L (part 1)

1. L is the twelfth letter of the English alphabet, and a vocal consonant. It is usually called a semivowel or liquid. Its form and value are from the Greek, through the Latin, the form of the Greek letter being from the Phoenician, and the ultimate origin prob. Egyptian. Etymologically, it is most closely related to r and u; as in pilgrim, peregrine, couch (fr. collocare), aubura (fr. LL. alburnus).

Note: At the end of monosyllables containing a single vowel, it is often doubled, as in fall, full, bell; but not after digraphs, as in foul, fool, prowl, growl, foal. In English words, the terminating syllable le is unaccented, the e is silent, and l is preceded by a voice glide, as in able, eagle, pronounced a''b'l, ''g'l. See Guide to Pronunciation, § 241.

2. As a numeral, L stands for fifty in the English, as in the Latin language. For 50 the Romans used the Chalcidian chi, I. Taylor (The Alphabet).

L
L, n.

1. 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. [Written also ell.]

2. (Mech.)

Defn: A short right-angled pipe fitting, used in connecting two pipes at right angles. [Written also ell.]

LA La, n. (Mus.) (a) A syllable applied to the sixth tone of the scale in music in solmization. (b) The tone A; — so called among the French and Italians.

LA
La, interj. Etym: [Cf. Lo.]

1. Look; see; behold; — sometimes followed by you. [Obs.] Shak.

2. An exclamation of surprise; — commonly followed by me; as, La me! [Low]

LAAGER
Laa"ger (lal"ger or lä"ger), n. [D., also leger. Cf. 2d Leaguer,
Lair.]

Defn: A camp, esp. one with an inclosure of travelers' wagons for temporary defense. [South Africa]

Wagons . . . can be readily formed into a laager, a camp, by being drawn into a circle, with the oxen placed inside and so kept safe from the attacks of wild beasts. James Bryce.

LAAGER
Laa"ger, v. t. & i. [From Laager, n.]

Defn: To form into, or camp in, a laager, or protected camp.

LAAS
Laas, n.

Defn: A lace. See Lace. [Obs.] Chaucer.

LAB
Lab, v. i. Etym: [Cf. OD. labben to babble.]

Defn: To prate; to gossip; to babble; to blab. [Obs.] Chaucer.

LAB
Lab, n.

Defn: A telltale; a prater; a blabber. [Obs.] "I am no lab." Chaucer.

LABADIST
Lab"a*dist, n. (Eccl. Hist.)

Defn: 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 La`bar`raque's" so*lu"tion. Etym: [From Labarraque, a Parisian apothecary.] (Med.)

Defn: An aqueous solution of hypochlorite of sodium, extensively used as a disinfectant.

LABARUM
Lab"a*rum (, n.; pl. Labara. Etym: [L.]

Defn: The standard adopted by the Emperor Constantine after his conversion to Christianity. It is described as a pike bearing a silk banner hanging from a crosspiece, and surmounted by a golden crown. It bore a monogram of the first two letters (CHR) of the name of Christ in its Greek form. Later, the name was given to various modifications of this standard.

LABDANUM
Lab"da*num, n. (Bot.)

Defn: See Ladanum.

LABEFACTION
Lab`e*fac"tion, n. Etym: [See Labefy.]

Defn: The act of labefying or making weak; the state of being
weakened; decay; ruin.
There is in it such a labefaction of all principles as may be
injurious to morality. Johnson.

LABEFY Lab"e*fy, v. t. Etym: [L. labefacere; labare to totter + facere to make.]

Defn: To weaken or impair. [R.]

LABEL La"bel, n. Etym: [OF. label sort of ribbon or fringe, label in heraldry, F. lambeau shred, strip, rag; of uncertain origin; cf. L.labellum, dim. of labrum lip, edge, margin, G. lappen flap, patch, rag, tatter (cf. Lap of a dress), W. llab, llabed, label, flap, Gael. leab, leob, slice, shred, hanging lip.]

1. A tassel. [Obs.] Huloet. Fuller.

2. 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.

3. A slip of ribbon, parchment, etc., attached to a document to hold the appended seal; also, the seal.

4. A writing annexed by way of addition, as a codicil added to a will.

5. (Her.)

Defn: 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.

6. A brass rule with sights, formerly used, in connection with a circumferentor, to take altitudes. Knight.

7. (Gothic Arch.)

Defn: The name now generally given to the projecting molding by the sides, and over the tops, of openings in mediæval architecture. It always has a Arch. Pub. Soc.

8. In mediæval art, the representation of a band or scroll containing an inscription. Fairholt.

LABEL
La"bel, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Labeled or Labelled; p. pr. & vb. n.
Labeling or Labelling.]

1. To affix a label to; to mark with a name, etc.; as, to label a bottle or a package.

2. To affix in or on a label. [R.]

LABELER
La"bel*er, n.

Defn: One who labels. [Written also labeller.]

LABELLUM La*bel"lum, n.; pl. L. Labella, E. Labellums. Etym: [L., dim. of labrum lip.]

1. (Bot.)

Defn: The lower or apparently anterior petal of an orchidaceous flower, often of a very curious shape.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A small appendage beneath the upper lip or labrum of certain insects.

LABENT
La"bent, a. Etym: [L. labens, p. pr. of labi to slide, glide.]

Defn: Slipping; sliding; gliding. [R.]

LABIA
La"bi*a, n. pl.

Defn: See Labium.

LABIAL
La"bi*al, a. Etym: [LL. labialis, fr. L. labium lip: cf. F. labial.
See Lip.]

1. Of or pertaining to the lips or labia; as, labial veins.

2. (Mus.)

Defn: Furnished with lips; as, a labial organ pipe.

3. (Phonetics) (a) Articulated, as a consonant, mainly by the lips, as b, p, m, w. (b) Modified, as a vowel, by contraction of the lip opening, as oo (food), o (old), etc., and as eu and u in French, and ö, ü in German. See Guide to Pronunciation,

4. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to the labium; as, the labial palpi of insects. See Labium.

LABIAL
La"bi*al, n.

1. (Phonetics)

Defn: A letter or character representing an articulation or sound formed or uttered chiefly with the lips, as b, p, w.

2. (Mus.)

Defn: An organ pipe that is furnished with lips; a flue pipe.

3. (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of the scales which border the mouth of a fish or reptile.

LABIALISM
La"bi*al*ism, n. (Phonetics)

Defn: 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. J. Peile.

LABIALIZATION
La`bi*al*i*za"tion, n. (Phonetics)

Defn: The modification of an articulation by contraction of the lip opening.

LABIALIZE
La"bi*al*ize, v. t. (Phonetics)

Defn: To modify by contraction of the lip opening.

LABIALLY
La"bi*al*ly, adv.

Defn: In a labial manner; with, or by means of, the lips.

LABIATE
La"bi*ate, v. t.

Defn: To labialize. Brewer.

LABIATE La"bi*ate, a. Etym: [NL. labiatus, fr. L. labium lip.] (Bot.) (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. (b) Belonging to a natural order of plants (Labiatæ), of which the mint, sage, and catnip are examples. They are mostly aromatic herbs.

LABIATE
La"bi*ate, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A plant of the order Labiatæ.

LABIATED
La"bi*a`ted, a. (Bot.)

Defn: Same as Labiate, a. (a).

LABIATIFLORAL; LABIATIFLORAL La`bi*a`ti*flo"ral, La`bi*a`ti*flo"ral, a. Etym: [Labiate + L. flos, floris, flower.] (Bot.)

Defn: Having labiate flowers, as the snapdragon.

LABIDOMETER
Lab`i*dom"e*ter, n. Etym: [Gr.meter: cf. F. labidometre.] (Med.)

Defn: A forceps with a measuring attachment for ascertaining the size of the fetal head.

LABILE
La"bile, a. Etym: [L. labilis apt to slip, fr. labi to slip.]

Defn: Liable to slip, err, fall, or apostatize. [Obs.] Cheyne.

LABILITY
La*bil"i*ty, n.

Defn: Liability to lapse, err, or apostatize. [Archaic] Coleridge.

LABIMETER
La*bim"e*ter, n. Etym: [Cf. F. labimetre.] (Med.)

