English Dictionary
There are currently 5652 EnglishDictionary in this directory beginning with the letter L.
L
L (n.) An extension at right angles to the length of a main building, giving to the ground plan a form resembling the letter L; sometimes less properly applied to a narrower, or lower, extension in the direction of the length of the main building; a wing.
L'envoy (n.) One or more detached verses at the end of a literary composition, serving to convey the moral, or to address the poem to a particular person; -- orig. employed in old French poetry.
Labadist (n.) A follower of Jean de Labadie, a religious teacher of the 17th century, who left the Roman Catholic Church and taught a kind of mysticism, and the obligation of community of property among Christians.
Labarraque's solution () An aqueous solution of hypochlorite of sodium, extensively used as a disinfectant.
Label (n.) A barrulet, or, rarely, a bendlet, with pendants, or points, usually three, especially used as a mark of cadency to distinguish an eldest or only son while his father is still living.
Label (n.) A brass rule with sights, formerly used, in connection with a circumferentor, to take altitudes.
Label (n.) A slip of ribbon, parchment, etc., attached to a document to hold the appended seal; also, the seal.
Label (n.) A slip of silk, paper, parchment, etc., affixed to anything, usually by an inscription, the contents, ownership, destination, etc.; as, the label of a bottle or a package.
Label (n.) The name now generally given to the projecting molding by the sides, and over the tops, of openings in mediaeval architecture. It always has a /quare form, as in the illustration.
Labellum (n.) The lower or apparently anterior petal of an orchidaceous flower, often of a very curious shape.
Labial (a.) Modified, as a vowel, by contraction of the lip opening, as / (f/d), / (/ld), etc., and as eu and u in French, and o, u in German. See Guide to Pronunciation, // 11, 178.
Labial (n.) A letter or character representing an articulation or sound formed or uttered chiefly with the lips, as b, p, w.
Labialism (n.) The quality of being labial; as, the labialism of an articulation; conversion into a labial, as of a sound which is different in another language.
Labiate (a.) Belonging to a natural order of plants (Labiatae), of which the mint, sage, and catnip are examples. They are mostly aromatic herbs.
Labiate (a.) Having the limb of a tubular corolla or calyx divided into two unequal parts, one projecting over the other like the lips of a mouth, as in the snapdragon, sage, and catnip.
Lablab (n.) an East Indian name for several twining leguminous plants related to the bean, but commonly applied to the hyacinth bean (Dolichos Lablab).
Labor (n.) The pitching or tossing of a vessel which results in the straining of timbers and rigging.
Labor (n.) To be oppressed with difficulties or disease; to do one's work under conditions which make it especially hard, wearisome; to move slowly, as against opposition, or under a burden; to be burdened; -- often with under, and formerly with of.
Labor (n.) To exert muscular strength; to exert one's strength with painful effort, particularly in servile occupations; to work; to toil.
Labor (n.) To exert one's powers of mind in the prosecution of any design; to strive; to take pains.
Labor (v. t.) To prosecute, or perfect, with effort; to urge stre/uously; as, to labor a point or argument.
Labor-saving (a.) Saving labor; adapted to supersede or diminish the labor of men; as, labor-saving machinery.
Labored (a.) Bearing marks of labor and effort; elaborately wrought; not easy or natural; as, labored poetry; a labored style.
Laborer (n.) One who labors in a toilsome occupation; a person who does work that requires strength rather than skill, as distinguished from that of an artisan.
Laboring (a.) That labors; performing labor; esp., performing coarse, heavy work, not requiring skill also, set apart for labor; as, laboring days.
Laborsome (a.) Likely or inclined to roll or pitch, as a ship in a heavy sea; having a tendency to labor.
Labradorite (n.) A kind of feldspar commonly showing a beautiful play of colors, and hence much used for ornamental purposes. The finest specimens come from Labrador. See Feldspar.
Labroid (a.) Like the genus Labrus; belonging to the family Labridae, an extensive family of marine fishes, often brilliantly colored, which are very abundant in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The tautog and cunner are American examples.
Labrum (n.) An organ in insects and crustaceans covering the upper part of the mouth, and serving as an upper lip. See Illust. of Hymenoptera.
Laburnum (n.) A small leguminous tree (Cytisus Laburnum), native of the Alps. The plant is reputed to be poisonous, esp. the bark and seeds. It has handsome racemes of yellow blossoms.
Labyrinth (n.) A pattern or design representing a maze, -- often inlaid in the tiled floor of a church, etc.
Labyrinth (n.) A series of canals through which a stream of water is directed for suspending, carrying off, and depositing at different distances, the ground ore of a metal.
Labyrinth (n.) An edifice or place full of intricate passageways which render it difficult to find the way from the interior to the entrance; as, the Egyptian and Cretan labyrinths.
Labyrinth (n.) Any intricate or involved inclosure; especially, an ornamental maze or inclosure in a park or garden.
Labyrinth (n.) Any object or arrangement of an intricate or involved form, or having a very complicated nature.
Labyrinthici (n. pl.) An order of teleostean fishes, including the Anabas, or climbing perch, and other allied fishes.
Labyrinthodon (n.) A genus of very large fossil amphibians, of the Triassic period, having bony plates on the under side of the body. It is the type of the order Labyrinthodonta. Called also Mastodonsaurus.
Lac (n.) A resinous substance produced mainly on the banyan tree, but to some extent on other trees, by the Coccus lacca, a scale-shaped insect, the female of which fixes herself on the bark, and exudes from the margin of her body this resinous substance.
Lacashire boiler () A steam boiler having two flues which contain the furnaces and extend through the boiler from end to end.
Lacasterian (a.) Of or pertaining to the monitorial system of instruction followed by Joseph Lancaster, of England, in which advanced pupils in a school teach pupils below them.
Laccolith (n.) A mass of igneous rock intruded between sedimentary beds and resulting in a mammiform bulging of the overlying strata.
Lace (n.) A fabric of fine threads of linen, silk, cotton, etc., often ornamented with figures; a delicate tissue of thread, much worn as an ornament of dress.
Lace (n.) That which binds or holds, especially by being interwoven; a string, cord, or band, usually one passing through eyelet or other holes, and used in drawing and holding together parts of a garment, of a shoe, of a machine belt, etc.
Lace (v. t.) To adorn with narrow strips or braids of some decorative material; as, cloth laced with silver.
Lace (v. t.) To fasten with a lace; to draw together with a lace passed through eyelet holes; to unite with a lace or laces, or, figuratively. with anything resembling laces.
Lace-bark (n.) A shrub in the West Indies (Lagetta Iintearia); -- so called from the lacelike layers of its inner bark.
Lacedaemonian (a.) Of or pertaining to Lacedaemon or Sparta, the chief city of Laconia in the Peloponnesus.
Lacerate (v. t.) To tear; to rend; to separate by tearing; to mangle; as, to lacerate the flesh. Hence: To afflict; to torture; as, to lacerate the heart.
Lacewing (n.) Any one of several species of neuropterous insects of the genus Chrysopa and allied genera. They have delicate, lacelike wings and brilliant eyes. Their larvae are useful in destroying aphids. Called also lace-winged fly, and goldeneyed fly.
Lache (n.) Neglect; negligence; remissness; neglect to do a thing at the proper time; delay to assert a claim.
Lachrymatory (n.) A "tear-bottle;" a narrow-necked vessel found in sepulchers of the ancient Romans; -- so called from a former notion that the tears of the deceased person's friends were collected in it. Called also lachrymal or lacrymal.
Lachrymose (a.) Generating or shedding tears; given to shedding tears; suffused with tears; tearful.
Lacing (n.) A rope or line passing through eyelet holes in the edge of a sail or an awning to attach it to a yard, gaff, etc.
Lacing (n.) A system of bracing bars, not crossing each other in the middle, connecting the channel bars of a compound strut.
Lacinia (n.) A narrow, slender portion of the edge of a monophyllous calyx, or of any irregularly incised leaf.
Lacinia (n.) One of the narrow, jagged, irregular pieces or divisions which form a sort of fringe on the borders of the petals of some flowers.
Lack (v. i.) To be wanting; often, impersonally, with of, meaning, to be less than, short, not quite, etc.
Lackaday (interj.) Alack the day; alas; -- an expression of sorrow, regret, dissatisfaction, or surprise.
Laconical (a.) Expressing much in few words, after the manner of the Laconians or Spartans; brief and pithy; brusque; epigrammatic. In this sense laconic is the usual form.
Laconical (a.) Laconian; characteristic of, or like, the Spartans; hence, stern or severe; cruel; unflinching.
Laconize (v. i.) To imitate the manner of the Laconians, especially in brief, pithy speech, or in frugality and austerity.
Lactamic (a.) Pertaining to, or designating, an amido acid related to lactic acid, and called also amido-propionic acid.
Lactamide (n.) An acid amide derived from lactic acid, and obtained as a white crystalline substance having a neutral reaction. It is metameric with alanine.
Lacteal (n.) One of the lymphatic vessels which convey chyle from the small intestine through the mesenteric glands to the thoracic duct; a chyliferous vessel.
Lactescence (n.) The state or quality of producing milk, or milklike juice; resemblance to milk; a milky color.
Lactic (a.) Of or pertaining to milk; procured from sour milk or whey; as, lactic acid; lactic fermentation, etc.
Lactide (n.) A white, crystalline substance, obtained from also, by extension, any similar substance.
Lactiferous (a.) Bearing or containing milk or a milky fluid; as, the lactiferous vessels, cells, or tissue of various vascular plants.
Lactifuge (n.) A medicine to check the secretion of milk, or to dispel a supposed accumulation of milk in any part of the body.
Lactim (n.) One of a series of anhydrides resembling the lactams, but of an imido type; as, isatine is a lactim. Cf. Lactam.
Lactimide (n.) A white, crystalline substance obtained as an anhydride of alanine, and regarded as an imido derivative of lactic acid.
Lactoabumin (n.) The albumin present on milk, apparently identical with ordinary serum albumin. It is distinct from the casein of milk.
Lactobutyrometer (n.) An instrument for determining the amount of butter fat contained in a given sample of milk.
Lactodensimeter (n.) A form of hydrometer, specially graduated, for finding the density of milk, and thus discovering whether it has been mixed with water or some of the cream has been removed.
Lactometer (n.) An instrument for estimating the purity or richness of milk, as a measuring glass, a specific gravity bulb, or other apparatus.
Lactone (n.) One of a series of organic compounds, regarded as anhydrides of certain hydroxy acids. In general, they are colorless liquids, having a weak aromatic odor. They are so called because the typical lactone is derived from lactic acid.
Lactonic (a.) Pertaining to, or designating, an acid obtained by the oxidation of milk sugar (lactose).
Lactoscope (n.) An instrument for estimating the amount of cream contained in milk by ascertaining its relative opacity.
Lactucarium (n.) The inspissated juice of the common lettuce, sometimes used as a substitute for opium.
Lactucic (a.) Pertaining to, or derived from, the juice of the Lactuca virosa; -- said of certain acids.
Lactucin (n.) A white, crystalline substance, having a bitter taste and a neutral reaction, and forming one of the essential ingredients of lactucarium.
Lactucone (n.) A white, crystalline, tasteless substance, found in the milky sap of species of Lactuca, and constituting an essential ingredient of lactucarium.
Lacturamic (a.) Pertaining to, or designating, an organic amido acid, which is regarded as a derivative of lactic acid and urea.
Lacuna (n.) A small opening; a small pit or depression; a small blank space; a gap or vacancy; a hiatus.
Lacunar (n.) The ceiling or under surface of any part, especially when it consists of compartments, sunk or hollowed without spaces or bands between the panels.
Lacustrine (a.) Found in, or pertaining to, lakes or ponds, or growing in them; as, lacustrine flowers.
Lacwork (n.) Ornamentation by means of lacquer painted or carved, or simply colored, sprinkled with gold or the like; -- said especially of Oriental work of this kind.
Ladanum (n.) A gum resin gathered from certain Oriental species of Cistus. It has a pungent odor and is chiefly used in making plasters, and for fumigation.
Ladder (v. i.) A frame usually portable, of wood, metal, or rope, for ascent and descent, consisting of two side pieces to which are fastened cross strips or rounds forming steps.
Ladder (v. i.) That which resembles a ladder in form or use; hence, that by means of which one attains to eminence.
Lade (v. t.) To load; to put a burden or freight on or in; -- generally followed by that which receives the load, as the direct object.
Lade (v. t.) To throw in out. with a ladle or dipper; to dip; as, to lade water out of a tub, or into a cistern.
Ladies' tresses () A name given to several species of the orchidaceous genus Spiranthes, in which the white flowers are set in spirals about a slender axis and remotely resemble braided hair.
Lading (n.) That which lades or constitutes a load or cargo; freight; burden; as, the lading of a ship.
Ladino (n.) One of the half-breed descendants of whites and Indians; a mestizo; -- so called throughout Central America. They are usually of a yellowish orange tinge.
Ladle (v. t.) To take up and convey in a ladle; to dip with, or as with, a ladle; as, to ladle out soup; to ladle oatmeal into a kettle.
Lady (n.) A woman having proprietary rights or authority; mistress; -- a feminine correlative of lord.
Lady (n.) A woman of refined or gentle manners; a well-bred woman; -- the feminine correlative of gentleman.
Lady (n.) A woman to whom the particular homage of a knight was paid; a woman to whom one is devoted or bound; a sweetheart.
Lady (n.) A woman who looks after the domestic affairs of a family; a mistress; the female head of a household.
Lady (n.) The triturating apparatus in the stomach of a lobster; -- so called from a fancied resemblance to a seated female figure. It consists of calcareous plates.
Lady's bedstraw () The common bedstraw (Galium verum); also, a slender-leaved East Indian shrub (Pharnaceum Mollugo), with white flowers in umbels.
Lady's comb () An umbelliferous plant (Scandix Pecten-Veneris), its clusters of long slender fruits remotely resembling a comb.
Lady's mantle () A genus of rosaceous herbs (Alchemilla), esp. the European A. vulgaris, which has leaves with rounded and finely serrated lobes.
Lady's slipper () Any orchidaceous plant of the genus Cypripedium, the labellum of which resembles a slipper. Less commonly, in the United States, the garden balsam (Impatiens Balsamina).
Lady's thumb () An annual weed (Polygonum Persicaria), having a lanceolate leaf with a dark spot in the middle.
Ladyfish (n.) A large, handsome oceanic fish (Albula vulpes), found both in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans; -- called also bonefish, grubber, French mullet, and macabe.
Ladykin (n.) A little lady; -- applied by the writers of Queen Elizabeth's time, in the abbreviated form Lakin, to the Virgin Mary.
Laelaps (n.) A genus of huge, carnivorous, dinosaurian reptiles from the Cretaceous formation of the United States. They had very large hind legs and tail, and are supposed to have been bipedal. Some of the species were about eighteen feet high.
Laemodipoda (n. pl.) A division of amphipod Crustacea, in which the abdomen is small or rudimentary and the legs are often reduced to five pairs. The whale louse, or Cyamus, and Caprella are examples.
Laetere Sunday () The fourth Sunday of Lent; -- so named from the Latin word Laetare (rejoice), the first word in the antiphone of the introit sung that day in the Roman Catholic service.
Lafayette (n.) A market fish, the goody, or spot (Liostomus xanthurus), of the southern coast of the United States.
Lag (n.) A stave of a cask, drum, etc.; especially (Mach.), one of the narrow boards or staves forming the covering of a cylindrical object, as a boiler, or the cylinder of a carding machine or a steam engine.
Lag (n.) The amount of retardation of anything, as of a valve in a steam engine, in opening or closing.
Lagemorpha (n. pl.) A group of rodents, including the hares. They have four incisors in the upper jaw. Called also Duplicidentata.
Lagena (n.) The terminal part of the cochlea in birds and most reptiles; an appendage of the sacculus, corresponding to the cochlea, in fishes and amphibians.
Lagenian (a.) Like, or pertaining to, Lagena, a genus of Foraminifera having a straight, chambered shell.
Lager beer () Originally a German beer, but now also made in immense quantities in the United States; -- so called from its being laid up or stored for some months before use.
Lagging (n.) Lags, collectively; narrow planks extending from one rib to another in the centering of arches.
Lagging (n.) The clothing (esp., an outer, wooden covering), as of a steam cylinder, applied to prevent the radiation of heat; a covering of lags; -- called also deading and cleading.
Lagoon (n.) A lake in a coral island, often occupying a large portion of its area, and usually communicating with the sea. See Atoll.
Lagoon (n.) A shallow sound, channel, pond, or lake, especially one into which the sea flows; as, the lagoons of Venice.
Lagophthalmos (n.) A morbid condition in which the eye stands wide open, giving a peculiar staring appearance.
Laity (a.) Those who are not of a certain profession, as law or medicine, in distinction from those belonging to it.
Lake (n.) A large body of water contained in a depression of the earth's surface, and supplied from the drainage of a more or less extended area.
Lake (n.) A pigment formed by combining some coloring matter, usually by precipitation, with a metallic oxide or earth, esp. with aluminium hydrate; as, madder lake; Florentine lake; yellow lake, etc.
Lakeweed (n.) The water pepper (Polygonum Hydropiper), an aquatic plant of Europe and North America.
Laky (a.) Transparent; -- said of blood rendered transparent by the action of some solvent agent on the red blood corpuscles.
Lalo (n.) The powdered leaves of the baobab tree, used by the Africans to mix in their soup, as the southern negroes use powdered sassafras. Cf. Couscous.
Lamaism (n.) A modified form of Buddhism which prevails in Thibet, Mongolia, and some adjacent parts of Asia; -- so called from the name of its priests. See 2d Lama.
Lamb (n.) A simple, unsophisticated person; in the cant of the Stock Exchange, one who ignorantly speculates and is victimized.
Lamb's-quarters (n.) A name given to several plants of the Goosefoot family, sometimes used as pot herbs, as Chenopodium album and Atriplex patulsa.
Lambdacism (n.) A defect in pronunciation of the letter l when doubled, which consists in giving it a sound as if followed by y, similar to that of the letters lli in billion.
Lambdacism (n.) A fault in speaking or in composition, which consists in too frequent use of the letter l, or in doubling it erroneously.
Lambdacism (n.) The use of the sound of l for that of r in pronunciation; lallation; as, Amelican for American.
Lambdoid (a.) Shaped like the Greek letter lambda (/); as, the lambdoid suture between the occipital and parietal bones of the skull.
Lambert pine () The gigantic sugar pine of California and Oregon (Pinus Lambertiana). It has the leaves in fives, and cones a foot long. The timber is soft, and like that of the white pine of the Eastern States.
Lambrequin (n.) A kind of pendent scarf or covering attached to the helmet, to protect it from wet or heat.
Lambrequin (n.) A piece of ornament drapery or short decorative hanging, pendent from a shelf or from the casing above a window, hiding the curtain fixtures, or the like.
Lambskin (n.) The skin of a lamb; especially, a skin dressed with the wool on, and used as a mat. Also used adjectively.
Lame (superl.) Moving with pain or difficulty on account of injury, defect, or temporary obstruction of a function; as, a lame leg, arm, or muscle.
Lame (superl.) To some degree disabled by reason of the imperfect action of a limb; crippled; as, a lame man.
Lamella (n.) a thin plate or scale of anything, as a thin scale growing from the petals of certain flowers; or one of the thin plates or scales of which certain shells are composed.
Lamellibranchiata (n. pl.) A class of Mollusca including all those that have bivalve shells, as the clams, oysters, mussels, etc.
Lamellicorn (a.) Having antennae terminating in a group of flat lamellae; -- said of certain coleopterous insects.
Lamellirostres (n. pl.) A group of birds embracing the Anseres and flamingoes, in which the bill is lamellate.
Lamely (adv.) An a lame, crippled, disabled, or imperfect manner; as, to walk lamely; a figure lamely drawn.
Lament (v.) Grief or sorrow expressed in complaints or cries; lamentation; a wailing; a moaning; a weeping.
Lamentable (a.) Fitted to awaken lament; to be lamented; sorrowful; pitiable; as, a lamentable misfortune, or error.
Lamentation (n.) A book of the Old Testament attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, and taking its name from the nature of its contents.
Lames (n. pl.) Small steel plates combined together so as to slide one upon the other and form a piece of armor.
Lamia (n.) A monster capable of assuming a woman's form, who was said to devour human beings or suck their blood; a vampire; a sorceress; a witch.
Lamina (n.) A thin plate or scale; a layer or coat lying over another; -- said of thin plates or platelike substances, as of bone or minerals.
Lamina (n.) A thin plate or scale; specif., one of the thin, flat processes composing the vane of a feather.
Laminable (a.) Capable of being split into laminae or thin plates, as mica; capable of being extended under pressure into a thin plate or strip.
Laminal (a.) In, or consisting of, thin plates or layers; having the form of a thin plate or lamina.
Laminaria (n.) A genus of great seaweeds with long and broad fronds; kelp, or devil's apron. The fronds commonly grow in clusters, and are sometimes from thirty to fifty feet in length. See Illust. of Kelp.
Laminarian (a.) Pertaining to seaweeds of the genus Laminaria, or to that zone of the sea (from two to ten fathoms in depth) where the seaweeds of this genus grow.
Laminate (a.) Consisting of, or covered with, laminae, or thin plates, scales, or layers, one over another; laminated.
Laminiplantar (a.) Having the tarsus covered behind with a horny sheath continuous on both sides, as in most singing birds, except the larks.
Laminitis (n.) Inflammation of the laminae or fleshy plates along the coffin bone of a horse; founder.
Lamp (n.) A device or mechanism for producing light by electricity. See Incandescent lamp, under Incandescent.
Lamp (n.) A light-producing vessel, instrument or apparatus; especially, a vessel with a wick used for the combustion of oil or other inflammable liquid, for the purpose of producing artificial light.
Lamp (n.) Figuratively, anything which enlightens intellectually or morally; anything regarded metaphorically a performing the uses of a lamp.
Lamp-post (n.) A post (generally a pillar of iron) supporting a lamp or lantern for lighting a street, park, etc.
Lampadrome (n.) A race run by young men with lighted torches in their hands. He who reached the goal first, with his torch unextinguished, gained the prize.
Lampas (n.) An inflammation and swelling of the soft parts of the roof of the mouth immediately behind the fore teeth in the horse; -- called also lampers.
Lampoon (n.) A personal satire in writing; usually, malicious and abusive censure written only to reproach and distress.
Lampoon (v. t.) To subject to abusive ridicule expressed in writing; to make the subject of a lampoon.
Lanarkite (n.) A mineral consisting of sulphate of lead, occurring either massive or in long slender prisms, of a greenish white or gray color.
Lance (n.) A weapon of war, consisting of a long shaft or handle and a steel blade or head; a spear carried by horsemen, and often decorated with a small flag; also, a spear or harpoon used by whalers and fishermen.
Lance (n.) One of the small paper cases filled with combustible composition, which mark the outlines of a figure.
Lance fish () A slender marine fish of the genus Ammodytes, especially Ammodytes tobianus of the English coast; -- called also sand lance.
Lancelet (n.) A small fishlike animal (Amphioxus lanceolatus), remarkable for the rudimentary condition of its organs. It is the type of the class Leptocardia. See Amphioxus, Leptocardia.
Lanceolated (a.) Rather narrow, tapering to a point at the apex, and sometimes at the base also; as, a lanceolate leaf.
Lancepesade (n.) An assistant to a corporal; a private performing the duties of a corporal; -- called also lance corporal.
Lancer (n.) One who lances; one who carries a lance; especially, a member of a mounted body of men armed with lances, attached to the cavalry service of some nations.
Lancet (n.) A surgical instrument of various forms, commonly sharp-pointed and two-edged, used in venesection, and in opening abscesses, etc.
Lancinating (a.) Piercing; seeming to pierce or stab; as, lancinating pains (i.e., severe, darting pains).
Land (n.) Any ground, soil, or earth whatsoever, as meadows, pastures, woods, etc., and everything annexed to it, whether by nature, as trees, water, etc., or by the hand of man, as buildings, fences, etc.; real estate.
Land (n.) Any portion, large or small, of the surface of the earth, considered by itself, or as belonging to an individual or a people, as a country, estate, farm, or tract.
