The two most common senses are related to taxes and the military. When a government imposes a levy, it’s a tax or fee that a person or organization has to pay. The word is also a verb: a government levies taxes and fees. The other main sense is a historical one dealing with military enlistment. This levy is also a noun and a verb: rulers can impose a levy or they can levy their subjects to enlist in the military. Because levies are imposed, they often feel like a burden. You’ll find uses where charges, sanctions, or punishments are levied. Here are example sentences that highlight the uses of levy:
The taxes he levied would help him finance future campaigns to expand his territory and increase his power. (Cleopatra: Egypt's Last and Greatest Queen)
A levy of thirty thousand men to recruit the army was ordered. (Mexico, Aztez, Spanish, and Republican)
"An execution is the greatest punishment that the justice system can levy," Brown said. (The Washington Post)
Levee and levy both derive from the same French word but over the years, they went their separate ways. Here’s a trick to tell them apart: a levee with three e’s is raised between water and land; a levy with a y can be heavy, especially when you have to pay a tax or join the army.