Defn: See Labidometer.

LABIODENTAL
La`bi*o*den"tal, a. Etym: [Labium + dental.] (Phonetics)

Defn: Formed or pronounced by the cooperation of the lips and teeth, as f and v. — n.

Defn: A labiodental sound or letter.

LABIONASAL
La`bi*o*na"sal, a. Etym: [Labium + nasal.] (Phonetics)

Defn: Formed by the lips and the nose.
— n.

Defn: A labionasal sound or letter.

LABIOPLASTY
La"bi*o*plas`ty (la"bi*o*plas`ty), n. [Labium + -plasty.] (Surg.)

Defn: A plastic operation for making a new lip, or for replacing a lost tissue of a lip.

LABIOSE
La"bi*ose`, a. Etym: [From Labium.] (Bot.)

Defn: Having the appearance of being labiate; — said of certain polypetalous corollas.

LABIPALP
La"bi*palp, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A labial palp.

LABIPALPUS
La`bi*pal"pus, n.; pl. Labipalpi (. Etym: [NL. See Labium, and
Palpus.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of the labial palpi of an insect. See Illust. under Labium.

LABIUM
La"bi*um, n. ; pl. L. Labia, E. Labiums. Etym: [L.]

1. A lip, or liplike organ.

2. The lip of an organ pipe.

3. pl. (Anat.)

Defn: The folds of integument at the opening of the vulva.

4. (Zoöl.) (a) The organ of insects which covers the mouth beneath, and serves as an under lip. It consists of the second pair of maxillæ, usually closely united in the middle line, but bearing a pair of palpi in most insects. It often consists of a thin anterior part (ligula or palpiger) and a firmer posterior plate (mentum). (b) Inner margin of the aperture of a shell.

LABLAB
Lab"lab, n. (Bot.)

Defn: an East Indian name for several twining leguminous plants related to the bean, but commonly applied to the hyacinth bean (Delichos Lablab).

LABOR La"bor, n. Etym: [OE. labour, OF. labour, laber, labur, F. labeur, L. labor; cf. Gr. labh to get, seize.] [Written also labour.]

1. Physical toil or bodily exertion, especially when fatiguing, irksome, or unavoidable, in distinction from sportive exercise; hard, muscular effort directed to some useful end, as agriculture, manufactures, and like; servile toil; exertion; work. God hath set Labor and rest, as day and night, to men Successive. Milton.

2. Intellectual exertion; mental effort; as, the labor of compiling a history.

3. That which requires hard work for its accomplishment; that which demands effort. Being a labor of so great a difficulty, the exact performance thereof we may rather wish than look for. Hooker.

4. Travail; the pangs and efforts of childbirth. The queen's in labor, They say, in great extremity; and feared She'll with the labor end. Shak.

5. Any pang or distress. Shak.

6. (Naut.)

Defn: The pitching or tossing of a vessel which results in the straining of timbers and rigging.

7. Etym: [Sp.]

Defn: A measure of land in Mexico and Texas, equivalent to an area of 177 Bartlett.

Syn. — Work; toil; drudgery; task; exertion; effort; industry; painstaking. See Toll.

LABOR
La"bor, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Labored; p. pr. & vb. n. Laboring.] Etym:
[OE. labouren, F. labourer, L. laborare. See Labor, n.] [Written also
labour.]

1. To exert muscular strength; to exert one's strength with painful effort, particularly in servile occupations; to work; to toil. Adam, well may we labor still to dress This garden. Milton.

2. To exert one's powers of mind in the prosecution of any design; to strive; to take pains.

3. 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. The stone that labors up the hill. Granville. The line too labors,and the words move slow. Pope. To cure the disorder under which he labored. Sir W. Scott. Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Matt. xi. 28

4. To be in travail; to suffer the pangs of childbirth.

5. (Naut.)

Defn: To pitch or roll heavily, as a ship in a turbulent sea. Totten.

LABOR
La"bor, v. t. Etym: [F. labourer, L. laborare.]

1. To work at; to work; to till; to cultivate by toil. The most excellent lands are lying fallow, or only labored by children. W. Tooke.

2. To form or fabricate with toil, exertion, or care. "To labor arms for Troy." Dryden.

3. To prosecute, or perfect, with effort; to urge streas, to labor a point or argument.

4. To belabor; to beat. [Obs.] Dryden.

LABORANT
Lab"o*rant, n. Etym: [L.laborans, p. pr. of laborare to labor.]

Defn: A chemist. [Obs.] Boyle.

LABORATORY
Lab"o*ra*to*ry, n.; pl. Laboratories. Etym: [Shortened fr.
elaboratory; cf. OF. elaboratoire, F. laboratoire. See Elaborate,
Labor.] [Formerly written also elaboratory.]

Defn: The workroom of a chemist; also, a place devoted to experiments in any branch of natural science; as, a chemical, physical, or biological laboratory. Hence, by extension, a place where something is prepared, or some operation is performed; as, the liver is the laboratory of the bile.

LABOR DAY
Labor Day.

Defn: In most of the States and Territories of the United States, a day, usually the first Monday of September, set aside as a legal holiday, in honor of, or in the interest of, workingmen as a class. Also, a similar holiday in Canada, Australia, etc.

LABORED
La"bored, a.

Defn: Bearing marks of labor and effort; elaborately wrought; not easy or natural; as, labored poetry; a labored style.

LABOREDLY
La"bored*ly, adv.

Defn: In a labored manner; with labor.

LABORER
La"bor*er, n. Etym: [Written also labourer.]

Defn: 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
La"bor*ing, a.

1. That labors; performing labor; esp., performing coarse, heavy work, not requiring skill also, set apart for labor; as, laboring days. The sleep of a laboring man is sweet. eccl. v. 12.

2. Suffering pain or grief. Pope. Laboring oar, the oar which requires most strength and exertion; often used figuratively; as, to have, or pull, the laboring oar in some difficult undertaking.

LABORIOUS La*bo"ri*ous, a. Etym: [L. laboriosus,fr. labor labor: cf. F. laborieux.]

1. Requiring labor, perseverance, or sacrifices; toilsome; tiresome. Dost thou love watchings, abstinence, or toil, Laborious virtues all Learn these from Cato. Addison.

2. Devoted to labor; diligent; industrious; as, a laborious mechanic.
— La*bo"ri*ous*ly, adv.
— La*bo"ri*ous*ness, n.

LABORLESS
La"bor*less, a.

Defn: Not involving labor; not laborious; easy.

LABOROUS
La"bor*ous, a.

Defn: Laborious. [Obs.] Wyatt.
— La"bor*ous*ly, adv. [Obs.] Sir T. Elyot.

LABOR-SAVING
La"bor-sav`ing, a.

Defn: Saving labor; adapted to supersede or diminish the labor of men; as, laborsaving machinery.

LABORSOME
La"bor*some, a.

1. Made with, or requiring, great labor, pains, or diligence. [Obs.] Shak.

2. (Naut.)

Defn: Likely or inclined to roll or pitch, as a ship in a heavy sea; having a tendency to labor.

LABRADOR
Lab`ra*dor", n.

Defn: A region of British America on the Atlantic coast, north of Newfoundland. Labrador duck (Zoöl.), a sea duck (Camtolaimus Labradorius) allied to the eider ducks. It was formerly common on the coast of New England, but is now supposed to be extinct, no specimens having been reported since 1878. — Labrador feldspar. See Labradorite. — Labrador tea (Bot.), a name of two low, evergreen shrubs of the genus Ledum (L. palustre and L. latifolium), found in Northern Europe and America. They are used as tea in British America, and in Scandinavia as a substitute for hops.

LABRADORITE
Lab"ra*dor`ite (, n. (Min.)

Defn: 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.

LABRAS
La"bras, n. pl. Etym: [L.labrum; cf. It. labbro, pl. labbra.]

Defn: Lips. [Obs. & R.] Shak.

LABRET
La"bret, n. [L. labrum lip.] (Anthropology)

Defn: A piece of wood, shell, stone, or other substance, worn in a perforation of the lip or cheek by many savages.

LABROID
La"broid, a. Etym: [Labrus + -oid.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Like the genus Labrus; belonging to the family Labridæ, 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.