Land (n.) In any surface prepared with indentations, perforations, or grooves, that part of the surface which is not so treated, as the level part of a millstone between the furrows, or the surface of the bore of a rifled gun between the grooves.
Land (n.) The ground left unplowed between furrows; any one of several portions into which a field is divided for convenience in plowing.
Land (n.) The lap of the strakes in a clinker-built boat; the lap of plates in an iron vessel; -- called also landing.
Land (n.) The solid part of the surface of the earth; -- opposed to water as constituting a part of such surface, especially to oceans and seas; as, to sight land after a long voyage.
Land (v. t.) To set down after conveying; to cause to fall, alight, or reach; to bring to the end of a course; as, he landed the quoit near the stake; to be thrown from a horse and landed in the mud; to land one in difficulties or mistakes.
Landau (n.) A four-wheeled covered vehicle, the top of which is divided into two sections which can be let down, or thrown back, in such a manner as to make an open carriage.
Landgrave (n.) A German nobleman of a rank corresponding to that of an earl in England and of a count in France.
Landing (n.) The level part of a staircase, at the top of a flight of stairs, or connecting one flight with another.
Landlocked (a.) Confined to a fresh-water lake by reason of waterfalls or dams; -- said of fishes that would naturally seek the sea, after spawning; as, the landlocked salmon.
Landlord (n.) The lord of a manor, or of land; the owner of land or houses which he leases to a tenant or tenants.
Landlordism (n.) The state of being a landlord; the characteristics of a landlord; specifically, in Great Britain, the relation of landlords to tenants, especially as regards leased agricultural lands.
Landmark (n.) A mark to designate the boundary of land; any , mark or fixed object (as a marked tree, a stone, a ditch, or a heap of stones) by which the limits of a farm, a town, or other portion of territory may be known and preserved.
Landmark (n.) Any conspicuous object on land that serves as a guide; some prominent object, as a hill or steeple.
Landreeve (n.) A subordinate officer on an extensive estate, who acts as an assistant to the steward.
Landscape (n.) A picture representing a scene by land or sea, actual or fancied, the chief subject being the general aspect of nature, as fields, hills, forests, water. etc.
Landscape (n.) A portion of land or territory which the eye can comprehend in a single view, including all the objects it contains.
Landwehr (n.) That part of the army, in Germany and Austria, which has completed the usual military service and is exempt from duty in time of peace, except that it is called out occasionally for drill.
Langaha (n.) A curious colubriform snake of the genus Xyphorhynchus, from Madagascar. It is brownish red, and its nose is prolonged in the form of a sharp blade.
Langarey (n.) One of numerous species of long-winged, shrikelike birds of Australia and the East Indies, of the genus Artamus, and allied genera; called also wood swallow.
Langrel (n.) A kind of shot formerly used at sea for tearing sails and rigging. It consisted of bolts, nails, and other pieces of iron fastened together or inclosed in a canister.
Language (n.) Any means of conveying or communicating ideas; specifically, human speech; the expression of ideas by the voice; sounds, expressive of thought, articulated by the organs of the throat and mouth.
Language (n.) The characteristic mode of arranging words, peculiar to an individual speaker or writer; manner of expression; style.
Language (n.) The forms of speech, or the methods of expressing ideas, peculiar to a particular nation.
Language (n.) The inarticulate sounds by which animals inferior to man express their feelings or their wants.
Language (n.) The suggestion, by objects, actions, or conditions, of ideas associated therewith; as, the language of flowers.
Language (n.) The vocabulary and phraseology belonging to an art or department of knowledge; as, medical language; the language of chemistry or theology.
Langue d'oc () The dialect, closely akin to French, formerly spoken south of the Loire (in which the word for "yes" was oc); Provencal.
Langue d'oil () The dialect formerly spoken north of the Loire (in which the word for "yes" was oil, F. oui).
Languet (n.) Anything resembling the tongue in form or office; specif., the slip of metal in an organ pipe which turns the current of air toward its mouth.
Languid (a.) Drooping or flagging from exhaustion; indisposed to exertion; without animation; weak; weary; heavy; dull.
Languish (v. i.) To become languid or weak; to lose strength or animation; to be or become dull, feeble or spiritless; to pine away; to wither or fade.
Languor (n.) A state of the body or mind which is caused by exhaustion of strength and characterized by a languid feeling; feebleness; lassitude; laxity.
Langya (n.) One of several species of East Indian and Asiatic fresh-water fishes of the genus Ophiocephalus, remarkable for their power of living out of water, and for their tenacity of life; -- called also walking fishes.
Lanneret (n. m.) A long-tailed falcon (Falco lanarius), of Southern Europe, Asia, and Northern Africa, resembling the American prairie falcon.
Lanolin (n.) A peculiar fatlike body, made up of cholesterin and certain fatty acids, found in feathers, hair, wool, and keratin tissues generally.
Lanseh (n.) The small, whitish brown fruit of an East Indian tree (Lansium domesticum). It has a fleshy pulp, with an agreeable subacid taste.
Lansquenet (n.) A German foot soldier in foreign service in the 15th and 16th centuries; a soldier of fortune; -- a term used in France and Western Europe.
Lantanuric (a.) Pertaining to, or designating, a nitrogenous organic acid of the uric acid group, obtained by the decomposition of allantoin, and usually called allanturic acid.
Lantern (n.) A cage or open chamber of rich architecture, open below into the building or tower which it crowns.
Lantern (n.) A kind of cage inserted in a stuffing box and surrounding a piston rod, to separate the packing into two parts and form a chamber between for the reception of steam, etc. ; -- called also lantern brass.
Lantern (n.) A smaller and secondary cupola crowning a larger one, for ornament, or to admit light; such as the lantern of the cupola of the Capitol at Washington, or that of the Florence cathedral.
Lantern (n.) An open structure of light material set upon a roof, to give light and air to the interior.
Lanthopine (n.) An alkaloid found in opium in small quantities, and extracted as a white crystalline substance.
Lanugo (n.) The soft woolly hair which covers most parts of the mammal fetus, and in man is shed before or soon after birth.
Lanyard (n.) A short piece of rope or line for fastening something in ships; as, the lanyards of the gun ports, of the buoy, and the like; esp., pieces passing through the dead-eyes, and used to extend shrouds, stays, etc.
Lanyard (n.) A strong cord, about twelve feet long, with an iron hook at one end a handle at the other, used in firing cannon with a friction tube.
Laocoon (n.) A marble group in the Vatican at Rome, representing the priest Laocoon, with his sons, infolded in the coils of two serpents, as described by Virgil.
Laodicean (a.) Of or pertaining to Laodicea, a city in Phrygia Major; like the Christians of Laodicea; lukewarm in religion.
Lap (n.) A piece of brass, lead, or other soft metal, used to hold a cutting or polishing powder in cutting glass, gems, and the like, or in polishing cutlery, etc. It is usually in the form of wheel or disk, which revolves on a vertical axis.
Lap (n.) In card playing and other games, the points won in excess of the number necessary to complete a game; -- so called when they are counted in the score of the following game.
Lap (n.) One circuit around a race track, esp. when the distance is a small fraction of a mile; as, to run twenty laps; to win by three laps. See Lap, to fold, 2.
Lap (n.) That part of any substance or fixture which extends over, or lies upon, or by the side of, a part of another; as, the lap of a board; also, the measure of such extension over or upon another thing.
Lap (n.) The act of lapping with, or as with, the tongue; as, to take anything into the mouth with a lap.
Lap (n.) The loose part of a coat; the lower part of a garment that plays loosely; a skirt; an apron.
Lap (n.) The part of the clothing that lies on the knees or thighs when one sits down; that part of the person thus covered; figuratively, a place of rearing and fostering; as, to be reared in the lap of luxury.
Lap (n.) The state or condition of being in part extended over or by the side of something else; or the extent of the overlapping; as, the second boat got a lap of half its length on the leader.
Lap (v. i.) To be turned or folded; to lie partly upon or by the side of something, or of one another; as, the cloth laps back; the boats lap; the edges lap.
Lapel (n.) That part of a garment which is turned back; specifically, the lap, or fold, of the front of a coat in continuation of collar.
Lapidary (a.) Of or pertaining to the art of cutting stones, or engraving on stones, either gems or monuments; as, lapidary ornamentation.
Lapidary (n.) An artificer who cuts, polishes, and engraves precious stones; hence, a dealer in precious stones.
Lapidescent (a.) Undergoing the process of becoming stone; having the capacity of being converted into stone; having the quality of petrifying bodies.
Lapidescent (n.) Any substance which has the quality of petrifying other bodies, or of converting or being converted into stone.
Lapling (n.) One who has been fondled to excess; one fond of ease and sensual delights; -- a term of contempt.
Lappish (n.) The language spoken by the Lapps in Lapland. It is related to the Finnish and Hungarian, and is not an Aryan language.
Lapps (n. pl.) A branch of the Mongolian race, now living in the northern parts of Norway, Sweden, and the adjacent parts of Russia.
Lapse (n.) A gliding, slipping, or gradual falling; an unobserved or imperceptible progress or passing away,; -- restricted usually to immaterial things, or to figurative uses.
Lapse (n.) A slip; an error; a fault; a failing in duty; a slight deviation from truth or rectitude.
Lapse (n.) The termination of a right or privilege through neglect to exercise it within the limited time, or through failure of some contingency; hence, the devolution of a right or privilege.
Lapse (v. i.) To fall or pass from one proprietor to another, or from the original destination, by the omission, negligence, or failure of some one, as a patron, a legatee, etc.
Lapse (v. i.) To pass slowly and smoothly downward, backward, or away; to slip downward, backward, or away; to glide; -- mostly restricted to figurative uses.
Lapse (v. i.) To slide or slip in moral conduct; to fail in duty; to fall from virtue; to deviate from rectitude; to commit a fault by inadvertence or mistake.
Lapsed (a.) Having slipped downward, backward, or away; having lost position, privilege, etc., by neglect; -- restricted to figurative uses.
Laputan (a.) Of or pertaining to Laputa, an imaginary flying island described in Gulliver's Travels as the home of chimerical philosophers. Hence, fanciful; preposterous; absurd in science or philosophy.
Lar (n.) A tutelary deity; a deceased ancestor regarded as a protector of the family. The domestic Lares were the tutelar deities of a house; household gods. Hence, Eng.: Hearth or dwelling house.
Larboard (n.) The left-hand side of a ship to one on board facing toward the bow; port; -- opposed to starboard.
Larceny (n.) The unlawful taking and carrying away of things personal with intent to deprive the right owner of the same; theft. Cf. Embezzlement.
Larch (n.) A genus of coniferous trees, having deciduous leaves, in fascicles (see Illust. of Fascicle).
Lard (n.) The fat of swine, esp. the internal fat of the abdomen; also, this fat melted and strained.
Lard (n.) To stuff with bacon; to dress or enrich with lard; esp., to insert lardons of bacon or pork in the surface of, before roasting; as, to lard poultry.
Lardacein (n.) A peculiar amyloid substance, colored blue by iodine and sulphuric acid, occurring mainly as an abnormal infiltration into the spleen, liver, etc.
Large (superl.) Crossing the line of a ship's course in a favorable direction; -- said of the wind when it is abeam, or between the beam and the quarter.
Large (superl.) Having more than usual power or capacity; having broad sympathies and generous impulses; comprehensive; -- said of the mind and heart.
Large-handed (a.) Having large hands, Fig.: Taking, or giving, in large quantities; rapacious or bountiful.
Larghetto (a. & adv.) Somewhat slow or slowly, but not so slowly as largo, and rather more so than andante.
Largo (a. & adv.) Slow or slowly; -- more so than adagio; next in slowness to grave, which is also weighty and solemn.
Lariat (n.) A long, slender rope made of hemp or strips of hide, esp. one with a noose; -- used as a lasso for catching cattle, horses, etc., and for picketing a horse so that he can graze without wandering.
Lariat (v. t.) To secure with a lariat fastened to a stake, as a horse or mule for grazing; also, to lasso or catch with a lariat.
Larungoscope (n.) An instrument, consisting of an arrangement of two mirrors, for reflecting light upon the larynx, and for examining its image.
Larva (n.) The early, immature form of any animal when more or less of a metamorphosis takes place, before the assumption of the mature shape.
Larvalia (n. pl.) An order of Tunicata, including Appendicularia, and allied genera; -- so called because certain larval features are retained by them through life. Called also Copelata. See Appendicularia.
Laryngeal (a.) Of or pertaining to the larynx; adapted to operations on the larynx; as, laryngeal forceps.
Laryngology (n.) Systematized knowledge of the action and functions of the larynx; in pathology, the department which treats of the diseases of the larynx.
Laryngophony (n.) The sound of the voice as heard through a stethoscope when the latter is placed upon the larynx.
Laryngotomy (n.) The operation of cutting into the larynx, from the outside of the neck, for assisting respiration when obstructed, or for removing foreign bodies.
Laryngotracheal (a.) Pertaining to both larynx and trachea; as, the laryngotracheal cartilage in the frog.
Laryngotracheotomy (n.) The operation of cutting into the larynx and the upper part of the trachea, -- a frequent operation for obstruction to breathing.
Larypgismus (n.) A spasmodic state of the glottis, giving rise to contraction or closure of the opening.
Lascar (n.) A native sailor, employed in European vessels; also, a menial employed about arsenals, camps, camps, etc.; a camp follower.
Laserwort (n.) Any plant of the umbelliferous genus Laserpitium, of several species (as L. glabrum, and L. siler), the root of which yields a resinous substance of a bitter taste. The genus is mostly European.
Lash (n.) A stroke with a whip, or anything pliant and tough; as, the culprit received thirty-nine lashes.
Lash (n.) In carpet weaving, a group of strings for lifting simultaneously certain yarns, to form the figure.
Lash (n.) To bind with a rope, cord, thong, or chain, so as to fasten; as, to lash something to a spar; to lash a pack on a horse's back.
Lash (v. t.) To strike forcibly and quickly, as with a lash; to beat, or beat upon, with a motion like that of a lash; as, a whale lashes the sea with his tail.
Lasher (n.) A piece of rope for binding or making fast one thing to another; -- called also lashing.
Lassitude (n.) A condition of the body, or mind, when its voluntary functions are performed with difficulty, and only by a strong exertion of the will; languor; debility; weariness.
Lasso (n.) A rope or long thong of leather with, a running noose, used for catching horses, cattle, etc.
Last (a.) At a time or on an occasion which is the latest of all those spoken of or which have occurred; the last time; as, I saw him last in New York.
Last (a.) Farthest of all from a given quality, character, or condition; most unlikely; having least fitness; as, he is the last person to be accused of theft.
Last (v. i.) To endure use, or continue in existence, without impairment or exhaustion; as, this cloth lasts better than that; the fuel will last through the winter.
Last (v. t.) To shape with a last; to fasten or fit to a last; to place smoothly on a last; as, to last a boot.
Lastage (n.) A duty exacted, in some fairs or markets, for the right to carry things where one will.
Laster (n.) A workman whose business it is to shape boots or shoes, or place leather smoothly, on lasts; a tool for stretching leather on a last.
Lasting (a.) Existing or continuing a long while; enduring; as, a lasting good or evil; a lasting color.
Latakia (n.) A superior quality of Turkish smoking tobacco, so called from the place where produced, the ancient Laodicea.
Latch (n.) A movable piece which holds anything in place by entering a notch or cavity; specifically, the catch which holds a door or gate when closed, though it be not bolted.
Latching (n.) A loop or eye formed on the head rope of a bonnet, by which it is attached to the foot of a sail; -- called also latch and lasket.
Latchstring (n.) A string for raising the latch of a door by a person outside. It is fastened to the latch and passed through a hole above it in the door.
Late (a.) After the usual or proper time, or the time appointed; after delay; as, he arrived late; -- opposed to early.
Late (a.) Far in the night, day, week, or other particular period; as, to lie abed late; to sit up late at night.
Late (v.) Coming after the time when due, or after the usual or proper time; not early; slow; tardy; long delayed; as, a late spring.
Late (v.) Existing or holding some position not long ago, but not now; lately deceased, departed, or gone out of office; as, the late bishop of London; the late administration.
Late (v.) Not long past; happening not long ago; recent; as, the late rains; we have received late intelligence.
Lateen (a.) Of or pertaining to a peculiar rig used in the Mediterranean and adjacent waters, esp. on the northern coast of Africa. See below.
Lateness (n.) The state, condition, or quality, of being late; as, the lateness of his arrival; the lateness of the hour; the lateness of the season.
Lateral (a.) Lying at, or extending toward, the side; away from the mesial plane; external; -- opposed to mesial.
Lateral (a.) Of or pertaining to the sides; as, the lateral walls of a house; the lateral branches of a tree.
Lateran (n.) The church and palace of St. John Lateran, the church being the cathedral church of Rome, and the highest in rank of all churches in the Catholic world.
Lates (n.) A genus of large percoid fishes, of which one species (Lates Niloticus) inhabits the Nile, and another (L. calcarifer) is found in the Ganges and other Indian rivers. They are valued as food fishes.
Latex (n.) A milky or colored juice in certain plants in cavities (called latex cells or latex tubes). It contains the peculiar principles of the plants, whether aromatic, bitter, or acid, and in many instances yields caoutchouc upon coagulation.
Lath (n.) A thin, narrow strip of wood, nailed to the rafters, studs, or floor beams of a building, for the purpose of supporting the tiles, plastering, etc. A corrugated metallic strip or plate is sometimes used.
Lath-shaped (a.) Having a slender elongated form, like a lath; -- said of the feldspar of certain igneous rocks, as diabase, as seen in microscopic sections.
Lathe (n.) A machine for turning, that is, for shaping articles of wood, metal, or other material, by causing them to revolve while acted upon by a cutting tool.
Lathe (n.) Formerly, a part or division of a county among the Anglo-Saxons. At present it consists of four or five hundreds, and is confined to the county of Kent.
Lathe (n.) The movable swing frame of a loom, carrying the reed for separating the warp threads and beating up the weft; -- called also lay and batten.
Lather (v. i.) To form lather, or a froth like lather; to accumulate foam from profuse sweating, as a horse.
Latibulize (v. i.) To retire into a den, or hole, and lie dormant in winter; to retreat and lie hid.
Laticiferous (a.) Containing the latex; -- applied to the tissue or tubular vessels in which the latex of the plant is found.
Laticlave (n.) A broad stripe of purple on the fore part of the tunic, worn by senators in ancient Rome as an emblem of office.
Latin (a.) Of or pertaining to Latium, or to the Latins, a people of Latium; Roman; as, the Latin language.
Latin (a.) Of, pertaining to, or composed in, the language used by the Romans or Latins; as, a Latin grammar; a Latin composition or idiom.
Latinism (n.) A Latin idiom; a mode of speech peculiar to Latin; also, a mode of speech in another language, as English, formed on a Latin model.
Latinity (n.) The Latin tongue, style, or idiom, or the use thereof; specifically, purity of Latin style or idiom.
Latinize (v. t.) To bring under the power or influence of the Romans or Latins; to affect with the usages of the Latins, especially in speech.
Latinize (v. t.) To make like the Roman Catholic Church or diffuse its ideas in; as, to Latinize the Church of England.
Latitude (n.) Extent from side to side, or distance sidewise from a given point or line; breadth; width.
Latitude (n.) Extent or breadth of signification, application, etc.; extent of deviation from a standard, as truth, style, etc.
Latitude (n.) Room; space; freedom from confinement or restraint; hence, looseness; laxity; independence.
Latitudinarian (a.) Indifferent to a strict application of any standard of belief or opinion; hence, deviating more or less widely from such standard; lax in doctrine; as, latitudinarian divines; latitudinarian theology.
Latitudinarian (n.) A member of the Church of England, in the time of Charles II., who adopted more liberal notions in respect to the authority, government, and doctrines of the church than generally prevailed.
Latitudinarian (n.) One who is moderate in his notions, or not restrained by precise settled limits in opinion; one who indulges freedom in thinking.
Latitudinarianism (n.) A latitudinarian system or condition; freedom of opinion in matters pertaining to religious belief.
Latria (n.) The highest kind of worship, or that paid to God; -- distinguished by the Roman Catholics from dulia, or the inferior worship paid to saints.
Latten (n.) A kind of brass hammered into thin sheets, formerly much used for making church utensils, as candlesticks, crosses, etc.; -- called also latten brass.
Latten (n.) Sheet tin; iron plate, covered with tin; also, any metal in thin sheets; as, gold latten.
Latter (a.) Later; more recent; coming or happening after something else; -- opposed to former; as, the former and latter rain.
Latter-day saint () A Mormon; -- the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints being the name assumed by the whole body of Mormons.
Lattice (n.) Any work of wood or metal, made by crossing laths, or thin strips, and forming a network; as, the lattice of a window; -- called also latticework.
Lattice (n.) The representation of a piece of latticework used as a bearing, the bands being vertical and horizontal.
Lattice (v. i.) To close, as an opening, with latticework; to furnish with a lattice; as, to lattice a window.
Latticing (n.) A system of bars crossing in the middle to form braces between principal longitudinal members, as of a strut.
Latus rectum () The line drawn through a focus of a conic section parallel to the directrix and terminated both ways by the curve. It is the parameter of the principal axis. See Focus, and Parameter.
Laudable (v. i.) Healthy; salubrious; normal; having a disposition to promote healing; not noxious; as, laudable juices of the body; laudable pus.
Laudable (v. i.) Worthy of being lauded; praiseworthy; commendable; as, laudable motives; laudable actions; laudable ambition.
Laudanine (n.) A white organic base, resembling morphine, and obtained from certain varieties of opium.
Laudatory (a.) Of or pertaining praise, or to the expression of praise; as, laudatory verses; the laudatory powers of Dryden.
Laugh (n.) An expression of mirth peculiar to the human species; the sound heard in laughing; laughter. See Laugh, v. i.
Laugh (v. i.) Fig.: To be or appear gay, cheerful, pleasant, mirthful, lively, or brilliant; to sparkle; to sport.
Laumontite (n.) A mineral, of a white color and vitreous luster. It is a hydrous silicate of alumina and lime. Exposed to the air, it loses water, becomes opaque, and crumbles.
Launch (n.) The boat of the largest size belonging to a ship of war; also, an open boat of any size driven by steam, naphtha, electricity, or the like.
Launch (n.) The movement of a vessel from land into the water; especially, the sliding on ways from the stocks on which it is built.
Launch (v. i.) To cause to move or slide from the land into the water; to set afloat; as, to launch a ship.
Launch (v. i.) To send out; to start (one) on a career; to set going; to give a start to (something); to put in operation; as, to launch a son in the world; to launch a business project or enterprise.
Launder (n.) A trough used by miners to receive the powdered ore from the box where it is beaten, or for carrying water to the stamps, or other apparatus, for comminuting, or sorting, the ore.
Launder (v. i.) To wash, as clothes; to wash, and to smooth with a flatiron or mangle; to wash and iron; as, to launder shirts.
Laura (n.) A number of hermitages or cells in the same neighborhood occupied by anchorites who were under the same superior.
Lauraceous (a.) Belonging to, or resembling, a natural order (Lauraceae) of trees and shrubs having aromatic bark and foliage, and including the laurel, sassafras, cinnamon tree, true camphor tree, etc.
Laureate (v. i.) To honor with a wreath of laurel, as formerly was done in bestowing a degree at the English universities.
Laureation (n.) The act of crowning with laurel; the act of conferring an academic degree, or honorary title.
Laurel (n.) A crown of laurel; hence, honor; distinction; fame; -- especially in the plural; as, to win laurels.
Laurel (n.) An English gold coin made in 1619, and so called because the king's head on it was crowned with laurel.
Laurel (n.) An evergreen shrub, of the genus Laurus (L. nobilis), having aromatic leaves of a lanceolate shape, with clusters of small, yellowish white flowers in their axils; -- called also sweet bay.
Laurestine (n.) The Viburnum Tinus, an evergreen shrub or tree of the south of Europe, which flowers during the winter mouths.
Laurin (n.) A white crystalline substance extracted from the fruit of the bay (Laurus nobilis), and consisting of a complex mixture of glycerin ethers of several organic acids.
Laurinol (n.) Ordinary camphor; -- so called in allusion to the family name (Lauraceae) of the camphor trees. See Camphor.
Lav/sium (n.) A supposed new metallic element. It is said to have been discovered in pyrites, and some other minerals, and to be of a silver-white color, and malleable.