LABROSE
La"brose`, a. Etym: [L. labrosus, fr. labrum lip.]

Defn: Having thick lips.

LABRUM
La"brum, n.; pl. L. Labra, E. Labrums. Etym: [L.]

1. A lip or edge, as of a basin.

2. (Zoöl.) (a) An organ in insects and crustaceans covering the upper part of the mouth, and serving as an upper lip. See Illust. of Hymenoptera. (b) The external margin of the aperture of a shell. See Univalve.

LABRUS
La"brus, n.; pl. Labri (-bri). Etym: [L., a sort of fish.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A genus of marine fishes, including the wrasses of Europe. See
Wrasse.

LABURNIC
La*bur`nic, a.

Defn: Of, pertaining to, or derived from, the laburnum.

LABURNINE
La*bur`nine, n. (Chem.)

Defn: A poisonous alkaloid found in the unripe seeds of the laburnum.

LABURNUM
La*bur"num, n. Etym: [L.] (Bot.)

Defn: 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.

Note: Scotch laburnum (Cytisus alpinus) is similar, but has smooth leaves; purple laburnum is C. purpureus.

LABYRINTH Lab"y*rinth, n. Etym: [L. labyrinthus, Gr. laby`rinthos: cf. F. labyrinthe.]

1. 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.

2. Any intricate or involved inclosure; especially, an ornamental maze or inclosure in a park or garden.

3. Any object or arrangement of an intricate or involved form, or having a very complicated nature. The serpent . . . fast sleeping soon he found, In labyrinth of many a round self-rolled. Milton. The labyrinth of the mind. Tennyson.

4. An inextricable or bewildering difficulty. I' the maze and winding labyrinths o' the world. Denham.

5. (Anat.)

Defn: The internal ear. See Note under Ear.

6. (Metal.)

Defn: 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. Ure.

7. (Arch.)

Defn: A pattern or design representing a maze, — often inlaid in the tiled floor of a church, etc.

Syn. — Maze; confusion; intricacy; windings. — Labyrinth, Maze. Labyrinth, originally; the name of an edifice or excavation, carries the idea of design, and construction in a permanent form, while maze is used of anything confused or confusing, whether fixed or shifting. Maze is less restricted in its figurative uses than labyrinth. We speak of the labyrinth of the ear, or of the mind, and of a labyrinth of difficulties; but of the mazes of the dance, the mazes of political intrigue, or of the mind being in a maze.

LABYRINTHAL
Lab`y*rin"thal, a.

Defn: Pertaining to, or resembling, a labyrinth; intricate; labyrinthian.

LABYRINTHIAN
Lab`y*rin"thi*an (, a.

Defn: Intricately winding; like a labyrinth; perplexed; labyrinthal.

LABYRINTHIBRANCH
Lab`y*rin"thi*branch, a. Etym: [See Labyrinth, and Branchia.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to the Labyrinthici.
— n.

Defn: One of the Labyrinthici.

LABYRINTHIC; LABYRINTHICAL Lab`y*rin"thic, Lab`y*rin`thic*al, a. Etym: [L. labyrinthicus: cf. F. labyrinthique.]

Defn: Like or pertaining to a labyrinth.

LABYRINTHICI
Lab`y*rin"thi*ci, n. pl. Etym: [NL. See Labyrinth.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: An order of teleostean fishes, including the Anabas, or climbing perch, and other allied fishes.

Note: They have, connected with the gill chamber, a special cavity in which a labyrinthiform membrane is arranged so as to retain water to supply the gills while the fish leaves the water and travels about on land, or even climbs trees.

LABYRINTHIFORM Lab`y*rin"thi*form, a. Etym: [Labyrinth + -form: cf. F. labyrinthiforme.]

Defn: Having the form of a labyrinth; intricate.

LABYRINTHINE
Lab`y*rin"thine, a.

Defn: Pertaining to, or like, a labyrinth; labyrinthal.

LABYRINTHODON
Lab`y*rin"tho*don, n. Etym: [Gr. (Paleon.)

Defn: 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.

LABYRINTHODONT
Lab`y*rin"tho*dont, a. (Paleon.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to the Labyrinthodonta.
— n.

Defn: One of the Labyrinthodonta.

LABYRINTHODONTA
Lab`y*rin`tho*don"ta, n. pl. Etym: [NL. See Labyrinthodon.] (Paleon.)

Defn: An extinct order of Amphibia, including the typical genus
Labyrinthodon, and many other allied forms, from the Carboniferous,
Permian, and Triassic formations. By recent writers they are divided
into two or more orders. See Stegocephala.

LAC; LAKH Lac, Lakh (, n. Etym: [Hind. lak, lakh, laksh, Skr. laksha a mark, sign, lakh.]

Defn: One hundred thousand; also, a vaguely great number; as, a lac of rupees. [Written also lack.] [East Indies]

LAC Lac, n. Etym: [Per. lak; akin to Skr. laksha: cf. F. lague, It. & NL. lacca. Cf. Lake a color, Lacquer, Litmus.]

Defn: 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.

Note: Stick-lac is the substance in its natural state, incrusting small twigs. When broken off, and the coloring matter partly removed, the granular residuum is called seed-lac. When melted, and reduced to a thin crust, it is called shell-lac or shellac. Lac is an important ingredient in sealing wax, dyes, varnishes, and lacquers. Ceylon lac, a resinous exudation of the tree Croton lacciferum, resembling lac. — Lac dye, a scarlet dye obtained from stick-lac. — Lac lake, the coloring matter of lac dye when precipitated from its solutions by alum. — Mexican lac, an exudation of the tree Croton Draco.

LACCIC
Lac"cic, a. Etym: [Cf. F. laccique.] (Chem.)

Defn: Pertaining to lac, or produced from it; as, laccic acid.

LACCIN
Lac"cin, n. Etym: [Cf. F. laccine.] (Chem.)

Defn: A yellow amorphous substance obtained from lac.

LACCOLITE; LACCOLITH
Lac"co*lite, Lac"co*lith, n. Etym: [Gr. -lite, -lith.] (Geol.)

Defn: A mass of igneous rock intruded between sedimentary beds and resulting in a mammiform bulging of the overlying strata. — Lac`co*lit"ic, a.

LACE
Lace (las), n. Etym: [OE. las, OF. laz, F. lacs, dim. lacet, fr. L.
laqueus noose, snare; prob. akin to lacere to entice. Cf. Delight,
Elicit, Lasso, Latchet.]

1. 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. His hat hung at his back down by a lace. Chaucer. For striving more, the more in laces strong Himself he tied. Spenser.

2. A snare or gin, especially one made of interwoven cords; a net. [Obs.] Fairfax. Vulcanus had caught thee [Venus] in his lace. Chaucer.

3. 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. Our English dames are much given to the wearing of costlylaces. Bacon.

4. Spirits added to coffee or some other beverage. [Old Slang] Addison. Alencon lace, a kind of point lace, entirely of needlework, first made at Alencon in France, in the 17th century. It is very durable and of great beauty and cost. — Bone lace, Brussels lace, etc. See under Bone, Brussels, etc. — Gold lace, or Silver lace, lace having warp threads of silk, or silk and cotton, and a weft of silk threads covered with gold (or silver), or with gilt. — Lace leather, thin, oil-tanned leather suitable for cutting into lacings for machine belts. — Lace lizard (Zoöl.), a large, aquatic, Australian lizard (Hydrosaurus giganteus), allied to the monitors. — Lace paper, paper with an openwork design in imitation of lace. — Lace piece (Shipbuilding), the main piece of timber which supports the beak or head projecting beyond the stem of a ship. — Lace pillow, and Pillow lace. See under Pillow.

LACE
Lace, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Laced (ast); p. pr. & vb. n. Lacing.]

1. 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. Shak. When Jenny's stays are newly laced. Prior.

2. To adorn with narrow strips or braids of some decorative material; as, cloth laced with silver. Shak.

3. To beat; to lash; to make stripes on. [Colloq.] I'll lace your coat for ye. L'Estrange.

4. To add spirits to (a beverage). [Old Slang]

LACE
Lace, v. i.

Defn: To be fastened with a lace, or laces; as, these boots lace.