Lavaret (n.) A European whitefish (Coregonus laveretus), found in the mountain lakes of Sweden, Germany, and Switzerland.
Lavender (n.) An aromatic plant of the genus Lavandula (L. vera), common in the south of Europe. It yields and oil used in medicine and perfumery. The Spike lavender (L. Spica) yields a coarser oil (oil of spike), used in the arts.
Laver (n.) A large brazen vessel placed in the court of the Jewish tabernacle where the officiating priests washed their hands and feet.
Laver (n.) One of several vessels in Solomon's Temple in which the offerings for burnt sacrifices were washed.
Laving (v. i.) Active; lively; vigorous; -- said esp. of states of the mind, and sometimes of abstract things; as, a living faith; a living principle.
Laving (v. i.) Issuing continually from the earth; running; flowing; as, a living spring; -- opposed to stagnant.
Lavish (a.) Expending or bestowing profusely; profuse; prodigal; as, lavish of money; lavish of praise.
Lavish (v. t.) To expend or bestow with profusion; to use with prodigality; to squander; as, to lavish money or praise.
Lavolta (n.) An old dance, for two persons, being a kind of waltz, in which the woman made a high spring or bound.
Law (n.) An organic rule, as a constitution or charter, establishing and defining the conditions of the existence of a state or other organized community.
Law (n.) Any edict, decree, order, ordinance, statute, resolution, judicial, decision, usage, etc., or recognized, and enforced, by the controlling authority.
Law (n.) In arts, works, games, etc.: The rules of construction, or of procedure, conforming to the conditions of success; a principle, maxim; or usage; as, the laws of poetry, of architecture, of courtesy, or of whist.
Law (n.) In general, a rule of being or of conduct, established by an authority able to enforce its will; a controlling regulation; the mode or order according to which an agent or a power acts.
Law (n.) In matematics: The rule according to which anything, as the change of value of a variable, or the value of the terms of a series, proceeds; mode or order of sequence.
Law (n.) In morals: The will of God as the rule for the disposition and conduct of all responsible beings toward him and toward each other; a rule of living, conformable to righteousness; the rule of action as obligatory on the conscience or moral nature.
Law (n.) The Jewish or Mosaic code, and that part of Scripture where it is written, in distinction from the gospel; hence, also, the Old Testament.
Law-abiding (a.) Abiding the law; waiting for the operation of law for the enforcement of rights; also, abiding by the law; obedient to the law; as, law-abiding people.
Lawless (a.) Not subject to, or restrained by, the law of morality or of society; as, lawless men or behavior.
Lawm (n.) A very fine linen (or sometimes cotton) fabric with a rather open texture. Lawn is used for the sleeves of a bishop's official dress in the English Church, and, figuratively, stands for the office itself.
Lawsuit (n.) An action at law; a suit in equity or admiralty; any legal proceeding before a court for the enforcement of a claim.
Laxative (a.) Having the effect of loosening or opening the intestines, and relieving from constipation; -- opposed to astringent.
Lay (a.) Not belonging to, or emanating from, a particular profession; unprofessional; as, a lay opinion regarding the nature of a disease.
Lay (a.) Of or pertaining to the laity, as distinct from the clergy; as, a lay person; a lay preacher; a lay brother.
Lay (n.) That which lies or is laid or is conceived of as having been laid or placed in its position; a row; a stratum; a layer; as, a lay of stone or wood.
Lay (v. t.) A share of the proceeds or profits of an enterprise; as, when a man ships for a whaling voyage, he agrees for a certain lay.
Lay (v. t.) To cause to lie down, to be prostrate, or to lie against something; to put or set down; to deposit; as, to lay a book on the table; to lay a body in the grave; a shower lays the dust.
Lay (v. t.) To impose, as a burden, suffering, or punishment; to assess, as a tax; as, to lay a tax on land.
Lay (v. t.) To place in position; to establish firmly; to arrange with regularity; to dispose in ranks or tiers; as, to lay a corner stone; to lay bricks in a wall; to lay the covers on a table.
Lay (v. t.) To prepare; to make ready; to contrive; to provide; as, to lay a snare, an ambush, or a plan.
Lay (v. t.) To present or offer; as, to lay an indictment in a particular county; to lay a scheme before one.
Lay (v. t.) To put the strands of (a rope, a cable, etc.) in their proper places and twist or unite them; as, to lay a cable or rope.
Layer (n.) A shoot or twig of a plant, not detached from the stock, laid under ground for growth or propagation.
Layer (n.) That which is laid; a stratum; a bed; one thickness, course, or fold laid over another; as, a layer of clay or of sand in the earth; a layer of bricks, or of plaster; the layers of an onion.
Layman (n.) One of the people, in distinction from the clergy; one of the laity; sometimes, a man not belonging to some particular profession, in distinction from those who do.
Lazaretto (n.) A public building, hospital, or pesthouse for the reception of diseased persons, particularly those affected with contagious diseases.
Lazarite (n.) One of the Congregation of the Priests of the Mission, a religious institute founded by Vincent de Paul in 1624, and popularly called Lazarists or Lazarites from the College of St. Lazare in Paris, which was occupied by them until 1792.
Lazulite (n.) A mineral of a light indigo-blue color, occurring in small masses, or in monoclinic crystals; blue spar. It is a hydrous phosphate of alumina and magnesia.
Lazzaroni (n. pl.) The homeless idlers of Naples who live by chance work or begging; -- so called from the Hospital of St. Lazarus, which serves as their refuge.
Leach (v. t.) To remove the soluble constituents from by subjecting to the action of percolating water or other liquid; as, to leach ashes or coffee.
Leachy (a.) Permitting liquids to pass by percolation; not capable of retaining water; porous; pervious; -- said of gravelly or sandy soils, and the like.
Lead (n.) precedence; advance position; also, the measure of precedence; as, the white horse had the lead; a lead of a boat's length, or of half a second.
Lead (n.) Sheets or plates of lead used as a covering for roofs; hence, pl., a roof covered with lead sheets or terne plates.
Lead (n.) The act of leading or conducting; guidance; direction; as, to take the lead; to be under the lead of another.
Lead (n.) The act or right of playing first in a game or round; the card suit, or piece, so played; as, your partner has the lead.
Lead (n.) The width of port opening which is uncovered by the valve, for the admission or release of steam, at the instant when the piston is at end of its stroke.
Lead (v. i.) To guide or conduct, as by accompanying, going before, showing, influencing, directing with authority, etc.; to have precedence or preeminence; to be first or chief; -- used in most of the senses of lead, v. t.
Lead (v. t.) To conduct or direct with authority; to have direction or charge of; as, to lead an army, an exploring party, or a search; to lead a political party.
Lead (v. t.) To cover, fill, or affect with lead; as, continuous firing leads the grooves of a rifle.
Lead (v. t.) To draw or direct by influence, whether good or bad; to prevail on; to induce; to entice; to allure; as, to lead one to espouse a righteous cause.
Lead (v. t.) To go or to be in advance of; to precede; hence, to be foremost or chief among; as, the big sloop led the fleet of yachts; the Guards led the attack; Demosthenes leads the orators of all ages.
Lead (v. t.) To guide or conduct one's self in, through, or along (a certain course); hence, to proceed in the way of; to follow the path or course of; to pass; to spend. Also, to cause (one) to proceed or follow in (a certain course).
Lead (v. t.) To guide or conduct with the hand, or by means of some physical contact connection; as, a father leads a child; a jockey leads a horse with a halter; a dog leads a blind man.
Lead (v. t.) To tend or reach in a certain direction, or to a certain place; as, the path leads to the mill; gambling leads to other vices.
Leader (n.) A block of hard wood pierced with suitable holes for leading ropes in their proper places.
Leader (n.) A branch or small vein, not important in itself, but indicating the proximity of a better one.
Leader (n.) A net for leading fish into a pound, weir, etc. ; also, a line of gut, to which the snell of a fly hook is attached.
Leader (n.) A performer who leads a band or choir in music; also, in an orchestra, the principal violinist; the one who plays at the head of the first violins.
Leader (n.) A pipe for conducting rain water from a roof to a cistern or to the ground; a conductor.
Leader (n.) a row of dots, periods, or hyphens, used in tables of contents, etc., to lead the eye across a space to the right word or number.
Leader (n.) The first, or the principal, editorial article in a newspaper; a leading or main editorial article.
Leadhillite (n.) A mineral of a yellowish or greenish white color, consisting of the sulphate and carbonate of lead; -- so called from having been first found at Leadhills, Scotland.
Leading (a.) Guiding; directing; controlling; foremost; as, a leading motive; a leading man; a leading example.
Leadwort (n.) A genus of maritime herbs (Plumbago). P. Europaea has lead-colored spots on the leaves, and nearly lead-colored flowers.
Leaf (n.) A colored, usually green, expansion growing from the side of a stem or rootstock, in which the sap for the use of the plant is elaborated under the influence of light; one of the parts of a plant which collectively constitute its foliage.
Leaf (n.) A special organ of vegetation in the form of a lateral outgrowth from the stem, whether appearing as a part of the foliage, or as a cotyledon, a scale, a bract, a spine, or a tendril.
Leaf-footed (a.) Having leaflike expansions on the legs; -- said of certain insects; as, the leaf-footed bug (Leptoglossus phyllopus).
Leaf-nosed (n.) Having a leaflike membrane on the nose; -- said of certain bats, esp. of the genera Phyllostoma and Rhinonycteris. See Vampire.
Leafed (a.) Having (such) a leaf or (so many) leaves; -- used in composition; as, broad-leafed; four-leafed.
League (v. t.) To join in a league; to cause to combine for a joint purpose; to combine; to unite; as, common interests will league heterogeneous elements.
Leak (n.) To enter or escape, as a fluid, through a hole, crevice, etc. ; to pass gradually into, or out of, something; -- usually with in or out.
Leak (n.) To let water or other fluid in or out through a hole, crevice, etc.; as, the cask leaks; the roof leaks; the boat leaks.
Leak (v.) A crack, crevice, fissure, or hole which admits water or other fluid, or lets it escape; as, a leak in a roof; a leak in a boat; a leak in a gas pipe.
Leak (v.) The entrance or escape of a fluid through a crack, fissure, or other aperture; as, the leak gained on the ship's pumps.
Leakage (n.) An allowance of a certain rate per cent for the leaking of casks, or waste of liquors by leaking.
Lean (v. i.) Of a character which prevents the compositor from earning the usual wages; -- opposed to fat; as, lean copy, matter, or type.
Lean (v. i.) To incline, deviate, or bend, from a vertical position; to be in a position thus inclining or deviating; as, she leaned out at the window; a leaning column.
Lean (v. i.) Wanting flesh; destitute of or deficient in fat; not plump; meager; thin; lank; as, a lean body; a lean cattle.
Lean (v. i.) Wanting fullness, richness, sufficiency, or productiveness; deficient in quality or contents; slender; scant; barren; bare; mean; -- used literally and figuratively; as, the lean harvest; a lean purse; a lean discourse; lean wages.
Lean-faced (a.) slender or narrow; -- said of type the letters of which have thin lines, or are unusually narrow in proportion to their height.
Lean-to (n.) A shed or slight building placed against the wall of a larger structure and having a single-pitched roof; -- called also penthouse, and to-fall.
Leaning (n.) The act, or state, of inclining; inclination; tendency; as, a leaning towards Calvinism.
Leap (n.) A passing from one note to another by an interval, especially by a long one, or by one including several other and intermediate intervals.
Leap (v. i.) To spring clear of the ground, with the feet; to jump; to vault; as, a man leaps over a fence, or leaps upon a horse.
Leap (v. i.) To spring or move suddenly, as by a jump or by jumps; to bound; to move swiftly. Also Fig.
Leap year () Bissextile; a year containing 366 days; every fourth year which leaps over a day more than a common year, giving to February twenty-nine days. See Bissextile.
Leapfrog (n.) A play among boys, in which one stoops down and another leaps over him by placing his hands on the shoulders of the former.
Learn (v. i.) To acquire knowledge or skill; to make progress in acquiring knowledge or skill; to receive information or instruction; as, this child learns quickly.
Learned (a.) Of or pertaining to learning; possessing, or characterized by, learning, esp. scholastic learning; erudite; well-informed; as, a learned scholar, writer, or lawyer; a learned book; a learned theory.
Learning (n.) The acquisition of knowledge or skill; as, the learning of languages; the learning of telegraphy.
Learning (n.) The knowledge or skill received by instruction or study; acquired knowledge or ideas in any branch of science or literature; erudition; literature; science; as, he is a man of great learning.
Lease (v. t.) A demise or letting of lands, tenements, or hereditaments to another for life, for a term of years, or at will, or for any less interest than that which the lessor has in the property, usually for a specified rent or compensation.
Lease (v. t.) Any tenure by grant or permission; the time for which such a tenure holds good; allotted time.
Lease (v. t.) To grant to another by lease the possession of, as of lands, tenements, and hereditaments; to let; to demise; as, a landowner leases a farm to a tenant; -- sometimes with out.
Leash (n.) A brace and a half; a tierce; three; three creatures of any kind, especially greyhounds, foxes, bucks, and hares; hence, the number three in general.
Leash (n.) A thong of leather, or a long cord, by which a falconer holds his hawk, or a courser his dog.
Least (a.) Smallest, either in size or degree; shortest; lowest; most unimportant; as, the least insect; the least mercy; the least space.
Least (adv.) In the smallest or lowest degree; in a degree below all others; as, to reward those who least deserve it.
Leather (n.) The skin of an animal, or some part of such skin, tanned, tawed, or otherwise dressed for use; also, dressed hides, collectively.
Leatherwood (n.) A small branching shrub (Dirca palustris), with a white, soft wood, and a tough, leathery bark, common in damp woods in the Northern United States; -- called also moosewood, and wicopy.
Leave (n.) Liberty granted by which restraint or illegality is removed; permission; allowance; license.
Leave (n.) The act of leaving or departing; a formal parting; a leaving; farewell; adieu; -- used chiefly in the phrase, to take leave, i. e., literally, to take permission to go.
Leave (v.) To have remaining at death; hence, to bequeath; as, he left a large estate; he left a good name; he left a legacy to his niece.
Leave (v.) To let be or do without interference; as, I left him to his reflections; I leave my hearers to judge.
Leave (v.) To let remain unremoved or undone; to let stay or continue, in distinction from what is removed or changed.
Leave (v.) To put; to place; to deposit; to deliver; to commit; to submit -- with a sense of withdrawing one's self from; as, leave your hat in the hall; we left our cards; to leave the matter to arbitrators.
Leaved (a.) Bearing, or having, a leaf or leaves; having folds; -- used in combination; as, a four-leaved clover; a two-leaved gate; long-leaved.
Leaven (n.) Anything which makes a general assimilating (especially a corrupting) change in the mass.
Lebban (n.) Coagulated sour milk diluted with water; -- a common beverage among the Arabs. Also, a fermented liquor made of the same.
Lecanomancy (n.) divination practiced with water in a basin, by throwing three stones into it, and invoking the demon whose aid was sought.
Lecanoric (a.) Pertaining to, or designating, an organic acid which is obtained from several varieties of lichen (Lecanora, Roccella, etc.), as a white, crystalline substance, and is called also orsellic, / diorsellinic acid, lecanorin, etc.
Lecher (n.) A man given to lewdness; one addicted, in an excessive degree, to the indulgence of sexual desire, or to illicit commerce with women.
Lecithin (n.) A complex, nitrogenous phosphorized substance widely distributed through the animal body, and especially conspicuous in the brain and nerve tissue, in yolk of eggs, and in the white blood corpuscles.
Lecture (n.) A discourse on any subject; especially, a formal or methodical discourse, intended for instruction; sometimes, a familiar discourse, in contrast with a sermon.
Lecturn (n.) A choir desk, or reading desk, in some churches, from which the lections, or Scripture lessons, are chanted or read; hence, a reading desk. [Written also lectern and lettern.]
Ledge (n.) A shelf on which articles may be laid; also, that which resembles such a shelf in form or use, as a projecting ridge or part, or a molding or edge in joinery.
Ledger (n.) A book in which a summary of accounts is laid up or preserved; the final book of record in business transactions, in which all debits and credits from the journal, etc., are placed under appropriate heads.
Ledger (n.) A horizontal piece of timber secured to the uprights and supporting floor timbers, a staircase, scaffolding, or the like. It differs from an intertie in being intended to carry weight.
Ledgment (n.) A string-course or horizontal suit of moldings, such as the base moldings of a building.
Ledgment (n.) The development of the surface of a body on a plane, so that the dimensions of the different sides may be easily ascertained.
Lee (a.) Of or pertaining to the part or side opposite to that against which the wind blows; -- opposed to weather; as, the lee side or lee rail of a vessel.
Lee (n.) A sheltered place; esp., a place protected from the wind by some object; the side sheltered from the wind; shelter; protection; as, the lee of a mountain, an island, or a ship.
Lee (n.) That part of the hemisphere, as one stands on shipboard, toward which the wind blows. See Lee, a.
Lee (n.) That which settles at the bottom, as of a cask of liquor (esp. wine); sediment; dregs; -- used now only in the plural.
Leeboard (n.) A board, or frame of planks, lowered over the side of a vessel to lessen her leeway when closehauled, by giving her greater draught.
Leech (n.) A glass tube of peculiar construction, adapted for drawing blood from a scarified part by means of a vacuum.
Leech (n.) Any one of numerous genera and species of annulose worms, belonging to the order Hirudinea, or Bdelloidea, esp. those species used in medicine, as Hirudo medicinalis of Europe, and allied species.
Leek (n.) A plant of the genus Allium (A. Porrum), having broadly linear succulent leaves rising from a loose oblong cylindrical bulb. The flavor is stronger than that of the common onion.
Leer (n.) A distorted expression of the face, or an indirect glance of the eye, conveying a sinister or immodest suggestion.
Leer (v. i.) To look with a leer; to look askance with a suggestive expression, as of hatred, contempt, lust, etc. ; to cast a sidelong lustful or malign look.
Leet (n.) A court-leet; the district within the jurisdiction of a court-leet; the day on which a court-leet is held.
Leeward (a.) Pertaining to, or in the direction of, the part or side toward which the wind blows; -- opposed to windward; as, a leeward berth; a leeward ship.
Left (n.) That part of surrounding space toward which the left side of one's body is turned; as, the house is on the left when you face North.
Left (n.) Those members of a legislative assembly (as in France) who are in the opposition; the advanced republicans and extreme radicals. They have their seats at the left-hand side of the presiding officer. See Center, and Right.
Left-hand (a.) Situated on the left; nearer the left hand than the right; as, the left-hand side; the left-hand road.
Left-handed (a.) Clumsy; awkward; unlucky; insincere; sinister; malicious; as, a left-handed compliment.
Left-handed (a.) Having a direction contrary to that of the hands of a watch when seen in front; -- said of a twist, a rotary motion, etc., looked at from a given direction.
Left-handed (a.) Having the left hand or arm stronger and more dexterous than the right; using the left hand and arm with more dexterity than the right.
Leg (n.) A limb or member of an animal used for supporting the body, and in running, climbing, and swimming; esp., that part of the limb between the knee and foot.
Leg (n.) An extension of the boiler downward, in the form of a narrow space between vertical plates, sometimes nearly surrounding the furnace and ash pit, and serving to support the boiler; -- called also water leg.
Leg (n.) That which resembles a leg in form or use; especially, any long and slender support on which any object rests; as, the leg of a table; the leg of a pair of compasses or dividers.
Leg (n.) The part of any article of clothing which covers the leg; as, the leg of a stocking or of a pair of trousers.
Legacy (n.) A business with which one is intrusted by another; a commission; -- obsolete, except in the phrases last legacy, dying legacy, and the like.
Legacy (n.) A gift of property by will, esp. of money or personal property; a bequest. Also Fig.; as, a legacy of dishonor or disease.
Legal (a.) According to the law of works, as distinguished from free grace; or resting on works for salvation.
Legal (a.) Created by, permitted by, in conformity with, or relating to, law; as, a legal obligation; a legal standard or test; a legal procedure; a legal claim; a legal trade; anything is legal which the laws do not forbid.
Legal (a.) Governed by the rules of law as distinguished from the rules of equity; as, legal estate; legal assets.
Legalist (n.) One who practices or advocates strict conformity to law; in theology, one who holds to the law of works. See Legal, 2 (a).
Legatine (a.) Made by, proceeding from, or under the sanction of, a legate; as, a legatine constitution.
Legation (n.) A legate, or envoy, and the persons associated with him in his mission; an embassy; or, in stricter usage, a diplomatic minister and his suite; a deputation.
Legation (n.) The place of business or official residence of a diplomatic minister at a foreign court or seat of government.
Legend (n.) An inscription, motto, or title, esp. one surrounding the field in a medal or coin, or placed upon an heraldic shield or beneath an engraving or illustration.
Legend (n.) Any wonderful story coming down from the past, but not verifiable by historical record; a myth; a fable.
Legend (n.) That which is appointed to be read; especially, a chronicle or register of the lives of saints, formerly read at matins, and in the refectories of religious houses.
Legendary (a.) Of or pertaining to a legend or to legends; consisting of legends; like a legend; fabulous.
Legged (a.) Having (such or so many) legs; -- used in composition; as, a long-legged man; a two-legged animal.
Leghorn (n.) A straw plaiting used for bonnets and hats, made from the straw of a particular kind of wheat, grown for the purpose in Tuscany, Italy; -- so called from Leghorn, the place of exportation.
Legible (a.) Capable of being discovered or understood by apparent marks or indications; as, the thoughts of men are often legible in their countenances.
Legible (a.) Capable of being read or deciphered; distinct to the eye; plain; -- used of writing or printing; as, a fair, legible manuscript.
Legion (n.) A body of foot soldiers and cavalry consisting of different numbers at different periods, -- from about four thousand to about six thousand men, -- the cavalry being about one tenth.
Legionary (a.) Belonging to a legion; consisting of a legion or legions, or of an indefinitely great number; as, legionary soldiers; a legionary force.
Legislative (a.) Making, or having the power to make, a law or laws; lawmaking; -- distinguished from executive; as, a legislative act; a legislative body.
Legislative (a.) Of or pertaining to the making of laws; suitable to legislation; as, the transaction of legislative business; the legislative style.
Legislator (n.) A lawgiver; one who makes laws for a state or community; a member of a legislative body.
Legislature (n.) The body of persons in a state or kingdom invested with power to make and repeal laws; a legislative body.
Legitim (a.) The portion of movable estate to which the children are entitled upon the death of the father.
Legitimacy (a.) The state, or quality, of being legitimate, or in conformity with law; hence, the condition of having been lawfully begotten, or born in wedlock.
Legitimate (a.) Accordant with law or with established legal forms and requirements; lawful; as, legitimate government; legitimate rights; the legitimate succession to the throne; a legitimate proceeding of an officer; a legitimate heir.
Legitimate (a.) Authorized; real; genuine; not false, counterfeit, or spurious; as, legitimate poems of Chaucer; legitimate inscriptions.
Legitimate (a.) Conforming to known principles, or accepted rules; as, legitimate reasoning; a legitimate standard, or method; a legitimate combination of colors.
Legitimate (a.) Following by logical sequence; reasonable; as, a legitimate result; a legitimate inference.
Legitimate (v. t.) To make legitimate, lawful, or valid; esp., to put in the position or state of a legitimate person before the law, by legal means; as, to legitimate a bastard child.
Legitimist (n.) One who supports legitimate authority; esp., one who believes in hereditary monarchy, as a divine right.
Legitimist (n.) Specifically, a supporter of the claims of the elder branch of the Bourbon dynasty to the crown of France.
Legume (n.) A pod dehiscent into two pieces or valves, and having the seed attached at one suture, as that of the pea.
Legumin (n.) An albuminous substance resembling casein, found as a characteristic ingredient of the seeds of leguminous and grain-bearing plants.
Leguminous (a.) Belonging to, or resembling, a very large natural order of plants (Leguminosae), which bear legumes, including peas, beans, clover, locust trees, acacias, and mimosas.
Leipoa (n.) A genus of Australian gallinaceous birds including but a single species (Leipoa ocellata), about the size of a turkey. Its color is variegated, brown, black, white, and gray. Called also native pheasant.