LACE-BARK
Lace"-bark`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A shrub in the West Indies (Lagetta Iintearia); — so called from the lacelike layers of its inner bark.

LACED
Laced, a.

1. Fastened with a lace or laces; decorated with narrow strips or braid. See Lace, v. t.

2. Decorated with the fabric lace. A shirt with laced ruffles. Fielding. Laced mutton, a prostitute. [Old slang] — Laced stocking, a strong stocking which can be tightly laced; — used in cases of weak legs, varicose veins, etc. Dunglison.

LACEDAEMONIAN
Lac`e*dæ*mo"ni*an, a. Etym: [L. Lacedamonius, Gr. Lakedaimo`nios, fr.
Lakedai`mwn Lacedæmon.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to Lacedæmon or Sparta, the chief city of Laconia in the Peloponnesus. — n.

Defn: A Spartan. [Written also Lacedemonian.]

LACEMAN
Lace"man, n.; pl. Lacemen (.

Defn: A man who deals in lace.

LACERABLE
Lac"er*a*ble, a. Etym: [L. lacerabilis: cf. F. lacérable.]Etym:

Defn: That can be lacerated or torn.

LACERATE
Lac"er*ate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Lacerated; p. pr. & vb. n. Lacerating
.] Etym: [L. laceratus, p. p. of lacerare to lacerate, fr. lacer
mangled, lacerated; cf. Gr. slay.]

Defn: 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.

LACERATE; LACERATED
Lac"er*ate, Lac"er*a`ted, p. a. Etym: [L. laceratus, p. p.]

1. Rent; torn; mangled; as, a lacerated wound. By each other's fury lacerate Southey.

2. (Bot. & Zoöl.)

Defn: Jagged, or slashed irregularly, at the end, or along the edge.

LACERATION
Lac`er*a"tion, n. Etym: [L.laceratio: cf. F. lacération.]

1. The act of lacerating.

2. A breach or wound made by lacerating. Arbuthnot.

LACERATIVE
Lac"er*a*tive, a.

Defn: Lacerating, or having the power to lacerate; as, lacerative humors. Harvey.

LACERT
La"cert, n. Etym: [OE. lacerte. See Lacertus.]

Defn: A muscle of the human body. [Obs.] Chaucer.

LACERTA
La*cer"ta, n. Etym: [L. lacertus the arm.]

Defn: A fathom. [Obs.] Domesday Book.

LACERTA
La*cer"ta, n. Etym: [L. a lizard. See Lizard.]

1. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A genus of lizards. See Lizard.

Note: Formerly it included nearly all the known lizards. It is now restricted to certain diurnal Old World species, like the green lizard (Lacerta viridis) and the sand lizard (L. agilis), of Europe.

2. (Astron.)

Defn: The Lizard, a northern constellation.

LACERTIAN
La*cer"tian, a. Etym: [Cf. F. lacertien.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Like a lizard; of or pertaining to the Lacertilia.
— n.

Defn: One of the Lacertilia.

LACERTILIA
Lac`er*til"i*a, n. pl. Etym: [NL., fr. L.lacertus a lizard.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: An order of Reptilia, which includes the lizards.

Note: They are closely related to the snakes, and life the latter, usually have the body covered with scales or granules. They usually have eyelids, and most of then have well-formed legs; but in some groups (amphisbæna, glass-snake, etc.) the legs are wanting and the body is serpentlike. None are venomous, unless Heloderma be an exception. The order includes the chameleons, the Cionocrania, or typical lizards, and the amphisbænas. See Amphisbæna, Gecko, Gila monster, and Lizard.

LACERTILIAN
Lac`er*til"i*an (-an), a. & n.

Defn: Same as Lacertian.

LACERTILOID
La*cer"ti*loid, a. Etym: [Lacertilia + -oid.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Like or belonging to the Lacertilia.

LACERTINE
La*cer"tine, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Lacertian.

LACERTUS
La*cer"tus, n.; pl. Lacerti (-ti). Etym: [L., the upper arm.] (Anat.)

Defn: A bundle or fascicle of muscular fibers.

LACEWING
Lace"wing`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any one of several species of neuropterous insects of the genus Chrysopa and allied genera. They have delicate, lacelike wings and brilliant eyes. Their larvæ are useful in destroying aphids. Called also lace-winged fly, and goldeneyed fly.

LACE-WINGED
Lace"-winged`, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Having thin, transparent, reticulated wings; as, the lace- winged flies.

LACHES; LACHE Lach"es, Lache, n. Etym: [OF. lachesse, fr. lache lax, indolent, F. lâche, ultimately fr. L. laxus loose, lax. See Lax.] (Law)

Defn: Neglect; negligence; remissness; neglect to do a thing at the proper time; delay to assert a claim. It ill became him to take advantage of such a laches with the eagerness of a shrewd attorney. Macaulay.

LACHRYMABLE
Lach"ry*ma*ble, a. Etym: [L. lacrimabilis, fr. lacrima a tear.]

Defn: Lamentable. Martin Parker.

LACHRYMAE CHRISTI
Lach"ry*mæ Chris"ti. Etym: [L., lit., Christ's tears.]

Defn: A rich, sweet, red Neapolitan wine.

LACHRYMAL
Lach"ry*mal (, a. Etym: [Cf. F. lacrymal. See Lachrymose.]

1. Of or pertaining to tears; as, lachrymal effusions.

2. (Anat.) (a) Pertaining to, or secreting, tears; as, the lachrymal gland. (b) Pertaining to the lachrymal organs; as, lachrymal bone; lachrymal duct.

LACHRYMAL
Lach"ry*mal, n.

Defn: See Lachrymatory.

LACHRYMALS
Lach"ry*mals, n. pl. [See Lachrymal.]

Defn: Tears; also, lachrymal feelings or organs. [Colloq.]

People go to the theaters to have . . . their risibles and lachrymals
set agoing.
The Lutheran.

LACHRYMARY
Lach"ry*ma*ry, a.

Defn: Containing, or intended to contain, tears; lachrymal. Addison.

LACHRYMATE
Lach"ry*mate (-mat), v. i.

Defn: To weep. [R.] Blount.

LACHRYMATION Lach`ry*ma"tion, n. Etym: [L. lacrimatio, from lacrimare to shed tears, fr. lacrima tear.]

Defn: The act of shedding tears; weeping.

LACHRYMATORY
Lach"ry*ma*to*ry, n.; pl. -ries. Etym: [Cf. F. lacrymatoire.]
(Antiq.)

Defn: 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.

LACHRYMIFORM Lach"ry*mi*form, a, Etym: [L.lacrima tear + -form; cf. F. lacrymiforme.]

Defn: Having the form of a tear; tear-shaped.

LACHRYMOSE Lach"ry*mose`, a. Etym: [L. lacrymosus, better lacrimosus, fr. lacrima, lacruma (also badly spelt lachryma) a tear, for older dacrima, akin to E. tear. See Tear the secretion.]

Defn: Generating or shedding tears; given to shedding tears; suffused
with tears; tearful.
You should have seen his lachrymose visnomy. Lamb.
— Lach"ry*mose`ly, adv.

LACING
La"cing, n.

1. The act of securing, fastening, or tightening, with a lace or laces.

2. A lace; specifically (Mach.), a thong of thin leather for uniting the ends of belts.

3. 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.

4. (Bridge Building)

Defn: A system of bracing bars, not crossing each other in the middle, connecting the channel bars of a compound strut. Waddell.

LACINIA La*cin"i*a, n.; pl. L. Laciniæ. Etym: [L., the lappet or flap of a garment.]

1. (Bot.) (a) One of the narrow, jagged, irregular pieces or divisions which form a sort of fringe on the borders of the petals of some flowers. (b) A narrow, slender portion of the edge of a monophyllous calyx, or of any irregularly incised leaf.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The posterior, inner process of the stipes on the maxillæ of insects.

LACINIATE; LACINIATED
La*cin"i*ate, La*cin"i*a"ted, a. Etym: [See Lacinia.]

1. Fringed; having a fringed border.

2. (Bot. & Zoöl.)

Defn: Cut into deep, narrow, irregular lobes; slashed.

LACINIOLATE
La*cin"i*o*late, a. Etym: [See Lacinia.] (Bot.)