Leisure (n.) Time at one's command, free from engagement; convenient opportunity; hence, convenience; ease.
Leisurely (a.) Characterized by leisure; taking abundant time; not hurried; as, a leisurely manner; a leisurely walk.
Lemma (n.) A preliminary or auxiliary proposition demonstrated or accepted for immediate use in the demonstration of some other proposition, as in mathematics or logic.
Lemming (n.) Any one of several species of small arctic rodents of the genera Myodes and Cuniculus, resembling the meadow mice in form. They are found in both hemispheres.
Lemniscate (n.) A curve in the form of the figure 8, with both parts symmetrical, generated by the point in which a tangent to an equilateral hyperbola meets the perpendicular on it drawn from the center.
Lemniscus (n.) One of two oval bodies hanging from the interior walls of the body in the Acanthocephala.
Lemuria (n.) A hypothetical land, or continent, supposed by some to have existed formerly in the Indian Ocean, of which Madagascar is a remnant.
Lend (v. t.) To afford; to grant or furnish in general; as, to lend assistance; to lend one's name or influence.
Lend (v. t.) To allow the custody and use of, on condition of the return of the same; to grant the temporary use of; as, to lend a book; -- opposed to borrow.
Lend (v. t.) To allow the possession and use of, on condition of the return of an equivalent in kind; as, to lend money or some article of food.
Length (a.) A portion of space or of time considered as measured by its length; -- often in the plural.
Length (a.) A single piece or subdivision of a series, or of a number of long pieces which may be connected together; as, a length of pipe; a length of fence.
Length (a.) Detail or amplification; unfolding; continuance as, to pursue a subject to a great length.
Length (a.) The quality or state of being long, in space or time; extent; duration; as, some sea birds are remarkable for the length of their wings; he was tired by the length of the sermon, and the length of his walk.
Lengthen (v. t.) To extent in length; to make longer in extent or duration; as, to lengthen a line or a road; to lengthen life; -- sometimes followed by out.
Lengthy (superl.) Having length; rather long or too long; prolix; not brief; -- said chiefly of discourses, writings, and the like.
Lenient (a.) Mild; clement; merciful; not rigorous or severe; as, a lenient disposition; a lenient judge or sentence.
Lenitive (a.) Having the quality of softening or mitigating, as pain or acrimony; assuasive; emollient.
Lenitive (n.) A medicine or application that has the quality of easing pain or protecting from the action of irritants.
Lenitive (n.) That which softens or mitigates; that which tends to allay passion, excitement, or pain; a palliative.
Lenity (n.) The state or quality of being lenient; mildness of temper or disposition; gentleness of treatment; softness; tenderness; clemency; -- opposed to severity and rigor.
Lenni-Lenape (n. pl.) A general name for a group of Algonquin tribes which formerly occupied the coast region of North America from Connecticut to Virginia. They included the Mohicans, Delawares, Shawnees, and several other tribes.
Lent (n.) A fast of forty days, beginning with Ash Wednesday and continuing till Easter, observed by some Christian churches as commemorative of the fast of our Savior.
Lenten (n.) Of or pertaining to the fast called Lent; used in, or suitable to, Lent; as, the Lenten season.
Lenticel (n.) One of the small, oval, rounded spots upon the stem or branch of a plant, from which the underlying tissues may protrude or roots may issue, either in the air, or more commonly when the stem or branch is covered with water or earth.
Lentil (n.) A leguminous plant of the genus Ervum (Ervum Lens), of small size, common in the fields in Europe. Also, its seed, which is used for food on the continent.
Leo (n.) A northern constellation east of Cancer, containing the bright star Regulus at the end of the handle of the Sickle.
Leontodon (n.) A genus of liguliflorous composite plants, including the fall dandelion (L. autumnale), and formerly the true dandelion; -- called also lion's tooth.
Leopard's bane () A name of several harmless plants, as Arnica montana, Senecio Doronicum, and Paris quadrifolia.
Lepadoid (n.) A stalked barnacle of the genus Lepas, or family Lepadidae; a goose barnacle. Also used adjectively.
Lepas (n.) Any one of various species of Lepas, a genus of pedunculated barnacles found attached to floating timber, bottoms of ships, Gulf weed, etc.; -- called also goose barnacle. See Barnacle.
Lepidine (n.) An organic base, C9H6.N.CH3, metameric with quinaldine, and obtained by the distillation of cinchonine.
Lepidodendrid (n.) One of an extinct family of trees allied to the modern club mosses, and including Lepidodendron and its allies.
Lepidodendron (n.) A genus of fossil trees of the Devonian and Carboniferous ages, having the exterior marked with scars, mostly in quincunx order, produced by the separation of the leafstalks.
Lepidoganoid (n.) Any one of a division (Lepidoganoidei) of ganoid fishes, including those that have scales forming a coat of mail. Also used adjectively.
Lepidolite (n.) A species of mica, of a lilac or rose-violet color, containing lithia. It usually occurs in masses consisting of small scales. See Mica.
Lepidomelane (n.) An iron-potash mica, of a raven-black color, usually found in granitic rocks in small six-sided tables, or as an aggregation of minute opaque scales. See Mica.
Lepidoptera (n. pl.) An order of insects, which includes the butterflies and moths. They have broad wings, covered with minute overlapping scales, usually brightly colored.
Lepidosauria (n. pl.) A division of reptiles, including the serpents and lizards; the Plagiotremata.
Leptiform (a.) Having a form somewhat like leptus; -- said of active insect larvae having three pairs of legs. See Larva.
Leptothrix (n.) A genus of bacteria, characterized by having their filaments very long, slender, and indistinctly articulated.
Leptothrix (n.) Having the form of a little chain; -- applied to bacteria when, as in multiplication by fission, they form a chain of filiform individuals.
Leptus (n.) The six-legged young, or larva, of certain mites; -- sometimes used as a generic name. See Harvest mite, under Harvest.
Lernaeacea (n. pl.) A suborder of copepod Crustacea, including a large number of remarkable forms, mostly parasitic on fishes. The young, however, are active and swim freely. See Illustration in Appendix.
Lernean (n.) One of a family (Lernaeidae) of parasitic Crustacea found attached to fishes and other marine animals. Some species penetrate the skin and flesh with the elongated head, and feed on the viscera. See Illust. in Appendix.
Lesbian (a.) Of or pertaining to the island anciently called Lesbos, now Mitylene, in the Grecian Archipelago.
Less (a.) Smaller; not so large or great; not so much; shorter; inferior; as, a less quantity or number; a horse of less size or value; in less time than before.
Lessen (a.) To make less; to reduce; to make smaller, or fewer; to diminish; to lower; to degrade; as, to lessen a kingdom, or a population; to lessen speed, rank, fortune.
Lessen (v. i.) To become less; to shrink; to contract; to decrease; to be diminished; as, the apparent magnitude of objects lessens as we recede from them; his care, or his wealth, lessened.
Lesson (n.) A portion of Scripture read in divine service for instruction; as, here endeth the first lesson.
Lesson (n.) Anything read or recited to a teacher by a pupil or learner; something, as a portion of a book, assigned to a pupil to be studied or learned at one time.
Lesson (n.) That which is learned or taught by an express effort; instruction derived from precept, experience, observation, or deduction; a precept; a doctrine; as, to take or give a lesson in drawing.
Lest (a.) That (without the negative particle); -- after certain expressions denoting fear or apprehension.
Let (n.) A retarding; hindrance; obstacle; impediment; delay; -- common in the phrase without let or hindrance, but elsewhere archaic.
Let (v. t.) To allow to be used or occupied for a compensation; to lease; to rent; to hire out; -- often with out; as, to let a farm; to let a house; to let out horses.
Let (v. t.) To cause; to make; -- used with the infinitive in the active form but in the passive sense; as, let make, i. e., cause to be made; let bring, i. e., cause to be brought.
Let (v. t.) To give, grant, or assign, as a work, privilege, or contract; -- often with out; as, to let the building of a bridge; to let out the lathing and the plastering.
Let (v. t.) To permit; to allow; to suffer; -- either affirmatively, by positive act, or negatively, by neglecting to restrain or prevent.
Let-off (n.) A device for letting off, releasing, or giving forth, as the warp from the cylinder of a loom.
Lethal (n.) One of the higher alcohols of the paraffine series obtained from spermaceti as a white crystalline solid. It is so called because it occurs in the ethereal salt of lauric acid.
Lethargical (a.) Pertaining to, affected with, or resembling, lethargy; morbidly drowsy; dull; heavy.
Lethargy (n.) Morbid drowsiness; continued or profound sleep, from which a person can scarcely be awaked.
Letter (n.) A mark or character used as the representative of a sound, or of an articulation of the human organs of speech; a first element of written language.
Letter (n.) A written or printed communication; a message expressed in intelligible characters on something adapted to conveyance, as paper, parchment, etc.; an epistle.
Letter (v. t.) To impress with letters; to mark with letters or words; as, a book gilt and lettered.
Letterpress (n.) Print; letters and words impressed on paper or other material by types; -- often used of the reading matter in distinction from the illustrations.
Lettic (a.) Of or pertaining to a branch of the Slavic family, subdivided into Lettish, Lithuanian, and Old Prussian.
Letts (n. pl.) An Indo-European people, allied to the Lithuanians and Old Prussians, and inhabiting a part of the Baltic provinces of Russia.
Lettuce (n.) A composite plant of the genus Lactuca (L. sativa), the leaves of which are used as salad. Plants of this genus yield a milky juice, from which lactucarium is obtained. The commonest wild lettuce of the United States is L. Canadensis.
Leuc- () A combining form signifying white, colorless; specif. (Chem.), denoting an extensive series of colorless organic compounds, obtained by reduction from certain other colored compounds; as, leucaniline, leucaurin, etc.
Leucadendron (n.) A genus of evergreen shrubs from the Cape of Good Hope, having handsome foliage. Leucadendron argenteum is the silverboom of the colonists.
Leucaniline (n.) A colorless, crystalline, organic base, obtained from rosaniline by reduction, and also from other sources. It forms colorless salts.
Leucinic (a.) Pertaining to, or designating, an acid obtained from leucin, and called also oxycaproic acid.
Leucite (n.) A mineral having a glassy fracture, occurring in translucent trapezohedral crystals. It is a silicate of alumina and potash. It is found in the volcanic rocks of Italy, especially at Vesuvius.
Leucitoid (n.) The trapezohedron or tetragonal trisoctahedron; -- so called as being the form of the mineral leucite.
Leucocyte (n.) A colorless corpuscle, as one of the white blood corpuscles, or those found in lymph, marrow of bone, connective tissue, etc.
Leucocythemia (n.) A disease in which the white corpuscles of the blood are largely increased in number, and there is enlargement of the spleen, or the lymphatic glands; leuchaemia.
Leucoethiopic (a.) White and black; -- said of a white animal of a black species, or the albino of the negro race.
Leucoline (n.) A nitrogenous organic base from coal tar, and identical with quinoline. Cf. Quinoline.
Leucomaine (n.) An animal base or alkaloid, appearing in the tissue during life; hence, a vital alkaloid, as distinguished from a ptomaine or cadaveric poison.
Leuconic (a.) Pertaining to, or designating, a complex organic acid, obtained as a yellowish white gum by the oxidation of croconic acid.
Leucophane (n.) A mineral of a greenish yellow color; it is a silicate of glucina, lime, and soda with fluorine. Called also leucophanite.
Leucophlegmacy (n.) A dropsical habit of body, or the commencement of anasarca; paleness, with viscid juices and cold sweats.
Leucophyll (n.) A colorless substance isomeric with chlorophyll, contained in parts of plants capable of becoming green.
Leucoplastid (n.) One of certain very minute whitish or colorless granules occurring in the protoplasm of plants and supposed to be the nuclei around which starch granules will form.
Leucopyrite (n.) A mineral of a color between white and steel-gray, with a metallic luster, and consisting chiefly of arsenic and iron.
Leucorrhoea (n.) A discharge of a white, yellowish, or greenish, viscid mucus, resulting from inflammation or irritation of the membrane lining the genital organs of the female; the whites.
Leucoscope (n.) An instrument, devised by Professor Helmholtz, for testing the color perception of the eye, or for comparing different lights, as to their constituent colors or their relative whiteness.
Leucosoid (a.) Like or pertaining to the Leucosoidea, a tribe of marine crabs including the box crab or Calappa.
Leucoturic (a.) Pertaining to, or designating, a nitrogenous organic substance of the uric acid group, called leucoturic acid or oxalantin. See Oxalantin.
Leucoxene (n.) A nearly opaque white mineral, in part identical with titanite, observed in some igneous rocks as the result of the alteration of titanic iron.
Levant (a.) Rising or having risen from rest; -- said of cattle. See Couchant and levant, under Couchant.
Levant (n.) The countries washed by the eastern part of the Mediterranean and its contiguous waters.
Levation (n.) The act of raising; elevation; upward motion, as that produced by the action of a levator muscle.
Levee (n.) A morning assembly or reception of visitors, -- in distinction from a soiree, or evening assembly; a matinee; hence, also, any general or somewhat miscellaneous gathering of guests, whether in the daytime or evening; as, the president's levee.
Levee (n.) An embankment to prevent inundation; as, the levees along the Mississippi; sometimes, the steep bank of a river.
Level (a.) Coinciding or parallel with the plane of the horizon; horizontal; as, the telescope is now level.
Level (a.) Even with anything else; of the same height; on the same line or plane; on the same footing; of equal importance; -- followed by with, sometimes by to.
Level (a.) Even; flat; having no part higher than another; having, or conforming to, the curvature which belongs to the undisturbed liquid parts of the earth's surface; as, a level field; level ground; the level surface of a pond or lake.
Level (a.) Well balanced; even; just; steady; impartial; as, a level head; a level understanding. [Colloq.]
Level (n.) A horizontal line or plane; that is, a straight line or a plane which is tangent to a true level at a given point and hence parallel to the horizon at that point; -- this is the apparent level at the given point.
Level (n.) A measurement of the difference of altitude of two points, by means of a level; as, to take a level.
Level (n.) A uniform or average height; a normal plane or altitude; a condition conformable to natural law or which will secure a level surface; as, moving fluids seek a level.
Level (n.) An instrument by which to find a horizontal line, or adjust something with reference to a horizontal line.
Level (n.) Hence, figuratively, a certain position, rank, standard, degree, quality, character, etc., conceived of as in one of several planes of different elevation.
Level (v. i.) To aim a gun, spear, etc., horizontally; hence, to aim or point a weapon in direct line with the mark; fig., to direct the eye, mind, or effort, directly to an object.
Level (v. i.) To be level; to be on a level with, or on an equality with, something; hence, to accord; to agree; to suit.
Level (v. t.) Figuratively, to bring to a common level or plane, in respect of rank, condition, character, privilege, etc.; as, to level all the ranks and conditions of men.
Level (v. t.) To adjust or adapt to a certain level; as, to level remarks to the capacity of children.
Level (v. t.) To bring to a horizontal position, as a gun; hence, to point in taking aim; to aim; to direct.
Level (v. t.) To bring to a lower level; to overthrow; to topple down; to reduce to a flat surface; to lower.
Level (v. t.) To make level; to make horizontal; to bring to the condition of a level line or surface; hence, to make flat or even; as, to level a road, a walk, or a garden.
Leviable (a.) Fit to be levied; capable of being assessed and collected; as, sums leviable by course of law.
Leviathan (n.) An aquatic animal, described in the book of Job, ch. xli., and mentioned in other passages of Scripture.
Levigate (v. t.) Technically, to make smooth by rubbing in a moist condition between hard surfaces, as in grinding pigments.
Leviratical (a.) Of, pertaining to, or in accordance with, a law of the ancient Israelites and other tribes and races, according to which a woman, whose husband died without issue, was married to the husband's brother.
Levitate (v. i.) To rise, or tend to rise, as if lighter than the surrounding medium; to become buoyant; -- opposed to gravitate.
Leviticus (n.) The third canonical book of the Old Testament, containing the laws and regulations relating to the priests and Levites among the Hebrews, or the body of the ceremonial law.
Levity (n.) Lack of gravity and earnestness in deportment or character; trifling gayety; frivolity; sportiveness; vanity.
Levity (n.) The quality of weighing less than something else of equal bulk; relative lightness, especially as shown by rising through, or floating upon, a contiguous substance; buoyancy; -- opposed to gravity.
Levo- () Turning the plane of polarized light to the left; as, levotartaric acid; levoracemic acid; levogyratory crystals, etc.
Levogyrate (a.) Turning or twisting the plane of polarization towards the left, as levulose, levotartaric acid, etc.
Levorotatory (a.) Turning or rotating the plane of polarization towards the left; levogyrate, as levulose, left-handed quartz crystals, etc.
Levulin (n.) A substance resembling dextrin, obtained from the bulbs of the dahlia, the artichoke, and other sources, as a colorless, spongy, amorphous material. It is so called because by decomposition it yields levulose.
Levulinic (a.) Pertaining to, or denoting, an acid (called also acetyl-propionic acid), C5H8O3, obtained by the action of dilute acids on various sugars (as levulose).
Levulose (n.) A sirupy variety of sugar, rarely obtained crystallized, occurring widely in honey, ripe fruits, etc., and hence called also fruit sugar. It is called levulose, because it rotates the plane of polarization to the left.
Levy (n.) A name formerly given in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia to the Spanish real of one eighth of a dollar (or 12/ cents), valued at eleven pence when the dollar was rated at 7s. 6d.
Levy (n.) The taking or seizure of property on executions to satisfy judgments, or on warrants for the collection of taxes; a collecting by execution.
Levy (v. i.) To seize property, real or personal, or subject it to the operation of an execution; to make a levy; as, to levy on property; the usual mode of levying, in England, is by seizing the goods.
Levy (v. t.) To erect, build, or set up; to make or construct; to raise or cast up; as, to levy a mill, dike, ditch, a nuisance, etc.
Levy (v. t.) To raise or collect by assessment; to exact by authority; as, to levy taxes, toll, tribute, or contributions.
Levy (v. t.) To raise; to collect; said of troops, to form into an army by enrollment, conscription, etc.
Levynite (n.) A whitish, reddish, or yellowish, transparent or translucent mineral, allied to chabazite.
Lewd (superl.) Suiting, or proceeding from, lustfulness; involving unlawful sexual desire; as, lewd thoughts, conduct, or language.
Lewisson (n.) An iron dovetailed tenon, made in sections, which can be fitted into a dovetail mortise; -- used in hoisting large stones, etc.
Lex (n.) Law; as, lex talionis, the law of retaliation; lex terrae, the law of the land; lex fori, the law of the forum or court; lex loci, the law of the place; lex mercatoria, the law or custom of merchants.
Lexical (a.) Of or pertaining to a lexicon, to lexicography, or words; according or conforming to a lexicon.
Lexicography (n.) The art, process, or occupation of making a lexicon or dictionary; the principles which are applied in making dictionaries.
Lexicology (n.) The science of the derivation and signification of words; that branch of learning which treats of the signification and application of words.
Lexicon (n.) A vocabulary, or book containing an alphabetical arrangement of the words in a language or of a considerable number of them, with the definition of each; a dictionary; especially, a dictionary of the Greek, Hebrew, or Latin language.
Lexiphanic (a.) Using, or interlarded with, pretentious words; bombastic; as, a lexiphanic writer or speaker; lexiphanic writing.
Lherzolite (n.) An igneous rock consisting largely of chrysolite, with pyroxene and picotite (a variety of spinel containing chromium).
Liability (n.) The state of being liable; as, the liability of an insurer; liability to accidents; liability to the law.
Liable (v. t.) Bound or obliged in law or equity; responsible; answerable; as, the surety is liable for the debt of his principal.
Liable (v. t.) Exposed to a certain contingency or casualty, more or less probable; -- with to and an infinitive or noun; as, liable to slip; liable to accident.
liad (n.) A celebrated Greek epic poem, in twenty-four books, on the destruction of Ilium, the ancient Troy. The Iliad is ascribed to Homer.
Liaison (n.) A union, or bond of union; an intimacy; especially, an illicit intimacy between a man and a woman.
Liana (n.) A luxuriant woody plant, climbing high trees and having ropelike stems. The grapevine often has the habit of a liane. Lianes are abundant in the forests of the Amazon region.
Lias (n.) The lowest of the three divisions of the Jurassic period; a name given in England and Europe to a series of marine limestones underlying the Oolite. See the Chart of Geology.
Libation (n.) The act of pouring a liquid or liquor, usually wine, either on the ground or on a victim in sacrifice, in honor of some deity; also, the wine or liquid thus poured out.
Libel (n.) A brief writing of any kind, esp. a declaration, bill, certificate, request, supplication, etc.
Libel (n.) A malicious publication expressed either in print or in writing, or by pictures, effigies, or other signs, tending to expose another to public hatred, contempt, or ridicule. Such publication is indictable at common law.
Libel (n.) A written declaration or statement by the plaintiff of his cause of action, and of the relief he seeks.
Libel (v. t.) To defame, or expose to public hatred, contempt, or ridicule, by a writing, picture, sign, etc.; to lampoon.
Libelous (a.) Containing or involving a libel; defamatory; containing that which exposes some person to public hatred, contempt, or ridicule; as, a libelous pamphlet.
Liber (n.) The inner bark of plants, lying next to the wood. It usually contains a large proportion of woody, fibrous cells, and is, therefore, the part from which the fiber of the plant is obtained, as that of hemp, etc.
Liberal (a.) Bestowed in a large way; hence, more than sufficient; abundant; bountiful; ample; profuse; as, a liberal gift; a liberal discharge of matter or of water.
Liberal (a.) Bestowing in a large and noble way, as a freeman; generous; bounteous; open-handed; as, a liberal giver.
Liberal (a.) Free by birth; hence, befitting a freeman or gentleman; refined; noble; independent; free; not servile or mean; as, a liberal ancestry; a liberal spirit; liberal arts or studies.
Liberal (a.) Not strict or rigorous; not confined or restricted to the literal sense; free; as, a liberal translation of a classic, or a liberal construction of law or of language.
Liberal (n.) One who favors greater freedom in political or religious matters; an opponent of the established systems; a reformer; in English politics, a member of the Liberal party, so called. Cf. Whig.
Liberalism (n.) Liberal principles; the principles and methods of the liberals in politics or religion; specifically, the principles of the Liberal party.
Liberality (n.) A gift; a gratuity; -- sometimes in the plural; as, a prudent man is not impoverished by his liberalities.
Liberality (n.) The quality or state of being liberal; liberal disposition or practice; freedom from narrowness or prejudice; generosity; candor; charity.
Liberate (a.) To release from restraint or bondage; to set at liberty; to free; to manumit; to disengage; as, to liberate a slave or prisoner; to liberate the mind from prejudice; to liberate gases.
Libertarian (a.) Pertaining to liberty, or to the doctrine of free will, as opposed to the doctrine of necessity.
Libertine (n.) Dissolute; licentious; profligate; loose in morals; as, libertine principles or manners.
Libertine (n.) One free from restraint; one who acts according to his impulses and desires; now, specifically, one who gives rein to lust; a rake; a debauchee.
Libertine (n.) One of a sect of Anabaptists, in the fifteenth and early part of the sixteenth century, who rejected many of the customs and decencies of life, and advocated a community of goods and of women.
Liberty (n.) A certain amount of freedom; permission to go freely within certain limits; also, the place or limits within which such freedom is exercised; as, the liberties of a prison.
Liberty (n.) A privilege conferred by a superior power; permission granted; leave; as, liberty given to a child to play, or to a witness to leave a court, and the like.
Liberty (n.) A privilege or license in violation of the laws of etiquette or propriety; as, to permit, or take, a liberty.
Liberty (n.) Privilege; exemption; franchise; immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant; as, the liberties of the commercial cities of Europe.
Liberty (n.) The power of choice; freedom from necessity; freedom from compulsion or constraint in willing.
Liberty (n.) The state of a free person; exemption from subjection to the will of another claiming ownership of the person or services; freedom; -- opposed to slavery, serfdom, bondage, or subjection.
Libethenite (n.) A mineral of an olive-green color, commonly in orthorhombic crystals. It is a hydrous phosphate of copper.
Libra (n.) The Balance; the seventh sign in the zodiac, which the sun enters at the autumnal equinox in September, marked thus / in almanacs, etc.
Library (n.) A considerable collection of books kept for use, and not as merchandise; as, a private library; a public library.
Libyan (a.) Of or pertaining to Libya, the ancient name of that part of Africa between Egypt and the Atlantic Ocean, or of Africa as a whole.
License (n.) Excess of liberty; freedom abused, or used in contempt of law or decorum; disregard of law or propriety.
License (n.) That deviation from strict fact, form, or rule, in which an artist or writer indulges, assuming that it will be permitted for the sake of the advantage or effect gained; as, poetic license; grammatical license, etc.
License (v. t.) To permit or authorize by license; to give license to; as, to license a man to preach.
Licensed (a.) Having a license; permitted or authorized by license; as, a licensed victualer; a licensed traffic.
Licentiate (n.) A friar authorized to receive confessions and grant absolution in all places, independently of the local clergy.
Licentiate (n.) On the continent of Europe, a university degree intermediate between that of bachelor and that of doctor.
Licentiate (n.) One who acts without restraint, or takes a liberty, as if having a license therefor.
Licentiate (n.) One who has a license to exercise a profession; as, a licentiate in medicine or theology.
Licentious (a.) Characterized by license; passing due bounds; excessive; abusive of freedom; wantonly offensive; as, a licentious press.
Licentious (a.) Unrestrained by law or morality; lawless; immoral; dissolute; lewd; lascivious; as, a licentious man; a licentious life.
Lichen (n.) A name given to several varieties of skin disease, esp. to one characterized by the eruption of small, conical or flat, reddish pimples, which, if unchecked, tend to spread and produce great and even fatal exhaustion.
Lichenin (n.) A substance isomeric with starch, extracted from several species of moss and lichen, esp. from Iceland moss.
Lichenography (n.) A description of lichens; the science which illustrates the natural history of lichens.
Lichenous (a.) Of, pertaining to, or resembling, lichens; abounding in lichens; covered with lichens.
Lick (v. t.) To strike with repeated blows for punishment; to flog; to whip or conquer, as in a pugilistic encounter.
Lick (v.) A place where salt is found on the surface of the earth, to which wild animals resort to lick it up; -- often, but not always, near salt springs.
Lick (v.) A quick and careless application of anything, as if by a stroke of the tongue, or of something which acts like a tongue; as, to put on colors with a lick of the brush. Also, a small quantity of any substance so applied.
Licorice (n.) A plant of the genus Glycyrrhiza (G. glabra), the root of which abounds with a sweet juice, and is much used in demulcent compositions.
Licorice (n.) The inspissated juice of licorice root, used as a confection and for medicinal purposes.
Lid (n.) A calyx which separates from the flower, and falls off in a single piece, as in the Australian Eucalypti.
Lid (n.) That which covers the opening of a vessel or box, etc.; a movable cover; as, the lid of a chest or trunk.
Lid (n.) The top of an ovary which opens transversely, as in the fruit of the purslane and the tree which yields Brazil nuts.
Lie (adj.) To be situated; to occupy a certain place; as, Ireland lies west of England; the meadows lie along the river; the ship lay in port.
Lie (n.) A falsehood uttered or acted for the purpose of deception; an intentional violation of truth; an untruth spoken with the intention to deceive.
Lie (v. i.) To utter falsehood with an intention to deceive; to say or do that which is intended to deceive another, when he a right to know the truth, or when morality requires a just representation.
Lieberkuhn (n.) A concave metallic mirror attached to the object-glass end of a microscope, to throw down light on opaque objects; a reflector.
Lieberkuhn's glands () The simple tubular glands of the small intestines; -- called also crypts of Lieberkuhn.
Lied (n.) A lay; a German song. It differs from the French chanson, and the Italian canzone, all three being national.
Liedertafel (n.) A popular name for any society or club which meets for the practice of male part songs.
Lief (adv.) Gladly; willingly; freely; -- now used only in the phrases, had as lief, and would as lief; as, I had, or would, as lief go as not.
Liege (a.) Serving an independent sovereign or master; bound by a feudal tenure; obliged to be faithful and loyal to a superior, as a vassal to his lord; faithful; loyal; as, a liege man; a liege subject.
Lien (n.) A legal claim; a charge upon real or personal property for the satisfaction of some debt or duty; a right in one to control or hold and retain the property of another until some claim of the former is paid or satisfied.
Lienculus (n.) One of the small nodules sometimes found in the neighborhood of the spleen; an accessory or supplementary spleen.
Lieno-intestinal (a.) Of or pertaining to the spleen and intestine; as, the lieno-intestinal vein of the frog.
Lientery (n.) A diarrhea, in which the food is discharged imperfectly digested, or with but little change.
Lierne rib () In Gothic vaulting, any rib which does not spring from the impost and is not a ridge rib, but passes from one boss or intersection of the principal ribs to another.
Lieutenant (n.) A commissioned officer in the United States navy, in rank next below a lieutenant commander.
Lieutenant (n.) An officer who supplies the place of a superior in his absence; a representative of, or substitute for, another in the performance of any duty.
Lif (n.) The fiber by which the petioles of the date palm are bound together, from which various kinds of cordage are made.
Life (n.) A history of the acts and events of a life; a biography; as, Johnson wrote the life of Milton.
Life (n.) Enjoyment in the right use of the powers; especially, a spiritual existence; happiness in the favor of God; heavenly felicity.
Life (n.) Of human beings: The union of the soul and body; also, the duration of their union; sometimes, the deathless quality or existence of the soul; as, man is a creature having an immortal life.
Life (n.) That which imparts or excites spirit or vigor; that upon which enjoyment or success depends; as, he was the life of the company, or of the enterprise.
Life (n.) The living or actual form, person, thing, or state; as, a picture or a description from the life.
Life (n.) The potential principle, or force, by which the organs of animals and plants are started and continued in the performance of their several and cooperative functions; the vital force, whether regarded as physical or spiritual.
Life-preserver (n.) An apparatus, made in very various forms, and of various materials, for saving one from drowning by buoying up the body while in the water.
Life-saving (a.) That saves life, or is suited to save life, esp. from drowning; as, the life-saving service; a life-saving station.
Lifeboat (n.) A strong, buoyant boat especially designed for saving the lives of shipwrecked people.
Lifelike (a.) Like a living being; resembling life; giving an accurate representation; as, a lifelike portrait.
Lift (n.) A rope leading from the masthead to the extremity of a yard below; -- used for raising or supporting the end of the yard.
Lift (v. i.) To rise; to become or appear raised or elevated; as, the fog lifts; the land lifts to a ship approaching it.
Lift (v. t.) To raise, elevate, exalt, improve, in rank, condition, estimation, character, etc.; -- often with up.
Lifter (n.) A tool for lifting loose sand from the mold; also, a contrivance attached to a cope, to hold the sand together when the cope is lifted.
Ligament (n.) A band of connective tissue, or a membranous fold, which supports or retains an organ in place; as, the gastrophrenic ligament, connecting the diaphragm and stomach.
Ligament (n.) A tough band or plate of dense, fibrous, connective tissue or fibrocartilage serving to unite bones or form joints.
Ligamentous (a.) Composing a ligament; of the nature of a ligament; binding; as, a strong ligamentous membrane.
Ligan (n.) Goods sunk in the sea, with a buoy attached in order that they may be found again. See Jetsam and Flotsam.
Ligature (n.) A double character, or a type consisting of two or more letters or characters united, as ae, /, /.
Ligature (n.) A thread or string for tying the blood vessels, particularly the arteries, to prevent hemorrhage.
Ligeance (n.) The connection between sovereign and subject by which they were mutually bound, the former to protection and the securing of justice, the latter to faithful service; allegiance.
Light (n.) A firework made by filling a case with a substance which burns brilliantly with a white or colored flame; as, a Bengal light.
Light (n.) Appearance due to the particular facts and circumstances presented to view; point of view; as, to state things fairly and put them in the right light.
Light (n.) One who is conspicuous or noteworthy; a model or example; as, the lights of the age or of antiquity.
Light (n.) That agent, force, or action in nature by the operation of which upon the organs of sight, objects are rendered visible or luminous.
Light (n.) That which furnishes, or is a source of, light, as the sun, a star, a candle, a lighthouse, etc.
Light (n.) That which illumines or makes clear to the mind; mental or spiritual illumination; enlightenment; knowledge; information.
Light (n.) The manner in which the light strikes upon a picture; that part of a picture which represents those objects upon which the light is supposed to fall; the more illuminated part of a landscape or other scene; -- opposed to shade. Cf. Chiaroscuro.
Light (n.) The medium through which light is admitted, as a window, or window pane; a skylight; in architecture, one of the compartments of a window made by a mullion or mullions.
Light (n.) To give light to; to illuminate; to fill with light; to spread over with light; -- often with up.
Light (n.) To set fire to; to cause to burn; to set burning; to ignite; to kindle; as, to light a candle or lamp; to light the gas; -- sometimes with up.
Light (superl.) Easy to admit influence; inconsiderate; easily influenced by trifling considerations; unsteady; unsettled; volatile; as, a light, vain person; a light mind.
Light (superl.) Easy to be digested; not oppressive to the stomach; as, light food; also, containing little nutriment.
Light (superl.) Easy to be endured or performed; not severe; not difficult; as, a light affliction or task.
Light (superl.) Having little, or comparatively little, weight; not tending to the center of gravity with force; not heavy.
Light (superl.) Indulging in, or inclined to, levity; wanting dignity or solemnity; trifling; gay; frivolous; airy; unsubstantial.
Light (superl.) Not burdensome; easy to be lifted, borne, or carried by physical strength; as, a light burden, or load.
Light (superl.) Not copious or heavy; not dense; not inconsiderable; as, a light rain; a light snow; light vapors.
Light (superl.) Not heavily armed; armed with light weapons; as, light troops; a troop of light horse.
Light (superl.) Not heavily burdened; not deeply laden; not sufficiently ballasted; as, the ship returned light.
Light (superl.) Not pressing heavily or hard upon; hence, having an easy, graceful manner; delicate; as, a light touch; a light style of execution.
Light (superl) White or whitish; not intense or very marked; not of a deep shade; moderately colored; as, a light color; a light brown; a light complexion.
Light (v. i.) To be illuminated; to receive light; to brighten; -- with up; as, the room lights up very well.
Light (v. i.) To dismount; to descend, as from a horse or carriage; to alight; -- with from, off, on, upon, at, in.
Light-fingered (a.) Dexterous in taking and conveying away; thievish; pilfering; addicted to petty thefts.
Light-footed (a.) Having a light, springy step; nimble in running or dancing; active; as, light-foot Iris.
Light-horseman (n.) A West Indian fish of the genus Ephippus, remarkable for its high dorsal fin and brilliant colors.
Light-o'-love (n.) An old tune of a dance, the name of which made it a proverbial expression of levity, especially in love matters.
Light-ship (n.) A vessel carrying at the masthead a brilliant light, and moored off a shoal or place of dangerous navigation as a guide for mariners.
Lighten (v. i.) To burst forth or dart, as lightning; to shine with, or like, lightning; to display a flash or flashes of lightning; to flash.
Lighten (v. i.) To grow lighter; to become less dark or lowering; to brighten; to clear, as the sky.
Lighten (v. t.) To make less burdensome or afflictive; to alleviate; as, to lighten the cares of life or the burden of grief.
Lighten (v. t.) To make light or clear; to light; to illuminate; as, to lighten an apartment with lamps or gas; to lighten the streets.
Lighten (v. t.) To make lighter, or less heavy; to reduce in weight; to relieve of part of a load or burden; as, to lighten a ship by unloading; to lighten a load or burden.
Lighter (n.) A large boat or barge, mainly used in unloading or loading vessels which can not reach the wharves at the place of shipment or delivery.
Lighter (v. t.) To convey by a lighter, as to or from the shore; as, to lighter the cargo of a ship.
Lighthouse (n.) A tower or other building with a powerful light at top, erected at the entrance of a port, or at some important point on a coast, to serve as a guide to mariners at night; a pharos.
Lightness (n.) Absence of depth or of duskiness in color; as, the lightness of a tint; lightness of complexion.
Lightness (n.) The state, condition, or quality, of being light or not heavy; buoyancy; levity; fickleness; nimbleness; delicacy; grace.
Lightning (n.) The act of making bright, or the state of being made bright; enlightenment; brightening, as of the mental powers.
Lightroom (n.) A small room from which the magazine of a naval vessel is lighted, being separated from the magazine by heavy glass windows.
Lights (n. pl.) The lungs of an animal or bird; -- sometimes coarsely applied to the lungs of a human being.
Lightwood (n.) Pine wood abounding in pitch, used for torches in the Southern United States; pine knots, dry sticks, and the like, for kindling a fire quickly or making a blaze.
Lignification (n.) A change in the character of a cell wall, by which it becomes harder. It is supposed to be due to an incrustation of lignin.
Lignin (n.) A substance characterizing wood cells and differing from cellulose in its conduct with certain chemical reagents.
Lignite (n.) Mineral coal retaining the texture of the wood from which it was formed, and burning with an empyreumatic odor. It is of more recent origin than the anthracite and bituminous coal of the proper coal series. Called also brown coal, wood coal.
Lignoceric (a.) Pertaining to, or designating, an acid of the formic acid series, found in the tar, wax, or paraffine obtained by distilling certain kinds of wood, as the beech.
Lignum rhodium () The fragrant wood of several shrubs and trees, especially of species of Rhodorhiza from the Canary Islands, and of the West Indian Amyris balsamifera.
Ligula (n.) The central process, or front edge, of the labium of insects. It sometimes serves as a tongue or proboscis, as in bees.
Liguliflorous (a.) Bearing only ligulate flowers; -- said of a large suborder of composite plants, such as the dandelion, lettuce, hawkweed, etc.
Ligustrin (n.) A bitter principle found in the bark of the privet (Ligustrum vulgare), and extracted as a white crystalline substance with a warm, bitter taste; -- called also ligustron.
Like (n.) A liking; a preference; inclination; -- usually in pl.; as, we all have likes and dislikes.
Like (v. i.) To come near; to avoid with difficulty; to escape narrowly; as, he liked to have been too late. Cf. Had like, under Like, a.
Like (v. i.) To have an appearance or expression; to look; to seem to be (in a specified condition).
Likely (a.) Having probability; having or giving reason to expect; -- followed by the infinitive; as, it is likely to rain.
Likely (a.) Having such qualities as make success probable; well adapted to the place; promising; as, a likely young man; a likely servant.
Liken (a.) To allege, or think, to be like; to represent as like; to compare; as, to liken life to a pilgrimage.
Likeness (n.) The state or quality of being like; similitude; resemblance; similarity; as, the likeness of the one to the other is remarkable.
Liking (n.) The state of being pleased with, or attracted toward, some thing or person; hence, inclination; desire; pleasure; preference; -- often with for, formerly with to; as, it is an amusement I have no liking for.
Liliaceous (a.) Of or pertaining to a natural order of which the lily, tulip, and hyacinth are well-known examples.
Lilliputian (a.) Of or pertaining to the imaginary island of Lilliput described by Swift, or to its inhabitants.
Lilly-pilly (n.) An Australian myrtaceous tree (Eugenia Smithii), having smooth ovate leaves, and panicles of small white flowers. The wood is hard and fine-grained.
Lily (n.) A name given to handsome flowering plants of several genera, having some resemblance in color or form to a true lily, as Pancratium, Crinum, Amaryllis, Nerine, etc.
Lily (n.) A plant and flower of the genus Lilium, endogenous bulbous plants, having a regular perianth of six colored pieces, six stamens, and a superior three-celled ovary.
Lily (n.) That end of a compass needle which should point to the north; -- so called as often ornamented with the figure of a lily or fleur-de-lis.
Lim naea (n.) A genus of fresh-water air-breathing mollusks, abundant in ponds and streams; -- called also pond snail.
Lima/on (n.) A curve of the fourth degree, invented by Pascal. Its polar equation is r = a cos / + b.
Limacina (n.) A genus of small spiral pteropods, common in the Arctic and Antarctic seas. It contributes to the food of the right whales.
Limax (n.) A genus of airbreathing mollusks, including the common garden slugs. They have a small rudimentary shell. The breathing pore is on the right side of the neck. Several species are troublesome in gardens. See Slug.
Limb (n.) A part of a tree which extends from the trunk and separates into branches and twigs; a large branch.
Limb (n.) The border or upper spreading part of a monopetalous corolla, or of a petal, or sepal; blade.
Limbat (n.) A cooling periodical wind in the Isle of Cyprus, blowing from the northwest from eight o'clock, A. M., to the middle of the day or later.
Limber (n.) Gutters or conduits on each side of the keelson to afford a passage for water to the pump well.
Limber (n.) The detachable fore part of a gun carriage, consisting of two wheels, an axle, and a shaft to which the horses are attached. On top is an ammunition box upon which the cannoneers sit.
Limbus (n.) An extramundane region where certain classes of souls were supposed to await the judgment.
Limbus (n.) Hence: Any real or imaginary place of restraint or confinement; a prison; as, to put a man in limbo.
Lime (n.) A fruit allied to the lemon, but much smaller; also, the tree which bears it. There are two kinds; Citrus Medica, var. acida which is intensely sour, and the sweet lime (C. Medica, var. Limetta) which is only slightly sour.
Lime (v. t.) To treat with lime, or oxide or hydrate of calcium; to manure with lime; as, to lime hides for removing the hair; to lime sails in order to whiten them.
Limestone (n.) A rock consisting chiefly of calcium carbonate or carbonate of lime. It sometimes contains also magnesium carbonate, and is then called magnesian or dolomitic limestone. Crystalline limestone is called marble.
Limewater (n.) Water impregnated with lime; esp., an artificial solution of lime for medicinal purposes.
Limicolae (n. pl.) A group of shore birds, embracing the plovers, sandpipers, snipe, curlew, etc. ; the Grallae.
Limit (v. i.) To beg, or to exercise functions, within a certain limited region; as, a limiting friar.
Limit (v. t.) A determinate quantity, to which a variable one continually approaches, and may differ from it by less than any given difference, but to which, under the law of variation, the variable can never become exactly equivalent.
Limit (v. t.) That which terminates a period of time; hence, the period itself; the full time or extent.
Limit (v. t.) That which terminates, circumscribes, restrains, or confines; the bound, border, or edge; the utmost extent; as, the limit of a walk, of a town, of a country; the limits of human knowledge or endeavor.
Limitation (v. t.) A certain period limited by statute after which the claimant shall not enforce his claims by suit.
Limitation (v. t.) A certain precinct within which friars were allowed to beg, or exercise their functions; also, the time during which they were permitted to exercise their functions in such a district.
Limitation (v. t.) That which limits; a restriction; a qualification; a restraining condition, defining circumstance, or qualifying conception; as, limitations of thought.
Limitation (v. t.) The act of limiting; the state or condition of being limited; as, the limitation of his authority was approved by the council.
Limited (a.) Confined within limits; narrow; circumscribed; restricted; as, our views of nature are very limited.
Limiter (n.) A friar licensed to beg within certain bounds, or whose duty was limited to a certain district.
Limonite (n.) Hydrous sesquioxide of iron, an important ore of iron, occurring in stalactitic, mammillary, or earthy forms, of a dark brown color, and yellowish brown powder. It includes bog iron. Also called brown hematite.
Limpet (n.) Any one of many species of marine shellfish of the order Docoglossa, mostly found adhering to rocks, between tides.
Limpet (n.) Any species of Siphonaria, a genus of limpet-shaped Pulmonifera, living between tides, on rocks.
Limu (n.) The Hawaiian name for seaweeds. Over sixty kinds are used as food, and have species names, as Limu Lipoa, Limu palawai, etc.
Limuloidea (n. pl.) An order of Merostomata, including among living animals the genus Limulus, with various allied fossil genera, mostly of the Carboniferous period. Called also Xiphosura.
Limulus (n.) The only existing genus of Merostomata. It includes only a few species from the East Indies, and one (Limulus polyphemus) from the Atlantic coast of North America. Called also Molucca crab, king crab, horseshoe crab, and horsefoot.
Linden (n.) A handsome tree (Tilia Europaea), having cymes of light yellow flowers, and large cordate leaves. The tree is common in Europe.
Lindia (n.) A peculiar genus of rotifers, remarkable for the absence of ciliated disks. By some zoologists it is thought to be like the ancestral form of the Arthropoda.
Line (n.) A connected series of public conveyances, and hence, an established arrangement for forwarding merchandise, etc.; as, a line of stages; an express line.
Line (n.) A linen thread or string; a slender, strong cord; also, a cord of any thickness; a rope; a hawser; as, a fishing line; a line for snaring birds; a clothesline; a towline.
Line (n.) A long tape, or a narrow ribbon of steel, etc., marked with subdivisions, as feet and inches, for measuring; a tapeline.
Line (n.) A more or less threadlike mark of pen, pencil, or graver; any long mark; as, a chalk line.
Line (n.) A row of letters, words, etc., written or printed; esp., a row of words extending across a page or column.
Line (n.) A row of men who are abreast of one another, whether side by side or some distance apart; -- opposed to column.
Line (n.) A series of various qualities and values of the same general class of articles; as, a full line of hosiery; a line of merinos, etc.
Line (n.) A series or succession of ancestors or descendants of a given person; a family or race; as, the ascending or descending line; the line of descent; the male line; a line of kings.
Line (n.) A straight row; a continued series or rank; as, a line of houses, or of soldiers; a line of barriers.
Line (n.) Course of conduct, thought, occupation, or policy; method of argument; department of industry, trade, or intellectual activity.
Line (n.) Dispositions made to cover extended positions, and presenting a front in but one direction to an enemy.
Line (n.) One of the straight horizontal and parallel prolonged strokes on and between which the notes are placed.
Line (n.) That which was measured by a line, as a field or any piece of land set apart; hence, allotted place of abode.
Line (n.) The course followed by anything in motion; hence, a road or route; as, the arrow descended in a curved line; the place is remote from lines of travel.
Line (n.) The proper relative position or adjustment of parts, not as to design or proportion, but with reference to smooth working; as, the engine is in line or out of line.
Line (n.) The regular infantry of an army, as distinguished from militia, guards, volunteer corps, cavalry, artillery, etc.
Line (n.) The wire connecting one telegraphic station with another, or the whole of a system of telegraph wires under one management and name.
Line (v. t.) To cover the inner surface of; as, to line a cloak with silk or fur; to line a box with paper or tin.
Line (v. t.) To place persons or things along the side of for security or defense; to strengthen by adding anything; to fortify; as, to line works with soldiers.
Lineage (n.) Descent in a line from a common progenitor; progeny; race; descending line of offspring or ascending line of parentage.
Lineal (a.) Descending in a direct line from an ancestor; hereditary; derived from ancestors; -- opposed to collateral; as, a lineal descent or a lineal descendant.
Lineal (a.) In the direction of a line; of or pertaining to a line; measured on, or ascertained by, a line; linear; as, lineal magnitude.
Lineament (n.) One of the outlines, exterior features, or distinctive marks, of a body or figure, particularly of the face; feature; form; mark; -- usually in the plural.
Linear (a.) Like a line; narrow; of the same breadth throughout, except at the extremities; as, a linear leaf.
Lineman (n.) A man employed to examine the rails of a railroad to see if they are in good condition; also, a man employed to repair telegraph lines.
Linen (n.) Thread or cloth made of flax or (rarely) of hemp; -- used in a general sense to include cambric, shirting, sheeting, towels, tablecloths, etc.
Liner (n.) A ball which, when struck, flies through the air in a nearly straight line not far from the ground.
Liner (n.) A lining within the cylinder, in which the piston works and between which and the outer shell of the cylinder a space is left to form a steam jacket.
Liner (n.) A thin piece placed between two parts to hold or adjust them, fill a space, etc.; a shim.
Liner (n.) A vessel belonging to a regular line of packets; also, a line-of-battle ship; a ship of the line.
Ling (a.) A large, marine, gadoid fish (Molva vulgaris) of Northern Europe and Greenland. It is valued as a food fish and is largely salted and dried. Called also drizzle.
Ling (a.) A New Zealand food fish of the genus Genypterus. The name is also locally applied to other fishes, as the cultus cod, the mutton fish, and the cobia.
Lingam (n.) The phallic symbol under which Siva is principally worshiped in his character of the creative and reproductive power.