Defn: Consisting of, or abounding in, very minute laciniæ.

LACINULA
La*cin"u*la, n.; pl. Lacinulæ, E. Lacinulas. Etym: [NL.] (Bot.)

Defn: A diminutive lacinia.

LACK Lack, n. Etym: [OE. lak; cf. D. lak slander, laken to blame, OHG. lahan, AS. leán.]

1. Blame; cause of blame; fault; crime; offense. [Obs.] Chaucer.

2. Deficiency; want; need; destitution; failure; as, a lack of
sufficient food.
She swooneth now and now for lakke of blood. Chaucer.
Let his lack of years be no impediment. Shak.

LACK
Lack, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Lacked; p. pr. & vb. n. Lacking.]

1. To blame; to find fault with. [Obs.] Love them and lakke them not. Piers Plowman.

2. To be without or destitute of; to want; to need. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God. James i. 5.

LACK
Lack, v. i.

1. To be wanting; often, impersonally, with of, meaning, to be less than, short, not quite, etc. What hour now I think it lacks of twelve. Shak. Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty. Gen. xvii. 28.

2. To be in want. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger. Ps. xxxiv. 10.

LACK
Lack, interj. Etym: [Cf. Alack.]

Defn: Exclamation of regret or surprise. [Prov. Eng.] Cowper.

LACKADAISICAL
Lack`a*dai"si*cal, a. Etym: [From Lackadaisy, interj.]

Defn: Affectedly pensive; languidly sentimental.
— Lack`a*dai"si*cal*ly, adv.

LACKADAISY
Lack"a*dai`sy, interj. Etym: [From Lackaday, interj.]

Defn: An expression of languor.

LACKADAISY
Lack"a*dai`sy, a.

Defn: Lackadaisical.

LACKADAY
Lack"a*day`, interj. Etym: [Abbreviated from alackaday.]

Defn: Alack the day; alas; — an expression of sorrow, regret, dissatisfaction, or surprise.

LACKBRAIN
Lack"brain`, n.

Defn: One who is deficient in understanding; a witless person. Shak.

LACKER
Lack"er, n.

Defn: One who lacks or is in want.

LACKER
Lack"er, n. & v.

Defn: See Lacquer.

LACKEY Lack"ey, n.; pl. Lackeys. Etym: [F. laquais; cf. Sp. & Pg. lacayo; of uncertain origin; perh. of German origin, and akin to E.lick, v.]

Defn: An attending male servant; a footman; a servile follower. Like a Christian footboy or a gentleman's lackey. Shak. Lackey caterpillar (Zoöl.), the caterpillar, or larva, of any bombycid moth of the genus Clisiocampa; — so called from its party- colored markings. The common European species (C. neustria) is striped with blue, yellow, and red, with a white line on the back. The American species (C. Americana and C. sylvatica) are commonly called tent caterpillars. See Tent caterpillar,under Tent. — Lackey moth (Zoöl.), the moth which produces the lackey caterpillar.

LACKEY
Lack"ey, v. t.

Defn: To attend as a lackey; to wait upon.
A thousand liveried angels lackey her. Milton.

LACKEY
Lack"ey, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Lackeyed; p. pr. & vb. n. Lackeying.]

Defn: To act or serve as lackey; to pay servile attendance.

LACKLUSTER; LACKLUSTRE
Lack"lus`ter, Lack"lus`tre, n.

Defn: A want of luster.
— a.

Defn: Wanting luster or brightness. "Lackluster eye." Shak.

LACMUS
Lac"mus, n.

Defn: See Litmus.

LACONIAN
La*co"ni*an, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to Laconia, a division of ancient Greece; Spartan. — n.

Defn: An inhabitant of Laconia; esp., a Spartan.

LACONIC; LACONICAL La*con"ic, La*con"ic*al, a. Etym: [L. Laconicus Laconian, Gr. laconique.]

1. 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. I grow laconic even beyond laconicism; for sometimes I return only yes, or no, to questionary or petitionary epistles of half a yard long. Pope. His sense was strong and his style laconic. Welwood.

2. Laconian; characteristic of, or like, the Spartans; hence, stern or severe; cruel; unflinching. His head had now felt the razor, his back the rod; all that laconical discipline pleased him well. Bp. Hall.

Syn. — Short; brief; concise; succinct; sententious; pointed; pithy. — Laconic, Concise. Concise means without irrelevant or superfluous matter; it is the opposite of diffuse. Laconic means concise with the additional quality of pithiness, sometimes of brusqueness.

LACONIC
La*con"ic, n.

Defn: Laconism. [Obs.] Addison.

LACONICAL
La*con"ic*al, a.

Defn: See Laconic, a.

LACONICALLY
La*con"ic*al*ly, adv.

Defn: In a laconic manner.

LACONICISM
La*con"I*cism, n.

Defn: Same as Laconism. Pope.

LACONISM
Lac"o*nism, n. Etym: [Gr. laconisme.]

1. A vigorous, brief manner of expression; laconic style.

2. An instance of laconic style or expression.

LACONIZE
Lac"o*nize, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Laconized; p. pr. & vb. n.
Laconizing.] Etym: [Gr. Laconic.]

Defn: To imitate the manner of the Laconians, especially in brief, pithy speech, or in frugality and austerity.

LACQUER Lac"quer, n. Etym: [F. lacre a sort of sealing wax, Pg. lacte, fr. laca lac. See Lac the resin.] [Written also lacker.]

Defn: A varnish, consisting of a solution of shell-lac in alcohol, often colored with gamboge, saffron, or the like; — used for varnishing metals, papier-maché, and wood. The name is also given to varnishes made of other ingredients, esp. the tough, solid varnish of the Japanese, with which ornamental objects are made.

LACQUER
Lac"quer, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Lacquered; p. pr. & vb. n. Lacquering.]

Defn: To cover with lacquer. "Lacquer'd chair." Pope.

LACQUERER
Lac"quer*er, n.

Defn: One who lacquers, especially one who makes a business of lacquering.

LACQUERING
Lac"quer*ing, n.

Defn: The act or business of putting on lacquer; also, the coat of lacquer put on.

LACRIMOSO
La`cri*mo"so, a. Etym: [It. See Lachrymose.] (Mus.)

Defn: Plaintive; — a term applied to a mournful or pathetic movement or style. Moore.

LACROSSE
La*crosse", n. Etym: [F. la crosse, lit., the crosier, hooked stick.
Cf. Crosier.]

Defn: A game of ball, originating among the North American Indians, now the popular field sport of Canada, and played also in England and the United States. Each player carries a long-handled racket, called a "crosse". The ball is not handled but caught with the crosse and carried on it, or tossed from it, the object being to carry it or throw it through one of the goals placed at opposite ends of the field.

LACRYMAL
Lac"ry*mal, n. & a.

Defn: See Lachrymatory, n., and Lachrymal, a.

LACRYMARY; LACRYTORY; LACRYMOSE
Lac"ry*ma*ry, Lac"ry*to*ry, Lac"ry*mose.

Defn: See Lachrymary, Lachrymatory, Lachrymose.

LACTAGE
Lac"tage, n. Etym: [L. lac, lactis, milk: cf. F. laitage. See
Lacteal.]

Defn: The produce of animals yielding milk; milk and that which is made from it.

LACTAM
Lac"tam, n. Etym: [Lactone + amido.] (Chem.)

Defn: One of a series of anhydrides of an amido type, analogous to the lactones, as oxindol.

LACTAMIC
Lac*tam"ic, a. (Chem.)

Defn: Pertaining to, or designating, an amido acid related to lactic acid, and called also amido-propionic acid.

LACTAMIDE
Lac*tam"ide, n. Etym: [Lactic + amide.] (Chem.)

Defn: An acid amide derived from lactic acid, and obtained as a white crystalline substance having a neutral reaction. It is metameric with alanine.

LACTANT Lac"tant, a. Etym: [L. lactans, p. pr. of lactare to suck, fr. lac, lactis, milk.]

Defn: Suckling; giving suck.

LACTARENE
Lac"ta*rene, n. Etym: [L. lac, lactis, milk.]

Defn: A preparation of casein from milk, used in printing calico.