Linger (a.) To delay; to loiter; to remain or wait long; to be slow or reluctant in parting or moving; to be slow in deciding; to be in suspense; to hesitate.
Linger (v. t.) To spend or pass in a lingering manner; -- with out; as, to linger out one's days on a sick bed.
Lingism (n.) A mode of treating certain diseases, as obesity, by gymnastics; -- proposed by Pehr Henrik Ling, a Swede. See Kinesiatrics.
Lingua (n.) A median process of the labium, at the under side of the mouth in insects, and serving as a tongue.
Lingua Franca () The commercial language of the Levant, -- a mixture of the languages of the people of the region and of foreign traders.
Linguadental (a.) Formed or uttered by the joint use of the tongue and teeth, or rather that part of the gum just above the front teeth; dentolingual, as the letters d and t.
Lingual (a.) Of or pertaining to the tongue; uttered by the aid of the tongue; glossal; as, the lingual nerves; a lingual letter.
Lingual (n.) A consonant sound formed by the aid of the tongue; -- a term especially applied to certain articulations (as those of t, d, th, and n) and to the letters denoting them.
Linguatulina (n. pl.) An order of wormlike, degraded, parasitic arachnids. They have two pairs of retractile hooks, near the mouth. Called also Pentastomida.
Linguistical (a.) Of or pertaining to language; relating to linguistics, or to the affinities of languages.
Linguistics (n.) The science of languages, or of the origin, signification, and application of words; glossology.
Lingula (n.) Any one of numerous species of brachiopod shells belonging to the genus Lingula, and related genera. See Brachiopoda, and Illustration in Appendix.
Liniment (n.) A liquid or semiliquid preparation of a consistence thinner than an ointment, applied to the skin by friction, esp. one used as a sedative or a stimulant.
Lining (n.) That which covers the inner surface of anything, as of a garment or a box; also, the contents of anything.
Link (n.) A bond of affinity, or a unit of valence between atoms; -- applied to a unit of chemical force or attraction.
Link (n.) Any one of the several elementary pieces of a mechanism, as the fixed frame, or a rod, wheel, mass of confined liquid, etc., by which relative motion of other parts is produced and constrained.
Link (n.) Hence: Anything, whether material or not, which binds together, or connects, separate things; a part of a connected series; a tie; a bond.
Link (n.) The length of one joint of Gunter's chain, being the hundredth part of it, or 7.92 inches, the chain being 66 feet in length. Cf. Chain, n., 4.
Link (v. t.) To connect or unite with a link or as with a link; to join; to attach; to unite; to couple.
Linkage (n.) A system of straight lines or bars, fastened together by joints, and having certain of their points fixed in a plane. It is used to describe straight lines and curves in the plane.
Linkage (n.) Manner of linking or of being linked; -- said of the union of atoms or radicals in the molecule.
Linkwork (n.) A fabric consisting of links made of metal or other material fastened together; also, a chain.
Linkwork (n.) Mechanism in which links, or intermediate connecting pieces, are employed to transmit motion from one part to another.
Linnaeite (n.) A mineral of pale steel-gray color and metallic luster, occurring in isometric crystals, and also massive. It is a sulphide of cobalt containing some nickel or copper.
Linoleic (a.) Pertaining to, or derived from, linoleum, or linseed oil; specifically (Chem.), designating an organic acid, a thin yellow oil, found combined as a salt of glycerin in oils of linseed, poppy, hemp, and certain nuts.
Linoleum (n.) A kind of floor cloth made by laying hardened linseed oil mixed with ground cork on a canvas backing.
Linstock (n.) A pointed forked staff, shod with iron at the foot, to hold a lighted match for firing cannon.
Lint (n.) Linen scraped or otherwise made into a soft, downy or fleecy substance for dressing wounds and sores; also, fine ravelings, down, fluff, or loose short fibers from yarn or fabrics.
Lintel (n.) A horizontal member spanning an opening, and carrying the superincumbent weight by means of its strength in resisting crosswise fracture.
Lion (n.) An object of interest and curiosity, especially a person who is so regarded; as, he was quite a lion in London at that time.
Lion's ear () A name given in Western South America to certain plants with shaggy tomentose leaves, as species of Culcitium, and Espeletia.
Lion's foot () A composite plant of the genus Prenanthes, of which several species are found in the United States.
Lion's leaf () A South European plant of the genus Leontice (L. leontopetalum), the tuberous roots of which contain so much alkali that they are sometimes used as a substitute for soap.
Lion's tail () A genus of labiate plants (Leonurus); -- so called from a fancied resemblance of its flower spikes to the tuft of a lion's tail. L. Cardiaca is the common motherwort.
Lionced (a.) Adorned with lions' heads; having arms terminating in lions' heads; -- said of a cross.
Lionize (v. t.) To show the lions or objects of interest to; to conduct about among objects of interest.
Lip (n.) An edge of an opening; a thin projecting part of anything; a kind of short open spout; as, the lip of a vessel.
Lipans (n. pl.) A tribe of North American Indians, inhabiting the northern part of Mexico. They belong to the Tinneh stock, and are closely related to the Apaches.
Liparian (n.) Any species of a family (Liparidae) of destructive bombycid moths, as the tussock moths.
Lipic (a.) Pertaining to, or derived from, fat. The word was formerly used specifically to designate a supposed acid obtained by the oxidation of oleic acid, tallow, wax, etc.
Lipochrin (n.) A yellow coloring matter, soluble in ether, contained in the small round fat drops in the retinal epithelium cells. It is best obtained from the eyes of frogs.
Lipogram (n.) A writing composed of words not having a certain letter or letters; -- as in the Odyssey of Tryphiodorus there was no A in the first book, no B in the second, and so on.
Lipogrammatic (a.) Omitting a letter; composed of words not having a certain letter or letters; as, lipogrammatic writings.
Lipped (a.) Having a lip or lips; having a raised or rounded edge resembling the lip; -- often used in composition; as, thick-lipped, thin-lipped, etc.
Liquation (n.) The act or operation of making or becoming liquid; also, the capacity of becoming liquid.
Liquation (n.) The process of separating, by heat, an easily fusible metal from one less fusible; eliquation.
Liquefacient (n.) An agent, as mercury, iodine, etc., which promotes the liquefying processes of the system, and increases the secretions.
Liquefaction (n.) The act or operation of making or becoming liquid; especially, the conversion of a solid into a liquid by the sole agency of heat.
Liquefaction (n.) The act, process, or method, of reducing a gas or vapor to a liquid by means of cold or pressure; as, the liquefaction of oxygen or hydrogen.
Liquefy (v. t.) To convert from a solid form to that of a liquid; to melt; to dissolve; and technically, to melt by the sole agency of heat.
Liquid (n.) A letter which has a smooth, flowing sound, or which flows smoothly after a mute; as, l and r, in bla, bra. M and n also are called liquids.
Liquid (n.) A substance whose parts change their relative position on the slightest pressure, and therefore retain no definite form; any substance in the state of liquidity; a fluid that is not aeriform.
Liquidambar (n.) A genus consisting of two species of tall trees having star-shaped leaves, and woody burlike fruit. Liquidambar styraciflua is the North American sweet qum, and L. Orientalis is found in Asia Minor.
Liquidambar (n.) The balsamic juice which is obtained from these trees by incision. The liquid balsam of the Oriental tree is liquid storax.
Liquidate (v. t.) In an extended sense: To ascertain the amount, or the several amounts, of , and apply assets toward the discharge of (an indebtedness).
Liquidator (n.) An officer appointed to conduct the winding up of a company, to bring and defend actions and suits in its name, and to do all necessary acts on behalf of the company.
Liquor (n.) Specifically, alcoholic or spirituous fluid, either distilled or fermented, as brandy, wine, whisky, beer, etc.
Liripoop (n.) A pendent part of the old clerical tippet; afterwards, a tippet; a scarf; -- worn also by doctors, learned men, etc.
Liroconite (n.) A hydrated arseniate of copper, occurring in obtuse pyramidal crystals of a sky-blue or verdigris-green color.
Lisbon (n.) A sweet, light-colored species of wine, produced in the province of Estremadura, and so called as being shipped from Lisbon, in Portugal.
Lisp (v. i.) To pronounce the sibilant letter s imperfectly; to give s and z the sound of th; -- a defect common among children.
Lisp (v. t.) To speak with reserve or concealment; to utter timidly or confidentially; as, to lisp treason.
Lisp (v. t.) To utter with imperfect articulation; to express with words pronounced imperfectly or indistinctly, as a child speaks; hence, to express by the use of simple, childlike language.
Lissencephala (n. pl.) A general name for all those placental mammals that have a brain with few or no cerebral convolutions, as Rodentia, Insectivora, etc.
List (n.) A line inclosing or forming the extremity of a piece of ground, or field of combat; hence, in the plural (lists), the ground or field inclosed for a race or combat.
List (n.) A roll or catalogue, that is row or line; a record of names; as, a list of names, books, articles; a list of ratable estate.
List (n.) A strip forming the woven border or selvedge of cloth, particularly of broadcloth, and serving to strengthen it; hence, a strip of cloth; a fillet.
List (v. t.) To cover with list, or with strips of cloth; to put list on; as, to list a door; to stripe as if with list.
Listen (v. i.) To give close attention with the purpose of hearing; to give ear; to hearken; to attend.
Listerism (n.) The systematic use of antiseptics in the performance of operations and the treatment of wounds; -- so called from Joseph Lister, an English surgeon.
Listing (n.) The act or process of one who lists (in any sense of the verb); as, the listing of a door; the listing of a stock at the Stock Exchange.
Listing (n.) The throwing up of the soil into ridges, -- a method adopted in the culture of beets and some garden crops.
Litany (n.) A solemn form of supplication in the public worship of various churches, in which the clergy and congregation join, the former leading and the latter responding in alternate sentences. It is usually of a penitential character.
Literal (a.) According to the letter or verbal expression; real; not figurative or metaphorical; as, the literal meaning of a phrase.
Literal (a.) Giving a strict or literal construction; unimaginative; matter-of fast; -- applied to persons.
Literalism (n.) That which accords with the letter; a mode of interpreting literally; adherence to the letter.
Literalism (n.) The tendency or disposition to represent objects faithfully, without abstraction, conventionalities, or idealization.
Literalist (n.) One who adheres to the letter or exact word; an interpreter according to the letter.
Literalize (v. t.) To make literal; to interpret or put in practice according to the strict meaning of the words; -- opposed to spiritualize; as, to literalize Scripture.
Literally (adv.) According to the primary and natural import of words; not figuratively; as, a man and his wife can not be literally one flesh.
Literary (a.) Of or pertaining to letters or literature; pertaining to learning or learned men; as, literary fame; a literary history; literary conversation.
Literary (a.) Versed in, or acquainted with, literature; occupied with literature as a profession; connected with literature or with men of letters; as, a literary man.
Literate (n.) One educated, but not having taken a university degree; especially, such a person who is prepared to take holy orders.
Literator (n.) A person devoted to the study of literary trifles, esp. trifles belonging to the literature of a former age.
Literature (n.) The class of writings distinguished for beauty of style or expression, as poetry, essays, or history, in distinction from scientific treatises and works which contain positive knowledge; belles-lettres.
Lith (n.) A joint or limb; a division; a member; a part formed by growth, and articulated to, or symmetrical with, other parts.
Lithagogue (n.) A medicine having, or supposed to have, the power of expelling calculous matter with the urine.
Lithe (a.) Capable of being easily bent; pliant; flexible; limber; as, the elephant's lithe proboscis.
Lithia (n.) The oxide of lithium; a strong alkaline caustic similar to potash and soda, but weaker. See Lithium.
Lithiasis (n.) The formation of stony concretions or calculi in any part of the body, especially in the bladder and urinary passages.
Lithic (a.) Pertaining to the formation of uric-acid concretions (stone) in the bladder and other parts of the body; as, lithic diathesis.
Lithium (n.) A metallic element of the alkaline group, occurring in several minerals, as petalite, spodumene, lepidolite, triphylite, etc., and otherwise widely disseminated, though in small quantities.
Lithobilic (a.) Pertaining to or designating an organic acid of the tartaric acid series, distinct from lithofellic acid, but, like it, obtained from certain bile products, as bezoar stones.
Lithocyst (n.) A sac containing small, calcareous concretions (otoliths). They are found in many Medusae, and other invertebrates, and are supposed to be auditory organs.
Lithodome (n.) Any one of several species of bivalves, which form holes in limestone, in which they live; esp., any species of the genus Lithodomus.
Lithodomus (n.) A genus of elongated bivalve shells, allied to the mussels, and remarkable for their ability to bore holes for shelter, in solid limestone, shells, etc. Called also Lithophagus.
Lithofellic (a.) Pertaining to, or designating, a crystalline, organic acid, resembling cholic acid, found in the biliary intestinal concretions (bezoar stones) common in certain species of antelope.
Lithograph (v. t.) To trace on stone by the process of lithography so as to transfer the design to paper by printing; as, to lithograph a design; to lithograph a painting. See Lithography.
Lithographical (a.) Of or pertaining to lithography; made by lithography; as, the lithographic art; a lithographic picture.
Lithological (a.) Of or pertaining to the character of a rock, as derived from the nature and mode of aggregation of its mineral contents.
Lithology (n.) The science which treats of rocks, as regards their mineral constitution and classification, and their mode of occurrence in nature.
Lithontriptic (a.) Having the quality of, or used for, dissolving or destroying stone in the bladder or kidneys; as, lithontriptic forceps.
Lithophagous (a.) Eating or destroying stone; -- applied to various animals which make burrows in stone, as many bivalve mollusks, certain sponges, annelids, and sea urchins. See Lithodomus.
Lithophane (n.) Porcelain impressed with figures which are made distinct by transmitted light, -- as when hung in a window, or used as a lamp shade.
Lithophyse (n.) A spherulitic cavity often with concentric chambers, observed in some volcanic rocks, as in rhyolitic lavas. It is supposed to be produced by expanding gas, whence the name.
Lithophyte (n.) A hard, or stony, plantlike organism, as the gorgonians, corals, and corallines, esp. those gorgonians having a calcareous axis. All the lithophytes except the corallines are animals.
Lithosian (n.) Any one of various species of moths belonging to the family Lithosidae. Many of them are beautifully colored.
Lithotint (n.) A kind of lithography by which the effect of a tinted drawing is produced, as if made with India ink.
Lithotomist (n.) One who performs the operation of cutting for stone in the bladder, or one who is skilled in the operation.
Lithotripsy (n.) The operation of crushing a stone in the bladder with an instrument called lithotriptor or lithotrite; lithotrity.
Lithotrity (n.) The operation of breaking a stone in the bladder into small pieces capable of being voided.
Lithotype (n.) A kind of stereotype plate made by lithotypy; also, that which in printed from it. See Lithotypy.
Lithotype (v. t.) To prepare for printing with plates made by the process of lithotypy. See Lithotypy.
Lithuanian (a.) Of or pertaining to Lithuania (formerly a principality united with Poland, but now Russian and Prussian territory).
Lithuanian (n.) A native, or one of the people, of Lithuania; also, the language of the Lithuanian people.
Litigant (a.) Disposed to litigate; contending in law; engaged in a lawsuit; as, the parties litigant.
Litigate (v. t.) To make the subject of a lawsuit; to contest in law; to prosecute or defend by pleadings, exhibition of evidence, and judicial debate in a court; as, to litigate a cause.
Litigious (a.) Inclined to judicial contest; given to the practice of contending in law; guarrelsome; contentious; fond of litigation.
Litmus (n.) A dyestuff extracted from certain lichens (Roccella tinctoria, Lecanora tartarea, etc.), as a blue amorphous mass which consists of a compound of the alkaline carbonates with certain coloring matters related to orcin and orcein.
Litotes (n.) A diminution or softening of statement for the sake of avoiding censure or increasing the effect by contrast with the moderation shown in the form of expression; as, " a citizen of no mean city," that is, of an illustrious city.
Litre (n.) A measure of capacity in the metric system, being a cubic decimeter, equal to 61.022 cubic inches, or 2.113 American pints, or 1.76 English pints.
Litter (n.) A bed or stretcher so arranged that a person, esp. a sick or wounded person, may be easily carried in or upon it.
Litter (n.) Disorder or untidiness resulting from scattered rubbish, or from thongs lying about uncared for; as, a room in a state of litter.
Litter (n.) Straw, hay, etc., scattered on a floor, as bedding for animals to rest on; also, a covering of straw for plants.
Litter (n.) The young brought forth at one time, by a sow or other multiparous animal, taken collectively. Also Fig.
Litter (v. t.) To give birth to; to bear; -- said of brutes, esp. those which produce more than one at a birth, and also of human beings, in abhorrence or contempt.
Litter (v. t.) To put into a confused or disordered condition; to strew with scattered articles; as, to litter a room.
Little (a.) Small in extent of views or sympathies; narrow; shallow; contracted; mean; illiberal; ungenerous.
Little (a.) Small in force or efficiency; not strong; weak; slight; inconsiderable; as, little attention or exertion;little effort; little care or diligence.
Little (a.) Small in size or extent; not big; diminutive; -- opposed to big or large; as, a little body; a little animal; a little piece of ground; a little hill; a little distance; a little child.
Little (adv.) In a small quantity or degree; not much; slightly; somewhat; -- often with a preceding it.
Littleness (n.) The state or quality of being little; as, littleness of size, thought, duration, power, etc.
Littorina (n.) A genus of small pectinibranch mollusks, having thick spiral shells, abundant between tides on nearly all rocky seacoasts. They feed on seaweeds. The common periwinkle is a well-known example. See Periwinkle.
Lituite (n.) Any species of ammonites of the genus Lituites. They are found in the Cretaceous formation.
Liturgical () Pertaining to, of or the nature of, a liturgy; of or pertaining to public prayer and worship.
Liturgiology (n.) The science treating of liturgical matters; a treatise on, or description of, liturgies.
Lituus (n.) A spiral whose polar equation is r2/ = a; that is, a curve the square of whose radius vector varies inversely as the angle which the radius vector makes with a given line.
Lituus (n.) An instrument of martial music; a kind of trumpet of a somewhat curved form and shrill note.
Live (a.) Being in a state of ignition; burning; having active properties; as, a live coal; live embers.
Live (v. i.) To be maintained in life; to acquire a livelihood; to subsist; -- with on or by; as, to live on spoils.
Live (v. i.) To be or continue in existence; to exist; to remain; to be permanent; to last; -- said of inanimate objects, ideas, etc.
Live (v. i.) To feed; to subsist; to be nourished or supported; -- with on; as, horses live on grass and grain.
Live (v. i.) To have a spiritual existence; to be quickened, nourished, and actuated by divine influence or faith.
Live (v. i.) To outlast danger; to float; -- said of a ship, boat, etc.; as, no ship could live in such a storm.
Live (v. i.) To pass one's time; to pass life or time in a certain manner, as to habits, conduct, or circumstances; as, to live in ease or affluence; to live happily or usefully.
Live (v. t.) To spend, as one's life; to pass; to maintain; to continue in, constantly or habitually; as, to live an idle or a useful life.
Live-forever (n.) A plant (Sedum Telephium) with fleshy leaves, which has extreme powers of resisting drought; garden ox-pine.
Livelihood (n.) Subsistence or living, as dependent on some means of support; support of life; maintenance.
Liveliness (n.) An appearance of life, animation, or spirit; as, the liveliness of the eye or the countenance in a portrait.
Liveliness (n.) The quality or state of being lively or animated; sprightliness; vivacity; animation; spirit; as, the liveliness of youth, contrasted with the gravity of age.
Livelong (a.) Whole; entire; long in passing; -- used of time, as day or night, in adverbial phrases, and usually with a sense of tediousness.
Liver (n.) One whose course of life has some marked characteristic (expressed by an adjective); as, a free liver.
Liver (n.) The glossy ibis (Ibis falcinellus); -- said to have given its name to the city of Liverpool.
Liverwort (n.) A flowerless plant (Marchantia polymorpha), having an irregularly lobed, spreading, and forking frond.
Liverwort (n.) A ranunculaceous plant (Anemone Hepatica) with pretty white or bluish flowers and a three-lobed leaf; -- called also squirrel cups.
Livery (n.) An allowance of food statedly given out; a ration, as to a family, to servants, to horses, etc.
Livery (n.) The feeding, stabling, and care of horses for compensation; boarding; as, to keep one's horses at livery.
Livery (n.) The keeping of horses in readiness to be hired temporarily for riding or driving; the state of being so kept.
Livery (n.) The peculiar dress by which the servants of a nobleman or gentleman are distinguished; as, a claret-colored livery.
Livery (n.) The uniform clothing issued by feudal superiors to their retainers and serving as a badge when in military service.
Livery stable () A stable where horses are kept for hire, and where stabling is provided. See Livery, n., 3 (e) (f) & (g).
Livingness (n.) The state or quality of being alive; possession of energy or vigor; animation; quickening.
Livinian (n.) A native or an inhabitant of Livonia; the language (allied to the Finnish) of the Livonians.
Livraison (n.) A part of a book or literary composition printed and delivered by itself; a number; a part.
Livre (n.) A French money of account, afterward a silver coin equal to 20 sous. It is not now in use, having been superseded by the franc.
Lixivial (a.) Impregnated with, or consisting of, alkaline salts extracted from wood ashes; impregnated with a salt or salts like a lixivium.
Lixiviate (v. t.) To subject to a washing process for the purpose of separating soluble material from that which is insoluble; to leach, as ashes, for the purpose of extracting the alkaline substances.
Lixiviation (n.) Lixiviating; the process of separating a soluble substance form one that is insoluble, by washing with some solvent, as water; leaching.
Lixivium (n.) A solution of alkaline salts extracted from wood ashes; hence, any solution obtained by lixiviation.
Lizard (n.) A piece of timber with a forked end, used in dragging a heavy stone, a log, or the like, from a field.
Lizard (n.) Any one of the numerous species of reptiles belonging to the order Lacertilia; sometimes, also applied to reptiles of other orders, as the Hatteria.
Lizard's tail () A perennial plant of the genus Saururus (S. cernuus), growing in marshes, and having white flowers crowded in a slender terminal spike, somewhat resembling in form a lizard's tail; whence the name.
Llama (n.) A South American ruminant (Auchenia llama), allied to the camels, but much smaller and without a hump. It is supposed to be a domesticated variety of the guanaco. It was formerly much used as a beast of burden in the Andes.
Llandeilo group () A series of strata in the lower Silurian formations of Great Britain; -- so named from Llandeilo in Southern Wales. See Chart of Geology.
Lloyd's (n.) A part of the Royal Exchange, in London, appropriated to the use of underwriters and insurance brokers; -- called also Lloyd's Rooms.
Load (v. t.) To lay a load or burden on or in, as on a horse or in a cart; to charge with a load, as a gun; to furnish with a lading or cargo, as a ship; hence, to add weight to, so as to oppress or embarrass; to heap upon.
Load (v.) A burden; that which is laid on or put in anything for conveyance; that which is borne or sustained; a weight; as, a heavy load.
Load (v.) A particular measure for certain articles, being as much as may be carried at one time by the conveyance commonly used for the article measured; as, a load of wood; a load of hay; specifically, five quarters.
Load (v.) The quantity which can be carried or drawn in some specified way; the contents of a cart, barrow, or vessel; that which will constitute a cargo; lading.
Loaf (n.) Any thick lump, mass, or cake; especially, a large regularly shaped or molded mass, as of bread, sugar, or cake.
Loam (n.) A kind of soil; an earthy mixture of clay and sand, with organic matter to which its fertility is chiefly due.
Loam (n.) A mixture of sand, clay, and other materials, used in making molds for large castings, often without a pattern.
Loan (n.) That which one lends or borrows, esp. a sum of money lent at interest; as, he repaid the loan.
Loan (n.) The act of lending; a lending; permission to use; as, the loan of a book, money, services.
Loanable (a.) Such as can be lent; available for lending; as, loanable funds; -- used mostly in financial business and writings.
Loaning (n.) An open space between cultivated fields through which cattle are driven, and where the cows are sometimes milked; also, a lane.
Lobated (a.) Having lobes; -- said of the tails of certain fishes having the integument continued to the bases of the fin rays.