LACTARY Lac"ta*ry, a. Etym: [l. lactarius, fr. lac, lactis, milk: cf. F. lactaire.]

Defn: Milky; full of white juice like milk. [Obs.] "Lactary or milky plants." Sir T. Browne.

LACTARY
Lac"ta*ry, n.

Defn: a dairyhouse. [R.]

LACTATE
Lac"tate, n. Etym: [L. lac, lactis, milk: cf. F. lactate.] (Chem.)

Defn: A salt of lactic acid.

LACTATION
Lac*ta"tion, n.

Defn: A giving suck; the secretion and yielding of milk by the mammary gland.

LACTEAL
Lac"te*al, a. Etym: [L. lacteus milky, fr. lac, lactis, milk. Cf.
Galaxy, Lettuce.]

1. Pertaining to, or resembling, milk; milky; as, the lacteal fluid.

2. (Anat. & Physiol.)

Defn: Pertaining to, or containing, chyle; as, the lacteal vessels.

LACTEAL
Lac"te*al, n. (Anat.)

Defn: One of the lymphatic vessels which convey chyle from the small intestine through the mesenteric glands to the thoracic duct; a chyliferous vessel.

LACTEALLY
Lac"te*al*ly, adv.

Defn: Milkily; in the manner of milk.

LACTEAN
Lac"te*an, a. Etym: [See Lacteal.]

1. Milky; consisting of, or resembling, milk. "This lactean whiteness." Moxon.

2. (Anat. & Physiol.)

Defn: Lacteal; conveying chyle.

LACTEOUS
Lac"te*ous, a. Etym: [See Lacteal.]

1. Milky; resembling milk. "The lacteous circle." Sir T. Browne.

2. Lacteal; conveying chyle; as, lacteous vessels.

LACTEOUSLY
Lac"te*ous*ly, adv.

Defn: In a lacteous manner; after the manner of milk.

LACTESCENCE
Lac*tes"cence, n. Etym: [Cf. F. lactescence.]

1. The state or quality of producing milk, or milklike juice; resemblance to milk; a milky color. This lactescence does commonly ensue when . . . fair water is suddenly poured upon the solution. Boyle.

2. (Bot.)

Defn: The latex of certain plants. See Latex.

LACTESCENT
Lac*tes"cent, a. Etym: [L. lactescens, p. pr. of lactescere to turn
to milk, incho. fr. lactere to be milky, fr. lac, lactis, milk: cf.
F. lactescent.]

1. Having a milky look; becoming milky. [Obs.]

2. (Bot.)

Defn: Producing milk or a milklike juice or fluid, as the milkweed.
See Latex.

LACTIC
Lac"tic, a. Etym: [L. lac, lactis, milk: cf. F. lactique. See
Lacteal, and cf. Galactic.] (Physiol. Chem.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to milk; procured from sour milk or whey; as, lactic acid; lactic fermentation, etc. Lactic acid (Physiol. Chem.), a sirupy, colorless fluid, soluble in water, with an intensely sour taste and strong acid reaction. There are at least three isomeric modifications all having the formula C3H6O3. Sarcolactic or paralactic acid occurs chiefly in dead muscle tissue, while ordinary lactic acid results from fermentation. The two acids are alike in having the same constitution (expressed by the name ethylidene lactic acid), but the latter is optically inactive, while sarcolactic acid rotates the plane of polarization to the right. The third acid, ethylene lactic acid, accompanies sarcolactic acid in the juice of flesh, and is optically inactive. — Lactic ferment, an organized ferment (Bacterium lacticum or lactis), which produces lactic fermentation, decomposing the sugar of milk into carbonic and lactic acids, the latter, of which renders the milk sour, and precipitates the casein, thus giving rise to the so- called spontaneous coagulation of milk. — Lactic fermentation. See under Fermentation.

LACTIDE
Lac"tide, n. Etym: [Lactic + anhydride.] (Chem.)

Defn: A white, crystalline substance, obtained from also, by extension, any similar substance.

LACTIFEROUS Lac*tif"er*ous, a. Etym: [l. lac, lactis, milk + -ferous: cf. F. lactifère.]

Defn: Bearing or containing milk or a milky fluid; as, the lactiferous vessels, cells, or tissue of various vascular plants.

LACTIFIC; LACTIFICAL Lac*tif"ic, Lac*tif"ic*al, a. Etym: [L. lac, lactis, milk + facere to make.]

Defn: Producing or yielding milk.

LACTIFUGE
Lac"ti*fuge, n. Etym: [L. lac, lactis, milk + fugare to expel.]
(Med.)

Defn: A medicine to check the secretion of milk, or to dispel a supposed accumulation of milk in any part of the body.

LACTIM
Lac"tim, n. Etym: [Lactic + imido.] (Chem.)

Defn: One of a series of anhydrides resembling the lactams, but of an imido type; as, isatine is a lactim. Cf. Lactam.

LACTIMIDE
Lac*tim"ide, n. Etym: [Lactic + imide.] (Chem.)

Defn: A white, crystalline substance obtained as an anhydride of alanine, and regarded as an imido derivative of lactic acid.

LACTIN
Lac"tin, n. Etym: [L. lac, lactis, milk: cf. F. lactine. Cf.
Galactin.] (Physiol. Chem.)

Defn: See Lactose.

LACTOABUMIN
Lac`to*a*bu"min, n. Etym: [L. lac, lactis, milk + E. albumin.]
(Physiol. Chem.)

Defn: The albumin present on milk, apparently identical with ordinary serum albumin. It is distinct from the casein of milk.

LACTOBUTYROMETER Lac`to*bu`ty*rom"e*ter, n. Etym: [L. lac, lactis, milk + E. butyrometer.]

Defn: An instrument for determining the amount of butter fat contained in a given sample of milk.

LACTODENSIMETER Lac`to*den*sim"e*ter, n. Etym: [L. lac, lactis, milk + E. densimeter.]

Defn: 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 Lac*tom"e*ter, n. Etym: [L. lac, lactis, milk + meter: cf. F. lactomètre. Cf. Galactometer.]

Defn: An instrument for estimating the purity or richness of milk, as a measuring glass, a specific gravity bulb, or other apparatus.

LACTONE
Lac"tone, n. (Chem.)

Defn: 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
Lac*ton"ic, a. Etym: [From Lactone.] (Chem.)

Defn: Of, pertaining to, or derived from, lactone.

LACTONIC
Lac*ton"ic, a. Etym: [From Lactose.] (Chem.)

Defn: Pertaining to, or designating, an acid obtained by the oxidation of milk sugar (lactose).

LACTOPROTEIN
Lac`to*pro"te*in, n. Etym: [L.lac, lactis,milk + E. protein.]
(Physiol. Chem.)

Defn: A peculiar albuminous body considered a normal constituent of milk.

LACTORY
Lac"to*ry, a.

Defn: Lactiferous. [Obs.] "Lactory or milky plants." Sir T. Browne.

LACTOSCOPE
Lac"to*scope, n. Etym: [L. lac, lactis + scope.]

Defn: An instrument for estimating the amount of cream contained in milk by ascertaining its relative opacity.

LACTOSE
Lac"tose`, n.

1. (Physiol. Chem.)

Defn: Sugar of milk or milk sugar; a crystalline sugar present in milk, and separable from the whey by evaporation and crystallization. It has a slightly sweet taste, is dextrorotary, and is much less soluble in water than either cane sugar or glucose. Formerly called lactin.

2. (Chem.)

Defn: See Galactose.

LACTUCA
Lac*tu"ca, n. Etym: [L., lettuce. See Lettuce.] (Bot.)

Defn: A genus of composite herbs, several of which are cultivated foe salad; lettuce.

LACTUCARIUM
Lac`tu*ca"ri*um, n. Etym: [NL., fr. L. lactuca lettuce.]

Defn: The inspissated juice of the common lettuce, sometimes used as a substitute for opium.

LACTUCIC
Lac*tu"cic, a. (Chem.)

Defn: Pertaining to, or derived from, the juice of the Lactuca virosa; — said of certain acids.

LACTUCIN
Lac*tu"cin, n. Etym: [From Lactuca: cf. F. lactucine.] (Chem.)