Lobby (n.) A confined place for cattle, formed by hedges. trees, or other fencing, near the farmyard.
Lobby (n.) An apartment or passageway in the fore part of an old-fashioned cabin under the quarter-deck.
Lobby (v. i.) To address or solicit members of a legislative body in the lobby or elsewhere, with the purpose to influence their votes.
Lobby (v. t.) To urge the adoption or passage of by soliciting members of a legislative body; as, to lobby a bill.
Lobbyist (n.) A member of the lobby; a person who solicits members of a legislature for the purpose of influencing legislation.
Lobe (n.) A round projecting part of an organ, as of the liver, lungs, brain, etc. See Illust. of Brain.
Lobeliaceous (a.) Of or pertaining to a natural order of plants of which the genus Lobelia is the type.
Lobeline (n.) A poisonous narcotic alkaloid extracted from the leaves of Indian tobacco (Lobelia inflata) as a yellow oil, having a tobaccolike taste and odor.
Lobosa (n. pl.) An order of Rhizopoda, in which the pseudopodia are thick and irregular in form, as in the Amoeba.
Lobscouse (n.) A combination of meat with vegetables, bread, etc., usually stewed, sometimes baked; an olio.
Local (a.) Of or pertaining to a particular place, or to a definite region or portion of space; restricted to one place or region; as, a local custom.
Local (n.) A train which receives and deposits passengers or freight along the line of the road; a train for the accommodation of a certain district.
Locale (n.) A principle, practice, form of speech, or other thing of local use, or limited to a locality.
Localism (n.) A method of speaking or acting peculiar to a certain district; a local idiom or phrase.
Locality (n.) Position; situation; a place; a spot; esp., a geographical place or situation, as of a mineral or plant.
Locality (n.) The perceptive faculty concerned with the ability to remember the relative positions of places.
Locality (n.) The state, or condition, of belonging to a definite place, or of being contained within definite limits.
Locate (v. t.) To designate the site or place of; to define the limits of; as, to locate a public building; to locate a mining claim; to locate (the land granted by) a land warrant.
Location (n.) The marking out of the boundaries, or identifying the place or site of, a piece of land, according to the description given in an entry, plan, map, etc.
Locative (a.) Indicating place, or the place where, or wherein; as, a locative adjective; locative case of a noun.
Locellate (a.) Divided into secondary compartments or cells, as where one cavity is separated into several smaller ones.
Lochaber axe () A weapon of war, consisting of a pole armed with an axhead at its end, formerly used by the Scotch Highlanders.
Lock (n.) A fastening together or interlacing; a closing of one thing upon another; a state of being fixed or immovable.
Lock (n.) A tuft of hair; a flock or small quantity of wool, hay, or other like substance; a tress or ringlet of hair.
Lock (n.) An inclosure in a canal with gates at each end, used in raising or lowering boats as they pass from one level to another; -- called also lift lock.
Lock (n.) Anything that fastens; specifically, a fastening, as for a door, a lid, a trunk, a drawer, and the like, in which a bolt is moved by a key so as to hold or to release the thing fastened.
Lock (n.) That part or apparatus of a firearm by which the charge is exploded; as, a matchlock, flintlock, percussion lock, etc.
Lock (v. t.) To fasten with a lock, or as with a lock; to make fast; to prevent free movement of; as, to lock a door, a carriage wheel, a river, etc.
Lock (v. t.) To prevent ingress or access to, or exit from, by fastening the lock or locks of; -- often with up; as, to lock or lock up, a house, jail, room, trunk. etc.
Lock (v. t.) To seize, as the sword arm of an antagonist, by turning the left arm around it, to disarm him.
Lock step () A mode of marching by a body of men going one after another as closely as possible, in which the leg of each moves at the same time with the corresponding leg of the person before him.
Lock stitch () A peculiar sort of stitch formed by the locking of two threads together, as in the work done by some sewing machines. See Stitch.
Locker (n.) A drawer, cupboard, compartment, or chest, esp. one in a ship, that may be closed with a lock.
Locket (n.) A little case for holding a miniature or lock of hair, usually suspended from a necklace or watch chain.
Lockjaw (n.) A contraction of the muscles of the jaw by which its motion is suspended; a variety of tetanus.
Lockout (n.) The closing of a factory or workshop by an employer, usually in order to bring the workmen to satisfactory terms by a suspension of wages.
Loco (adv.) A direction in written or printed music to return to the proper pitch after having played an octave higher.
Loco (n.) A plant (Astragalus Hornii) growing in the Southwestern United States, which is said to poison horses and cattle, first making them insane. The name is also given vaguely to several other species of the same genus. Called also loco weed.
Locomotion (n.) The power of moving from place to place, characteristic of the higher animals and some of the lower forms of plant life.
Locomotive (a.) Moving from place to place; changing place, or able to change place; as, a locomotive animal.
Locular (a.) Of or relating to the cell or compartment of an ovary, etc.; in composition, having cells; as trilocular.
Locus (n.) The line traced by a point which varies its position according to some determinate law; the surface described by a point or line that moves according to a given law.
Locust tree () A large North American tree of the genus Robinia (R. Pseudacacia), producing large slender racemes of white, fragrant, papilionaceous flowers, and often cultivated as an ornamental tree. In England it is called acacia.
Locustic (a.) Pertaining to, or derived from, the locust; -- formerly used to designate a supposed acid.
Locutory (n.) A room for conversation; especially, a room in monasteries, where the monks were allowed to converse.
Lodestone (n.) A piece of magnetic iron ore possessing polarity like a magnetic needle. See Magnetite.
Lodge (n.) A family of North American Indians, or the persons who usually occupy an Indian lodge, -- as a unit of enumeration, reckoned from four to six persons; as, the tribe consists of about two hundred lodges, that is, of about a thousand individuals.
Lodge (n.) A shelter in which one may rest; as: (a) A shed; a rude cabin; a hut; as, an Indian's lodge.
Lodge (n.) The meeting room of an association; hence, the regularly constituted body of members which meets there; as, a masonic lodge.
Lodge (n.) The space at the mouth of a level next the shaft, widened to permit wagons to pass, or ore to be deposited for hoisting; -- called also platt.
Lodge (n.) To give shelter or rest to; especially, to furnish a sleeping place for; to harbor; to shelter; hence, to receive; to hold.
Lodge (v. i.) To rest or remain a lodge house, or other shelter; to rest; to stay; to abide; esp., to sleep at night; as, to lodge in York Street.
Lodging (n.) A place of rest, or of temporary habitation; esp., a sleeping apartment; -- often in the plural with a singular meaning.
Lodgment (v.) The occupation and holding of a position, as by a besieging party; an instrument thrown up in a captured position; as, to effect a lodgment.
Lodicule (n.) One of the two or three delicate membranous scales which are next to the stamens in grasses.
Loess (n.) A quaternary deposit, usually consisting of a fine yellowish earth, on the banks of the Rhine and other large rivers.
Lofty (superl.) Fig.: Elevated in character, rank, dignity, spirit, bearing, language, etc.; exalted; noble; stately; characterized by pride; haughty.
Log (n.) A record and tabulated statement of the work done by an engine, as of a steamship, of the coal consumed, and of other items relating to the performance of machinery during a given time.
Log (n.) A weight or block near the free end of a hoisting rope to prevent it from being drawn through the sheave.
Log (n.) Hence: The record of the rate of ship's speed or of her daily progress; also, the full nautical record of a ship's cruise or voyage; a log slate; a log book.
Log-chip (n.) A thin, flat piece of board in the form of a quadrant of a circle attached to the log line; -- called also log-ship. See 2d Log, n., 2.
Logaoedic (a.) Composed of dactyls and trochees so arranged as to produce a movement like that of ordinary speech.
Logarithm (n.) One of a class of auxiliary numbers, devised by John Napier, of Merchiston, Scotland (1550-1617), to abridge arithmetical calculations, by the use of addition and subtraction in place of multiplication and division.
Loggerhead (n.) A very large marine turtle (Thalassochelys caretta, / caouana), common in the warmer parts of the Atlantic Ocean, from Brazil to Cape Cod; -- called also logger-headed turtle.
Loggerhead (n.) An American shrike (Lanius Ludovicianus), similar to the butcher bird, but smaller. See Shrike.
Loggerhead (n.) An upright piece of round timber, in a whaleboat, over which a turn of the line is taken when it is running out too fast.
Logging (n.) The business of felling trees, cutting them into logs, and transporting the logs to sawmills or to market.
Logical (a.) According to the rules of logic; as, a logical argument or inference; the reasoning is logical.
Logical (a.) Skilled in logic; versed in the art of thinking and reasoning; as, he is a logical thinker.
Logistics (n.) A system of arithmetic, in which numbers are expressed in a scale of 60; logistic arithmetic.
Logistics (n.) That branch of the military art which embraces the details of moving and supplying armies. The meaning of the word is by some writers extended to include strategy.
Logogram (n.) A word letter; a phonogram, that, for the sake of brevity, represents a word; as, |, i. e., t, for it. Cf. Grammalogue.
Logographer (n.) A chronicler; one who writes history in a condensed manner with short simple sentences.
Logography (n.) A method of printing in which whole words or syllables, cast as single types, are used.
Logography (n.) A mode of reporting speeches without using shorthand, -- a number of reporters, each in succession, taking down three or four words.
Logothete () An accountant; under Constantine, an officer of the empire; a receiver of revenue; an administrator of a department.
Logotype (n.) A single type, containing two or more letters; as, ae, Ae, /, /, /, etc. ; -- called also ligature.
Logrolling (n.) Hence: A combining to assist another in consideration of receiving assistance in return; -- sometimes used of a disreputable mode of accomplishing political schemes or ends.
Logrolling (n.) The act or process of rolling logs from the place where they were felled to the stream which floats them to the sawmill or to market. In this labor neighboring camps of loggers combine to assist each other in turn.
Loin (n.) That part of a human being or quadruped, which extends on either side of the spinal column between the hip bone and the false ribs. In human beings the loins are also called the reins. See Illust. of Beef.
Loiter (v. i.) To be slow in moving; to delay; to linger; to be dilatory; to spend time idly; to saunter; to lag behind.
Loki (n.) The evil deity, the author of all calamities and mischief, answering to the African of the Persians.
Loligo (n.) A genus of cephalopods, including numerous species of squids, common on the coasts of America and Europe. They are much used for fish bait.
Loll (v. i.) To act lazily or indolently; to recline; to lean; to throw one's self down; to lie at ease.
Loll (v. i.) To hand extended from the mouth, as the tongue of an ox or a log when heated with labor or exertion.
Loll (v. i.) To let the tongue hang from the mouth, as an ox, dog, or other animal, when heated by labor; as, the ox stood lolling in the furrow.
Lombar-house (n.) A public institution for lending money to the poor at a moderate interest, upon articles deposited and pledged; -- called also mont de piete.
Lombard (n.) A money lender or banker; -- so called because the business of banking was first carried on in London by Lombards.
Loment (n.) An elongated pod, consisting, like the legume, of two valves, but divided transversely into small cells, each containing a single seed.
Lone (a.) Being apart from other things of the kind; being by itself; also, apart from human dwellings and resort; as, a lone house.
Lone (a.) Being without a companion; being by one's self; also, sad from lack of companionship; lonely; as, a lone traveler or watcher.
Lonely (superl.) Having a feeling of depression or sadness resulting from the consciousness of being alone; lonesome.
Lonely (superl.) Sequestered from company or neighbors; solitary; retired; as, a lonely situation; a lonely cell.
Long (a.) To feel a strong or morbid desire or craving; to wish for something with eagerness; -- followed by an infinitive, or by after or for.
Long (adv.) At a point of duration far distant, either prior or posterior; as, not long before; not long after; long before the foundation of Rome; long after the Conquest.
Long (adv.) Through an extent of time, more or less; -- only in question; as, how long will you be gone?
Long (n.) The longest dimension; the greatest extent; -- in the phrase, the long and the short of it, that is, the sum and substance of it.
Long (superl.) Drawn out in a line, or in the direction of length; protracted; extended; as, a long line; -- opposed to short, and distinguished from broad or wide.
Long (superl.) Drawn out or extended in time; continued through a considerable tine, or to a great length; as, a long series of events; a long debate; a long drama; a long history; a long book.
Long (superl.) Extended to any specified measure; of a specified length; as, a span long; a yard long; a mile long, that is, extended to the measure of a mile, etc.
Long (superl.) Prolonged, or relatively more prolonged, in utterance; -- said of vowels and syllables. See Short, a., 13, and Guide to Pronunciation, // 22, 30.
Long (superl.) Slow in passing; causing weariness by length or duration; lingering; as, long hours of watching.
Long-horned (a.) Having a long horn or horns; as, a long-horned goat, or cow; having long antennae, as certain beetles (Longicornia).
Long-lived (a.) Having a long life; having constitutional peculiarities which make long life probable; lasting long; as, a long-lived tree; they are a longlived family; long-lived prejudices.
Long-sighted (a.) Able to see objects at a great distance; hence, having great foresight; sagacious; farseeing.
Long-sighted (a.) Able to see objects distinctly at a distance, but not close at hand; hypermetropic.
Long-waisted (a.) Having a long waist; long from the armpits to the armpits to the bottom of the waist; -- said of persons.
Long-waisted (a.) Long from the part about the neck or shoulder, or from the armpits, to the bottom of the weist, or to the skirt; -- said of garments; as, a long-waisted coat.
Long-winded (a.) Long-breathed; hence, tediously long in speaking; consuming much time; as, a long-winded talker.
Longan (n.) A pulpy fruit related to the litchi, and produced by an evergreen East Indian tree (Nephelium Longan).
Longbeak (n.) The American redbellied snipe (Macrorhamphus scolopaceus); -- called also long-billed dowitcher.
Longboat (n.) Formerly, the largest boat carried by a merchant vessel, corresponding to the launch of a naval vessel.
Longbow (n.) The ordinary bow, not mounted on a stock; -- so called in distinction from the crossbow when both were used as weapons of war. Also, sometimes, such a bow of about the height of a man, as distinguished from a much shorter one.
Longirostres (n. pl.) A group of birds characterized by having long slender bills, as the sandpipers, curlews, and ibises. It is now regarded as an artificial division.
Longitude (n.) Length; measure or distance along the longest line; -- distinguished from breadth or thickness; as, the longitude of a room; rare now, except in a humorous sense.
Longitudinal (a.) Extending in length; in the direction of the length; running lengthwise, as distinguished from transverse; as, the longitudinal diameter of a body.
Longmynd rocks () The sparingly fossiliferous conglomerates, grits, schists, and states of Great Britain, which lie at the base of the Cambrian system; -- so called, because typically developed in the Longmynd Hills, Shropshire.
Longshoreman (n.) One of a class of laborers employed about the wharves of a seaport, especially in loading and unloading vessels.
Longspur (n.) Any one of several species of fringilline birds of the genus Calcarius (or Plectrophanes), and allied genera. The Lapland longspur (C. Lapponicus), the chestnut-colored longspur (C. ornatus), and other species, inhabit the United States.
Lonis quatorze () Of, pertaining to, or resembling, the art or style of the times of Louis XIV. of France; as, Louis quatorze architecture.
Loo (n.) A modification of the game of "all fours" in which the players replenish their hands after each round by drawing each a card from the pack.
Loo (n.) An old game played with five, or three, cards dealt to each player from a full pack. When five cards are used the highest card is the knave of clubs or (if so agreed upon) the knave of trumps; -- formerly called lanterloo.
Loof (n.) Formerly, some appurtenance of a vessel which was used in changing her course; -- probably a large paddle put over the lee bow to help bring her head nearer to the wind.
Loof (n.) The spongelike fibers of the fruit of a cucurbitaceous plant (Luffa Aegyptiaca); called also vegetable sponge.
Look (n.) The act of looking; a glance; a sight; a view; -- often in certain phrases; as, to have, get, take, throw, or cast, a look.
Look (v. i.) In the imperative: see; behold; take notice; take care; observe; -- used to call attention.
Look (v. i.) To direct the attention (to something); to consider; to examine; as, to look at an action.
Look (v. i.) To direct the eyes for the purpose of seeing something; to direct the eyes toward an object; to observe with the eyes while keeping them directed; -- with various prepositions, often in a special or figurative sense. See Phrases below.
Look (v. i.) To seem; to appear; to have a particular appearance; as, the patient looks better; the clouds look rainy.
Look (v. i.) To show one's self in looking, as by leaning out of a window; as, look out of the window while I speak to you. Sometimes used figuratively.
Looking (a.) Having a certain look or appearance; -- often compounded with adjectives; as, good-looking, grand-looking, etc.
Looking-glass (n.) A mirror made of glass on which has been placed a backing of some reflecting substance, as quicksilver.
Loom (n.) A frame or machine of wood or other material, in which a weaver forms cloth out of thread; a machine for interweaving yarn or threads into a fabric, as in knitting or lace making.
Loom (n.) The state of looming; esp., an unnatural and indistinct appearance of elevation or enlargement of anything, as of land or of a ship, seen by one at sea.
Loom (v. i.) To appear above the surface either of sea or land, or to appear enlarged, or distorted and indistinct, as a distant object, a ship at sea, or a mountain, esp. from atmospheric influences; as, the ship looms large; the land looms high.
Looming (n.) The indistinct and magnified appearance of objects seen in particular states of the atmosphere. See Mirage.
Loop (n.) A fold or doubling of a thread, cord, rope, etc., through which another thread, cord, etc., can be passed, or which a hook can be hooked into; an eye, as of metal; a staple; a noose; a bight.
Loop (n.) The portion of a vibrating string, air column, etc., between two nodes; -- called also ventral segment.
Loop (v. t.) To make a loop of or in; to fasten with a loop or loops; -- often with up; as, to loop a string; to loop up a curtain.
Loophole (n.) A small opening, as in the walls of fortification, or in the bulkhead of a ship, through which small arms or other weapons may be discharged at an enemy.
Looping (n.) The running together of the matter of an ore into a mass, when the ore is only heated for calcination.
Loose (a.) To release from anything obligatory or burdensome; to disengage; hence, to absolve; to remit.
Loose (a.) To untie or unbind; to free from any fastening; to remove the shackles or fastenings of; to set free; to relieve.
Loose (superl.) Free from constraint or obligation; not bound by duty, habit, etc. ; -- with from or of.
Loose (superl.) Unbound; untied; unsewed; not attached, fastened, fixed, or confined; as, the loose sheets of a book.
Loosen (v. t.) To make loose; to free from tightness, tension, firmness, or fixedness; to make less dense or compact; as, to loosen a string, or a knot; to loosen a rock in the earth.
Looseness (n.) The state, condition, or quality, of being loose; as, the looseness of a cord; looseness of style; looseness of morals or of principles.
Loosestrife (n.) Any species of the genus Lythrum, having purple, or, in some species, crimson flowers.
Loosestrife (n.) The name of several species of plants of the genus Lysimachia, having small star-shaped flowers, usually of a yellow color.
Lop (v. t.) To cut off as the top or extreme part of anything; to sho/ -- by cutting off the extremities; to cut off, or remove as superfluous parts; as, to lop a tree or its branches.
Lophine (n.) A nitrogenous organic base obtained by the oxidation of amarine, and regarded as a derivative of benzoic aldehyde. It is obtained in long white crystalline tufts, -- whence its name.
Lophobranchii (n. pl.) An order of teleostean fishes, having the gills arranged in tufts on the branchial arches, as the Hippocampus and pipefishes.
Lophophore (n.) A disk which surrounds the mouth and bears the tentacles of the Bryozoa. See Phylactolemata.
Loquacity (n.) The habit or practice of talking continually or excessively; inclination to talk too much; talkativeness; garrulity.
Loquat (n.) The fruit of the Japanese medlar (Photinia Japonica). It is as large as a small plum, but grows in clusters, and contains four or five large seeds. Also, the tree itself.
Loral (a.) Of or pertaining to the lore; -- said of certain feathers of birds, scales of reptiles, etc.
Lorcha (n.) A kind of light vessel used on the coast of China, having the hull built on a European model, and the rigging like that of a Chinese junk.
Lord (n.) A title bestowed on the persons above named; and also, for honor, on certain official persons; as, lord advocate, lord chamberlain, lord chancellor, lord chief justice, etc.
Lord (n.) A titled nobleman., whether a peer of the realm or not; a bishop, as a member of the House of Lords; by courtesy; the son of a duke or marquis, or the eldest son of an earl; in a restricted sense, a boron, as opposed to noblemen of higher rank.
Lord (n.) One of whom a fee or estate is held; the male owner of feudal land; as, the lord of the soil; the lord of the manor.
Lord (n.) One who has power and authority; a master; a ruler; a governor; a prince; a proprietor, as of a manor.
Lord (v. i.) To play the lord; to domineer; to rule with arbitrary or despotic sway; -- sometimes with over; and sometimes with it in the manner of a transitive verb.
Lordly (superl.) Suitable for a lord; of or pertaining to a lord; resembling a lord; hence, grand; noble; dignified; honorable.
Lords and Ladies () The European wake-robin (Arum maculatum), -- those with purplish spadix the lords, and those with pale spadix the ladies.
Lordship (n.) The state or condition of being a lord; hence (with his or your), a title applied to a lord (except an archbishop or duke, who is called Grace) or a judge (in Great Britain), etc.
Lore (n.) The space between the eye and bill, in birds, and the corresponding region in reptiles and fishes.
Lorette (n.) In France, a name for a woman who is supported by her lovers, and devotes herself to idleness, show, and pleasure; -- so called from the church of Notre Dame de Lorette, in Paris, near which many of them resided.
Lorica (n.) A cuirass, originally of leather, afterward of plates of metal or horn sewed on linen or the like.
Loricate (n.) An animal covered with bony scales, as crocodiles among reptiles, and the pangolins among mammals.
Loricate (v. t.) To cover with some protecting substance, as with lute, a crust, coating, or plates.
Loricate (v.) Covered with a shell or exterior made of plates somewhat like a coat of mail, as in the armadillo.
Lorication (n.) The act of loricating; the protecting substance put on; a covering of scales or plates.
Loris (n.) Any one of several species of small lemurs of the genus Stenops. They have long, slender limbs and large eyes, and are arboreal in their habits. The slender loris (S. gracilis), of Ceylon, in one of the best known species.
Lorry (n.) A small cart or wagon, as those used on the tramways in mines to carry coal or rubbish; also, a barrow or truck for shifting baggage, as at railway stations.
Lose (v. i.) To suffer loss, disadvantage, or defeat; to be worse off, esp. as the result of any kind of contest.
Lose (v. t.) Not to employ; to employ ineffectually; to throw away; to waste; to squander; as, to lose a day; to lose the benefits of instruction.
Lose (v. t.) To be deprived of the view of; to cease to see or know the whereabouts of; as, he lost his companion in the crowd.
Lose (v. t.) To cease to have; to possess no longer; to suffer diminution of; as, to lose one's relish for anything; to lose one's health.
Lose (v. t.) To fail to obtain or enjoy; to fail to gain or win; hence, to fail to catch with the mind or senses; to miss; as, I lost a part of what he said.
Lose (v. t.) To wander from; to miss, so as not to be able to and; to go astray from; as, to lose one's way.
Loss (v. t.) That which is lost or from which one has parted; waste; -- opposed to gain or increase; as, the loss of liquor by leakage was considerable.
Loss (v. t.) The act of losing; failure; destruction; privation; as, the loss of property; loss of money by gaming; loss of health or reputation.
Loss (v. t.) The state of being lost or destroyed; especially, the wreck or foundering of a ship or other vessel.
Loss (v. t.) The state of losing or having lost; the privation, defect, misfortune, harm, etc., which ensues from losing.
Lost (v. t.) Hardened beyond sensibility or recovery; alienated; insensible; as, lost to shame; lost to all sense of honor.
Lost (v. t.) Having wandered from, or unable to find, the way; bewildered; perplexed; as, a child lost in the woods; a stranger lost in London.
Lost (v. t.) Not employed or enjoyed; thrown away; employed ineffectually; wasted; squandered; as, a lost day; a lost opportunity or benefit.
Lost (v. t.) Not perceptible to the senses; no longer visible; as, an island lost in a fog; a person lost in a crowd.
Lost (v. t.) Occupied with, or under the influence of, something, so as to be insensible of external things; as, to be lost in thought.