Defn: A white, crystalline substance, having a bitter taste and a neutral reaction, and forming one of the essential ingredients of lactucarium.

LACTUCONE
Lac*tu"cone, n. Etym: [From Lactuca.] (Chem.)

Defn: A white, crystalline, tasteless substance, found in the milky sap of species of Lactuca, and constituting an essential ingredient of lactucarium.

LACTURAMIC
Lac`tu*ram"ic (, a. Etym: [Lactic + urea + amic.] (Chem.)

Defn: Pertaining to, or designating, an organic amido acid, which is regarded as a derivative of lactic acid and urea.

LACTYL
Lac"tyl, n. Etym: [Lactic + -yl.] (Chem.)

Defn: An organic residue or radical derived from lactic acid.

LACUNA La*cu"na, n.; pl. L. Lacunæ; E. Lacunas. Etym: [L., ditch, pit, lake, orig., anything hollow. See Lagoon.]

1. A small opening; a small pit or depression; a small blank space; a gap or vacancy; a hiatus.

2. (Biol.)

Defn: A small opening; a small depression or cavity; a space, as a vacant space between the cells of plants, or one of the spaces left among the tissues of the lower animals, which serve in place of vessels for the circulation of the body fluids, or the cavity or sac, usually of very small size, in a mucous membrane.

LACUNAL; LACUNAR
La*cu"nal, La*cu"nar, a.

Defn: Pertaining to, or having, lacunæ; as, a lacunar circulation.

LACUNAR La*cu"nar, n.; pl. E. Lacunars, L. Lacunaria. Etym: [L.] (Arch.) (a) The ceiling or under surface of any part, especially when it consists of compartments, sunk or hollowed without spaces or bands between the panels. Gwilt (b) One of the sunken panels in such a ceiling.

LACUNE
La*cune", n. Etym: [F.]

Defn: A lacuna. [R.] Landor.

LACUNOSE; LACUNOUS Lac"u*nose`, La*cu"nous, a. Etym: [L. lacunosus full of holes or hollows; cf. F. lacuneux. See Lacuna.] (Biol.)

Defn: Furrowed or pitted; having shallow cavities or lacunæ; as, a lacunose leaf.

LACUSTRAL; LACUSTRINE La*cus"tral, La*cus"trine, a. Etym: [L. lacus lake: cf. F. lacustral, lacustre.]

Defn: Found in, or pertaining to, lakes or ponds, or growing in them; as, lacustrine flowers. Lacustrine deposits (Geol.), the deposits which have been accumulated in fresh-water areas. — Lacustrine dwellings. See Lake dwellings, under Lake.

LACWORK
Lac"work`, n.

Defn: 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.

LAD
Lad, obs. p. p.

Defn: of Lead, to guide Chaucer.

LAD
Lad, n. Etym: [OE. ladde, of Celtic origin; cf. W. , Ir. lath. (. Cf.
Lass.]

1. A boy; a youth; a stripling. "Cupid is a knavish lad." Shak. There is a lad here, which hath fire barley loaves and two small fishes. John vi. 9.

2. A companion; a comrade; a mate. Lad's love. (Bot.) See Boy's love, under Boy.

LADANUM
Lad"a*num, n. Etym: [L. ladanum, ledanum, Fr. (ladan, laden. Cf.
Laudanum.]

Defn: 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. [Written also labdanum.]

LADDE
Lad"de, obs. imp.

Defn: of Lead, to guide. Chaucer.

LADDER
Lad"der, n. Etym: [OE. laddre, AS. hl, hl; akin to OFries. hladder,
OHG.leitara, G. leiter, and from the root of E. lean, v. (Lean, v.
i., and cf. Climax.]

1. 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. Some the engines play, And some, more bold, mount ladders to the fire. Dryden.

2. That which resembles a ladder in form or use; hence, that by means of which one attains to eminence. Lowliness is young ambition's ladder. Shak. Fish ladder. See under Fish. — Ladder beetle (Zoöl.), an American leaf beetle (Chrysomela scalaris). The elytra are silvery white, striped and spotted with green; the under wings are rose-colored. It feeds upon the linden tree. — Ladder handle, an iron rail at the side of a vertical fixed ladder, to grasp with the hand in climbing. — Ladder shell (Zoöl.), a spiral marine shell of the genus Scalaria. See Scalaria.

LADDIE
Lad"die, n.

Defn: A lad; a male sweetheart. [Scot.]

LADE Lade, v. t. [imp. Laded; p. p. Laded, Laded (; p. pr. & vb. n. Lading.] Etym: [AS. hladan to heap, load, draw (water); akin to D. & G. laden to load, OHG. hladan, ladan, Icel. hla, Sw. ladda, Dan. lade, Goth. afhlapan. Cf. Load, Ladle, Lathe for turning, Last a load.]

1. To load; to put a burden or freight on or in; — generally followed by that which receives the load, as the direct object. And they laded their asses with the corn. Gen. xlii. 26.

2. To throw in out. with a ladle or dipper; to dip; as, to lade water out of a tub, or into a cistern. And chides the sea that sunders him from thence, Saying, he'll lade it dry to have his way. Shak.

3. (Plate Glass Manuf.)

Defn: To transfer (the molten glass) from the pot to the forming table.

LADE
Lade, v. i. Etym: [See Lade, v. t.]

1. To draw water. [Obs.]

2. (Naut.)

Defn: To admit water by leakage, as a ship, etc.

LADE Lade, n. Etym: [Prov. E., a ditch or drain. Cf. Lode, Lead to conduct.]

1. The mouth of a river. [Obs.] Bp. Gibson.

2. A passage for water; a ditch or drain. [Prov. Eng.]

LADEMAN
Lade"man, n.

Defn: One who leads a pack horse; a miller's servant. [Obs. or Local]

LADEN
Lad"en, p. & a.

Defn: Loaded; freighted; burdened; as, a laden vessel; a laden heart.
Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity. Is. i. 4.
A ship laden with gold. Shak.

LADIED
La"died, a.

Defn: Ladylike; not rough; gentle. [Obs.] "Stroked with a ladied land." Feltham.

LADIES' EARDROPS
La"dies' ear`drops`. (Bot.)

Defn: The small-flowered Fuchsia (F. coccinea), and other closely related species.

LADIFY
La"di*fy, v. t. Etym: [Lady + -fy.]

Defn: To make a lady of; to make ladylike. [Obs.] Massinger.

LADIN
La*din", n. Etym: [From L. Latinus Latin. See Latin]

Defn: A Romansch dialect spoken in some parts of Switzerland and the
Tyrol.

LADING
Lad"ing, n.

1. The act of loading.

2. That which lades or constitutes a load or cargo; freight; burden; as, the lading of a ship. Bill of lading. See under Bill.

LADINO
La*di"no, n.; pl. Ladinos. Etym: [Sp.]

Defn: 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. Am. Cyc.

LADKIN
Lad"kin, n.

Defn: A little lad. [R.] Dr. H. More.

LADLE La"dle, n. Etym: [AS.hlædel, fr. hladan to load, drain. See Lade, v. t.]

1. A cuplike spoon, often of large size, with a long handle, used in lading or dipping. When the materials of glass have been kept long in fusion, the mixture casts up the superfluous salt, which the workmen take off with ladles. Boyle.

2. (Founding)

Defn: A vessel to carry liquid metal from the furnace to the mold.

3. The float of a mill wheel; — called also ladle board.

4. (Gun.) (a) An instrument for drawing the charge of a cannon. (b) A ring, with a handle or handles fitted to it, for carrying shot. Ladle wood (Bot.), the wood of a South African tree (Cassine Colpoon), used for carving.

LADLE
La"dle, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Ladled; p. pr. & vb. n. Ladling.]

Defn: 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.

LADLEFUL
La"dle*ful, n.; pl. Ladlefuls (.

Defn: A quantity sufficient to fill a ladle.

LADRONE
La*drone", n. Etym: [Sp. ladron, L. latro servant, robber, Gr. (

Defn: A robber; a pirate; hence, loosely, a rogue or rascal.