Lost (v. t.) Parted with unwillingly or unintentionally; not to be found; missing; as, a lost book or sheep.
Lost (v. t.) Ruined or destroyed, either physically or morally; past help or hope; as, a ship lost at sea; a woman lost to virtue; a lost soul.
Lot (n.) A distinct portion or plot of land, usually smaller than a field; as, a building lot in a city.
Lot (n.) A large quantity or number; a great deal; as, to spend a lot of money; lots of people think so.
Lot (n.) A separate portion; a number of things taken collectively; as, a lot of stationery; -- colloquially, sometimes of people; as, a sorry lot; a bad lot.
Lot (n.) Anything (as a die, pebble, ball, or slip of paper) used in determining a question by chance, or without man's choice or will; as, to cast or draw lots.
Lot (n.) That which happens without human design or forethought; chance; accident; hazard; fortune; fate.
Lote (n.) A large tree (Celtis australis), found in the south of Europe. It has a hard wood, and bears a cherrylike fruit. Called also nettle tree.
Lotion (n.) A liquid preparation for bathing the skin, or an injured or diseased part, either for a medicinal purpose, or for improving its appearance.
Lotophagi (n. pl.) A people visited by Ulysses in his wanderings. They subsisted on the lotus. See Lotus (b), and Lotus-eater.
Lotos-eater (n.) One who ate the fruit or leaf of the lotus, and, as a consequence, gave himself up to indolence and daydreams; one of the Lotophagi.
Lottery (n.) A scheme for the distribution of prizes by lot or chance; esp., a gaming scheme in which one or more tickets bearing particular numbers draw prizes, and the rest of tickets are blanks. Fig. : An affair of chance.
Lotus (n.) An ornament much used in Egyptian architecture, generally asserted to have been suggested by the Egyptian water lily.
Louchettes (n. pl.) Goggles intended to rectify strabismus by permitting vision only directly in front.
Loud (superl.) Having, making, or being a strong or great sound; noisy; striking the ear with great force; as, a loud cry; loud thunder.
Loud (superl.) Ostentatious; likely to attract attention; gaudy; as, a loud style of dress; loud colors.
Louis d'or () Formerly, a gold coin of France nominally worth twenty shillings sterling, but of varying value; -- first struck in 1640.
Lounge (a.) To spend time lazily, whether lolling or idly sauntering; to pass time indolently; to stand, sit, or recline, in an indolent manner.
Lousewort (n.) Any species of Pedicularis, a genus of perennial herbs. It was said to make sheep that fed on it lousy.
Lovage (n.) An umbelliferous plant (Levisticum officinale), sometimes used in medicine as an aromatic stimulant.
Love (n.) A feeling of strong attachment induced by that which delights or commands admiration; preeminent kindness or devotion to another; affection; tenderness; as, the love of brothers and sisters.
Love (n.) Affection; kind feeling; friendship; strong liking or desire; fondness; good will; -- opposed to hate; often with of and an object.
Love (n.) Courtship; -- chiefly in the phrase to make love, i. e., to court, to woo, to solicit union in marriage.
Love (n.) Especially, devoted attachment to, or tender or passionate affection for, one of the opposite sex.
Love (n.) To have a feeling of love for; to regard with affection or good will; as, to love one's children and friends; to love one's country; to love one's God.
Love (n.) To take delight or pleasure in; to have a strong liking or desire for, or interest in; to be pleased with; to like; as, to love books; to love adventures.
Lovelock (n.) A long lock of hair hanging prominently by itself; an earlock; -- worn by men of fashion in the reigns of Elizabeth and James I.
Lovely (superl.) Having such an appearance as excites, or is fitted to excite, love; beautiful; charming; very pleasing in form, looks, tone, or manner.
Lovely (superl.) Lovable; amiable; having qualities of any kind which excite, or are fitted to excite, love or friendship.
Lovely (superl.) Very pleasing; -- applied loosely to almost anything which is not grand or merely pretty; as, a lovely view; a lovely valley; a lovely melody.
Lover (n.) A friend; one strongly attached to another; one who greatly desires the welfare of any person or thing; as, a lover of his country.
Lover (n.) One who loves; one who is in love; -- usually limited, in the singular, to a person of the male sex.
Low (adv.) In subjection, poverty, or disgrace; as, to be brought low by oppression, by want, or by vice.
Low (superl.) Beneath the usual or remunerative rate or amount, or the ordinary value; moderate; cheap; as, the low price of corn; low wages.
Low (superl.) Made, as a vowel, with a low position of part of the tongue in relation to the palate; as, / (/m), / (all). See Guide to Pronunciation, // 5, 10, 11.
Low (superl.) Moderate; not intense; not inflammatory; as, low heat; a low temperature; a low fever.
Low (superl.) Occupying an inferior position or place; not high or elevated; depressed in comparison with something else; as, low ground; a low flight.
Low-church (a.) Not placing a high estimate on ecclesiastical organizations or forms; -- applied especially to Episcopalians, and opposed to high-church. See High Church, under High.
Low-lived (a.) Characteristic of, or like, one bred in a low and vulgar condition of life; mean dishonorable; contemptible; as, low-lived dishonesty.
Lowbell (n.) A bell used in fowling at night, to frighten birds, and, with a sudden light, to make them fly into a net.
Lowbred (a.) Bred, or like one bred, in a low condition of life; characteristic or indicative of such breeding; rude; impolite; vulgar; as, a lowbred fellow; a lowbred remark.
Lower (a.) To depress as to direction; as, to lower the aim of a gun; to make less elevated as to object; as, to lower one's ambition, aspirations, or hopes.
Lower (a.) To let descend by its own weight, as something suspended; to let down; as, to lower a bucket into a well; to lower a sail or a boat; sometimes, to pull down; as, to lower a flag.
Lower (a.) To reduce in value, amount, etc. ; as, to lower the price of goods, the rate of interest, etc.
Lower (a.) To reduce the degree, intensity, strength, etc., of; as, to lower the temperature of anything; to lower one's vitality; to lower distilled liquors.
Lower (v. i.) To be dark, gloomy, and threatening, as clouds; to be covered with dark and threatening clouds, as the sky; to show threatening signs of approach, as a tempest.
Lower (v. i.) To fall; to sink; to grow less; to diminish; to decrease; as, the river lowered as rapidly as it rose.
Lower-case (a.) Pertaining to, or kept in, the lower case; -- used to denote the small letters, in distinction from capitals and small capitals. See the Note under 1st Case, n., 3.
Lowland (n.) Land which is low with respect to the neighboring country; a low or level country; -- opposed to highland.
Lowlander (n.) A native or inhabitant of the Lowlands, especially of the Lowlands of Scotland, as distinguished from Highlander.
Loxodremism (n.) The act or process of tracing a loxodromic curve; the act of moving as if in a loxodromic curve.
Loyal (a.) Faithful to law; upholding the lawful authority; faithful and true to the lawful government; faithful to the prince or sovereign to whom one is subject; unswerving in allegiance.
Loyal (a.) True to any person or persons to whom one owes fidelity, especially as a wife to her husband, lovers to each other, and friend to friend; constant; faithful to a cause or a principle.
Loyalist (n.) A person who adheres to his sovereign or to the lawful authority; especially, one who maintains his allegiance to his prince or government, and defends his cause in times of revolt or revolution.
Lozenge (n.) A diamond-shaped figure usually with the upper and lower angles slightly acute, borne upon a shield or escutcheon. Cf. Fusil.
Lozenge (n.) A small cake of sugar and starch, flavored, and often medicated. -- originally in the form of a lozenge.
Lozengy (a.) Divided into lozenge-shaped compartments, as the field or a bearing, by lines drawn in the direction of the bend sinister.
Lubricant (n.) That which lubricates; specifically, a substance, as oil, grease, plumbago, etc., used for reducing the friction of the working parts of machinery.
Lubricate (v. t.) To make smooth or slippery; as, mucilaginous and saponaceous remedies lubricate the parts to which they are applied.
Lubricity (n.) Smoothness; freedom from friction; also, property, which diminishes friction; as, the lubricity of oil.
Lucchese (n. sing. & pl.) A native or inhabitant of Lucca, in Tuscany; in the plural, the people of Lucca.
Lucern (n.) A leguminous plant (Medicago sativa), having bluish purple cloverlike flowers, cultivated for fodder; -- called also alfalfa.
Lucernaria (n.) A genus of acalephs, having a bell-shaped body with eight groups of short tentacles around the margin. It attaches itself by a sucker at the base of the pedicel.
lucernarida (n. pl.) A division of acalephs, including Lucernaria and allied genera; -- called also Calycozoa.
lucernarida (n. pl.) A more extensive group of acalephs, including both the true lucernarida and the Discophora.
Lucid (n.) Bright with the radiance of intellect; not darkened or confused by delirium or madness; marked by the regular operations of reason; as, a lucid interval.
Lucifer (n.) A genus of free-swimming macruran Crustacea, having a slender body and long appendages.
Lucifer (n.) A match made of a sliver of wood tipped with a combustible substance, and ignited by friction; -- called also lucifer match, and locofoco. See Locofoco.
Lucifer (n.) The planet Venus, when appearing as the morning star; -- applied in Isaiah by a metaphor to a king of Babylon.
Luciferian (n.) One of the followers of Lucifer, bishop of Cagliari, in the fourth century, who separated from the orthodox churches because they would not go as far as he did in opposing the Arians.
Luckily (adv.) In a lucky manner; by good fortune; fortunately; -- used in a good sense; as, they luckily escaped injury.
Luckless (a.) Being without luck; unpropitious; unfortunate; unlucky; meeting with ill success or bad fortune; as, a luckless gamester; a luckless maid.
Lucky (superl.) Favored by luck; fortunate; meeting with good success or good fortune; -- said of persons; as, a lucky adventurer.
Lucky (superl.) Producing, or resulting in, good by chance, or unexpectedly; favorable; auspicious; fortunate; as, a lucky mistake; a lucky cast; a lucky hour.
Lucrative (a.) Yielding lucre; gainful; profitable; making increase of money or goods; as, a lucrative business or office.
Lucubration (n.) That which is composed by night; that which is produced by meditation in retirement; hence (loosely) any literary composition.
Lucubratory (a.) Composed by candlelight, or by night; of or pertaining to night studies; laborious or painstaking.
Ludlamite (n.) A mineral occurring in small, green, transparent, monoclinic crystals. It is a hydrous phosphate of iron.
Ludlow group () A subdivision of the British Upper Silurian lying below the Old Red Sandstone; -- so named from the Ludlow, in Western England. See the Chart of Geology.
Ludwigite (n.) A borate of iron and magnesia, occurring in fibrous masses of a blackish green color.
Luff (n.) The forward or weather leech of a sail, especially of the jib, spanker, and other fore-and-aft sails.
Luff (v. i.) To turn the head of a vessel toward the wind; to sail nearer the wind; to turn the tiller so as to make the vessel sail nearer the wind.
Lug (n.) A projecting piece to which anything, as a rod, is attached, or against which anything, as a wedge or key, bears, or through which a bolt passes, etc.
Lug (n.) That which projects like an ear, esp. that by which anything is supported, carried, or grasped, or to which a support is fastened; an ear; as, the lugs of a kettle; the lugs of a founder's flask; the lug (handle) of a jug.
Lug (v. i.) To pull with force; to haul; to drag along; to carry with difficulty, as something heavy or cumbersome.
Luggage (n.) That which is lugged; anything cumbrous and heavy to be carried; especially, a traveler's trunks, baggage, etc., or their contents.
Lugger (n.) A small vessel having two or three masts, and a running bowsprit, and carrying lugsails. See Illustration in Appendix.
Lugger (n.) An Indian falcon (Falco jugger), similar to the European lanner and the American prairie falcon.
Lugsail (n.) A square sail bent upon a yard that hangs obliquely to the mast and is raised or lowered with the sail.
Lugubrious (a.) Mournful; indicating sorrow, often ridiculously or feignedly; doleful; woful; pitiable; as, a whining tone and a lugubrious look.
Lukewarm (a.) Moderately warm; neither cold nor hot; tepid; not ardent; not zealous; cool; indifferent.
Lull (v. i.) To become gradually calm; to subside; to cease or abate for a time; as, the storm lulls.
Lumachella (n.) A grayish brown limestone, containing fossil shells, which reflect a beautiful play of colors. It is also called fire marble, from its fiery reflections.
Lumber (n.) A pawnbroker's shop, or room for storing articles put in pawn; hence, a pledge, or pawn.
Lumber (n.) Old or refuse household stuff; things cumbrous, or bulky and useless, or of small value.
Lumber (n.) Timber sawed or split into the form of beams, joists, boards, planks, staves, hoops, etc.; esp., that which is smaller than heavy timber.
Lumberer (n.) One employed in lumbering, cutting, and getting logs from the forest for lumber; a lumberman.
Lumbosacral (n.) Of or pertaining to the loins and sacrum; as, the lumbosacral nerve, a branch of one of the lumber nerves which passes over the sacrum.
Lumbricus (n.) A genus of annelids, belonging to the Oligochaeta, and including the common earthworms. See Earthworm.
Luminary (n.) One who illustrates any subject, or enlightens mankind; as, Newton was a distinguished luminary.
Luminous (a.) Shining; emitting or reflecting light; brilliant; bright; as, the is a luminous body; a luminous color.
Lump (n.) A small mass of matter of irregular shape; an irregular or shapeless mass; as, a lump of coal; a lump of iron ore.
Lump (v. i.) To get along with as one can, although displeased; as, if he does n't like it, he can lump it.
Lunacy (n.) Insanity or madness; properly, the kind of insanity which is broken by intervals of reason, -- formerly supposed to be influenced by the changes of the moon; any form of unsoundness of mind, except idiocy; mental derangement or alienation.
Lunar (n.) The middle bone of the proximal series of the carpus; -- called also semilunar, and intermedium.
Lunatic (a.) Of or pertaining to, or suitable for, an insane person; evincing lunacy; as, lunatic gibberish; a lunatic asylum.
Lunatic (n.) A person affected by lunacy; an insane person, esp. one who has lucid intervals; a madman; a person of unsound mind.
Lunation (n.) The period of a synodic revolution of the moon, or the time from one new moon to the next; varying in length, at different times, from about 29/ to 29/ days, the average length being 29 d., 12h., 44m., 2.9s.
Luncheon (n.) A portion of food taken at any time except at a regular meal; an informal or light repast, as between breakfast and dinner.
Lunette (n.) A fieldwork consisting of two faces, forming a salient angle, and two parallel flanks. See Bastion.
Lunette (n.) A kind of watch crystal which is more than ordinarily flattened in the center; also, a species of convexoconcave lens for spectacles.
Lunette (n.) Any surface of semicircular or segmental form; especially, the piece of wall between the curves of a vault and its springing line.
Lungfish (n.) Any fish belonging to the Dipnoi; -- so called because they have both lungs and gills.
Lungoor (n.) A long-tailed monkey (Semnopithecus schislaceus), from the mountainous districts of India.
Lungwort (n.) An herb of the genus Pulmonaria (P. officinalis), of Europe; -- so called because the spotted appearance of the leaves resembles that of a diseased lung.
Lungwort (n.) Any plant of the genus Mertensia (esp. M. Virginica and M. Sibirica) plants nearly related to Pulmonaria. The American lungwort is Mertensia Virginica, Virginia cowslip.
Lunisolar (a.) Resulting from the united action, or pertaining to the mutual relations, of the sun and moon.
Lunule (n.) A special area in front of the beak of many bivalve shells. It sometimes has the shape of a double crescent, but is oftener heart-shaped. See Illust. of Bivalve.
Lunulet (n.) A small spot, shaped like a half-moon or crescent; as, the lunulet on the wings of many insects.
Lupine (n.) A leguminous plant of the genus Lupinus, especially L. albus, the seeds of which have been used for food from ancient times. The common species of the Eastern United States is L. perennis. There are many species in California.
Lupinin (n.) A glucoside found in the seeds of several species of lupine, and extracted as a yellowish white crystalline substance.
Lupinine (n.) An alkaloid found in several species of lupine (Lupinus luteus, L. albus, etc.), and extracted as a bitter crystalline substance.
Lupulin (n.) The fine yellow resinous powder found upon the strobiles or fruit of hops, and containing this bitter principle.
Lupulinic (a.) Pertaining to, or obtained from, hops; specifically, designating an acid obtained by the decomposition of lupulin.
Lurch (n.) A sudden roll of a ship to one side, as in heavy weather; hence, a swaying or staggering movement to one side, as that by a drunken man. Fig.: A sudden and capricious inclination of the mind.
Lurcher (n.) One of a mongrel breed of dogs said to have been a cross between the sheep dog, greyhound, and spaniel. It hunts game silently, by scent, and is often used by poachers.
Lurcher (n.) One that lurches or lies in wait; one who watches to pilfer, or to betray or entrap; a poacher.
Lure (n.) A contrivance somewhat resembling a bird, and often baited with raw meat; -- used by falconers in recalling hawks.
Lure (n.) To draw to the lure; hence, to allure or invite by means of anything that promises pleasure or advantage; to entice; to attract.
Lurg (n.) A large marine annelid (Nephthys caeca), inhabiting the sandy shores of Europe and America. It is whitish, with a pearly luster, and grows to the length of eight or ten inches.
Lusitanian (a.) Pertaining to Lusitania, the ancient name of the region almost coinciding with Portugal.
Lussheburgh (n.) A spurious coin of light weight imported into England from Luxemburg, or Lussheburgh, as it was formerly called.
Lust (n.) To have an eager, passionate, and especially an inordinate or sinful desire, as for the gratification of the sexual appetite or of covetousness; -- often with after.
Lustering (n.) The brightening of a metal in the crucible when it becomes pure, as in certain refining processes.
Lustration (n.) A sacrifice, or ceremony, by which cities, fields, armies, or people, defiled by crimes, pestilence, or other cause of uncleanness, were purified.
Lustre (n.) A candlestick, chandelier, girandole, or the like, generally of an ornamental character.
Lustre (n.) The appearance of the surface of a mineral as affected by, or dependent upon, peculiarities of its reflecting qualities.
Lustrum (n.) A lustration or purification, especially the purification of the whole Roman people, which was made by the censors once in five years. Hence: A period of five years.
Lusty (superl.) Of large size; big. [Obs.] " Three lusty vessels." Evelyn. Hence, sometimes, pregnant.
Lute (n.) A cement of clay or other tenacious infusible substance for sealing joints in apparatus, or the mouths of vessels or tubes, or for coating the bodies of retorts, etc., when exposed to heat; -- called also luting.
Luteic (a.) Pertaining to, or designating, an acid resembling luteolin, but obtained from the flowers of Euphorbia cyparissias.
Lutein (n.) A substance of a strongly marked yellow color, extracted from the yelk of eggs, and from the tissue of the corpus luteum.
Luteocobaltic (a.) Pertaining to, or designating, certain compounds of cobalt having a yellow color. Cf. Cobaltic.
Lutheran (a.) Of or pertaining to Luther; adhering to the doctrines of Luther or the Lutheran Church.
Lutidine (n.) Any one of several metameric alkaloids, C5H3N.(CH3)2, of the pyridine series, obtained from bone oil as liquids, and having peculiar pungent odors. These alkaloids are also called respectively dimethyl pyridine, ethyl pyridine, etc.
Luxate (v. t.) To displace, or remove from its proper place, as a joint; to put out of joint; to dislocate.
Luxullianite (n.) A kind of granite from Luxullian, Cornwall, characterized by the presence of radiating groups of minute tourmaline crystals.
Luxuriance (n.) The state or quality of being luxuriant; rank, vigorous growth; excessive abundance produced by rank growth.
Luxuriant (a.) Exuberant in growth; rank; excessive; very abundant; as, a luxuriant growth of grass; luxuriant foliage.
Luxuriate (v. i.) To indulge with unrestrained delight and freedom; as, to luxuriate in description.
Luxurious (a.) Of or pertaining to luxury; ministering to luxury; supplied with the conditions of luxury; as, a luxurious life; a luxurious table; luxurious ease.
Luxury (n.) A free indulgence in costly food, dress, furniture, or anything expensive which gratifies the appetites or tastes.
Luxury (n.) Anything which pleases the senses, and is also costly, or difficult to obtain; an expensive rarity; as, silks, jewels, and rare fruits are luxuries; in some countries ice is a great luxury.
Luz (n.) A bone of the human body which was supposed by certain Rabbinical writers to be indestructible. Its location was a matter of dispute.
Lycanthropy (n.) A kind of erratic melancholy, in which the patient imagines himself a wolf, and imitates the actions of that animal.
Lyceum (n.) A place of exercise with covered walks, in the suburbs of Athens, where Aristotle taught philosophy.
Lycine (n.) A weak base identical with betaine; -- so called because found in the boxthorn (Lycium barbarum). See Betaine.
Lycoperdon (n.) A genus of fungi, remarkable for the great quantity of spores, forming a fine dust, which is thrown out like smoke when the plant is compressed or burst; puffball.
Lycopodiaceous (a.) Belonging, or relating, to the Lycopodiaceae, an order of cryptogamous plants (called also club mosses) with branching stems, and small, crowded, one-nerved, and usually pointed leaves.
Lydian (a.) Of or pertaining to Lydia, a country of Asia Minor, or to its inhabitants; hence, soft; effeminate; -- said especially of one of the ancient Greek modes or keys, the music in which was of a soft, pathetic, or voluptuous character.
Lye (n.) A strong caustic alkaline solution of potassium salts, obtained by leaching wood ashes. It is much used in making soap, etc.
Lyencephala (n. pl.) A group of Mammalia, including the marsupials and monotremes; -- so called because the corpus callosum is rudimentary.
Lygodium (n.) A genus of ferns with twining or climbing fronds, bearing stalked and variously-lobed divisions in pairs.
Lyme grass () A coarse perennial grass of several species of Elymus, esp. E. Canadensis, and the European E. arenarius.
Lymph (n.) A fibrinous material exuded from the blood vessels in inflammation. In the process of healing it is either absorbed, or is converted into connective tissue binding the inflamed surfaces together.
Lymphatic (n.) One of the lymphatic or absorbent vessels, which carry lymph and discharge it into the veins; lymph duct; lymphatic duct.
Lymphoma (n.) A tumor having a structure resembling that of a lymphatic gland; -- called also lymphadenoma.
Lynch (v. t.) To inflict punishment upon, especially death, without the forms of law, as when a mob captures and hangs a suspected person. See Lynch law.
Lynch law () The act or practice by private persons of inflicting punishment for crimes or offenses, without due process of law.
Lynx (n.) Any one of several species of feline animals of the genus Felis, and subgenus Lynx. They have a short tail, and usually a pencil of hair on the tip of the ears.
Lyonnaise (a.) Applied to boiled potatoes cut into small pieces and heated in oil or butter. They are usually flavored with onion and parsley.
Lyopomata (n. pl.) An order of brachiopods, in which the valves of shell are not articulated by a hinge. It includes the Lingula, Discina, and allied forms.
Lyra (n.) A northern constellation, the Harp, containing a white star of the first magnitude, called Alpha Lyrae, or Vega.
Lyra (n.) The middle portion of the ventral surface of the fornix of the brain; -- so called from the arrangement of the lines with which it is marked in the human brain.
Lyrated (a.) Lyre-shaped, or spatulate and oblong, with small lobes toward the base; as, a lyrate leaf.
Lyre (n.) A stringed instrument of music; a kind of harp much used by the ancients, as an accompaniment to poetry.
Lyrical (a.) Fitted to be sung to the lyre; hence, also, appropriate for song; -- said especially of poetry which expresses the individual emotions of the poet.
Lyrid (n.) One of the group of shooting stars which come into the air in certain years on or about the 19th of April; -- so called because the apparent path among the stars the stars if produced back wards crosses the constellation Lyra.
Lyrie (n.) A European fish (Peristethus cataphractum), having the body covered with bony plates, and having three spines projecting in front of the nose; -- called also noble, pluck, pogge, sea poacher, and armed bullhead.
Lysimeter (n.) An instrument for measuring the water that percolates through a certain depth of soil.
Lysis (n.) The resolution or favorable termination of a disease, coming on gradually and not marked by abrupt change.
Lytta (n.) A fibrous and muscular band lying within the longitudinal axis of the tongue in many mammals, as the dog.
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