LADY
La"dy, n.; pl. Ladies. Etym: [OE. ladi, læfdi, AS. hl, hl; AS. hlaf
loaf + a root of uncertain origin, possibly akin to E. dairy. See
Loaf, and cf. Lord.]

1. A woman who looks after the domestic affairs of a family; a mistress; the female head of a household. Agar, the handmaiden of Sara, whence comest thou, and whither goest thou The which answered, Fro the face of Sara my lady. Wyclif (Gen. xvi. 8.).

2. A woman having proprietary rights or authority; mistress; — a feminine correlative of lord. "Lord or lady of high degree." Lowell. Of all these bounds, even from this line to this, . . . We make thee lady. Shak.

3. A woman to whom the particular homage of a knight was paid; a woman to whom one is devoted or bound; a sweetheart. The soldier here his wasted store supplies, And takes new valor from his lady's eyes. Waller.

4. A woman of social distinction or position. In England, a title prefixed to the name of any woman whose husband is not of lower rank than a baron, or whose father was a nobleman not lower than an earl. The wife of a baronet or knight has the title of Lady by courtesy, but not by right.

5. A woman of refined or gentle manners; a well-bred woman; — the feminine correlative of gentleman.

6. A wife; — not now in approved usage. Goldsmith.

7. (Zoöl.)

Defn: 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. Ladies' man, a man who affects the society of ladies. — Lady altar, an altar in a lady chapel. Shipley. — Lady chapel, a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary. — Lady court, the court of a lady of the manor. — Lady crab (Zoöl.), a handsomely spotted swimming crab (Platyonichus ocellatus) very common on the sandy shores of the Atlantic coast of the United States. — Lady fern. (Bot.) See Female fern, under Female, and Illust. of Fern. — Lady in waiting, a lady of the queen's household, appointed to wait upon or attend the queen. — Lady Mass, a Mass said in honor of the Virgin Mary. Shipley. Lady of the manor, a lady having jurisdiction of a manor; also, the wife of a manor lord. Lady's maid, a maidservant who dresses and waits upon a lady. Thackeray. — Our Lady, the Virgin Mary.

LADY
La"dy, a.

Defn: Belonging or becoming to a lady; ladylike. "Some lady trifles."
Shak.

LADYBIRD
La"dy*bird`, n. Etym: [Equiv. to, bird of Our Lady.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any one of numerous species of small beetles of the genus Coccinella and allied genera (family Coccinellidæ); — called also ladybug, ladyclock, lady cow, lady fly, and lady beetle. Coccinella seplempunctata in one of the common European species. See Coccinella.

Note: The ladybirds are usually more or less hemispherical in form, with a smooth, polished surface, and often colored red, brown, or black, with small spots of brighter colors. Both the larvæ and the adult beetles of most species feed on aphids, and for this reason they are very beneficial to agriculture and horticulture.

LADYBUG
La"dy*bug`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Same as Ladybird.

LADYCLOCK
La"dy*clock`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: See Ladyrird.

LADY DAY
La"dy` day

Defn: The day of the annunciation of the Virgin Mary, March 25. See
Annunciation.

LADY DAY
La"dy` Day` (da).

Defn: The day of the annunciation of the Virgin Mary, March 25. See
Annunciation.

LADYFISH La"dy*fish`, n. (Zoöl.) (a) A large, handsome oceanic fish (Albula vulpes), found both in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans; — called also bonefish, grubber, French mullet, and macabé. (b) A labroid fish (Harpe rufa) of Florida and the West Indies.

LADYHOOD
La"dy*hood, n.

Defn: The state or quality of being a lady; the personality of a lady.

LADY-KILLER
La"dy-kill`er, n.

Defn: A gallant who captivates the hearts of women. "A renowned dandy and lady-killer." Blackw. Mag.

LADY-KILLING
La"dy-kill`ing, n.

Defn: The art or practice of captivating the hearts of women. Better for the sake of womankind that this dangerous dog should leave off lady-killing. Thackeray.

LADYKIN
La"dy*kin, n. Etym: [Lady + -kin.]

Defn: A little lady; — applied by the writers of Queen Elizabeth's time, in the abbreviated form Lakin, to the Virgin Mary.

Note: The diminutive does not refer to size, but is equivalent to "dear." Brewer.

LADYLIKE
La"dy*like`, a.

1. Like a lady in appearance or manners; well-bred. She was ladylike, too, after the manner of the feminine gentility of those days. Hawthorne.

2. Becoming or suitable to a lady; as, ladylike manners. "With fingers ladylike." Warner.

3. Delicate; tender; feeble; effeminate. Too ladylike a long fatigue to bear. Dryden.

LADYLIKENESS
La"dy*like`ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being ladylike.

LADYLOVE
La"dy*love`, n.

Defn: A sweetheart or mistress.

LADY'S BEDSTRAW
La"dy's bed"straw`, (Bot.)

Defn: The common bedstraw (Galium verum); also, a slender-leaved East
Indian shrub (Pharnaceum Mollugo), with white flowers in umbels.

LADY'S BOWER
La"dy's bow"er. (Bot.)

Defn: A climbing plant with fragrant blossoms (Clematis vitalba).

Note: This term is sometimes applied to other plants of the same genus.

LADY'S CLOTH
La"dy's cloth`

Defn: A kind of broadcloth of light weight, used for women's dresses, cloaks, etc.

LADY'S COMB
La"dy's comb", (Bot.)

Defn: An umbelliferous plant (Scandix Pecten-Veneris), its clusters of long slender fruits remotely resembling a comb.

LADY'S CUSHION
La"dy's cush"ion, (Bot.)

Defn: An herb growing in dense tufts; the thrift (Armeria vulgaris).

LADY'S FINGER
La"dy's fin"ger,

1. pl. (Bot.)

Defn: The kidney vetch.

2. (Cookery)

Defn: A variety of small cake of about the dimensions of a finger.

3. A long, slender variety of the potato.

4. (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of the branchiæ of the lobster.

LADY'S GARTERS
La"dy's gar"ters. (Bot.)

Defn: Ribbon grass.

LADY'S HAIR
La"dy's hair". (Bot.)

Defn: A plant of the genus Briza (B. media); a variety of quaking grass.

LADYSHIP
La"dy*ship, n.

Defn: The rank or position of a lady; — given as a title (preceded
by her or your.)
Your ladyship shall observe their gravity. B. Jonson.

LADY'S LACES
La"dy's la"ces. (Bot.)

Defn: A slender climbing plant; dodder.

LADY'S LOOKING-GLASS
La"dy's look"ing-glass`. (Bot.)

Defn: See Venus's looking-glass, under Venus.

LADY'S MANTLE
La"dy's man"tle. (Bot.)

Defn: A genus of rosaceous herbs (Alchemilla), esp. the European A. vulgaris, which has leaves with rounded and finely serrated lobes.

LADY'S SEAL La"dy's seal".(Bot.) (a) The European Solomon's seal (Polygonatum verticillatum). (b) The black bryony (Tamus communis).

LADY'S SLIPPER
La"dy's slip"per. (Bot.)

Defn: 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 SMOCK
La"dy's smock". (Bot.)

Defn: A plant of the genus Cardamine (C. pratensis); cuckoo flower.

LADY'S THIMBLE
La"dy's thim"ble. (Bot.)

Defn: The harebell.

LADY'S THUMB
La"dy's thumb". (Bot.)

Defn: An annual weed (Polygonum Persicaria), having a lanceolate leaf with a dark spot in the middle.

LADY'S TRACES; LADIES' TRESSES; LADIES TRESSES
La"dy's tra"ces, La"dies' tress"es. (Bot.)

Defn: 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.

LAELAPS
Læ"laps, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. ( (Paleon.)

Defn: 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.

LAEMMERGEYER
Laem"mer*gey`er, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: See Lammergeir.

LAEMODIPOD
Læ*mod"i*pod, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of the Læmodipoda.

LAEMODIPODA
Læ`mo*dip"o*da, n. pl. Etym: [NL., from Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: 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.

LAEMODIPODOUS
Læ`mo*dip"o*dous, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to the Læmodipoda.

LAETERE SUNDAY
Læ*te"re Sun"day

Defn: . The fourth Sunday of Lent; — so named from the Latin word Lætare (rejoice), the first word in the antiphone of the introit sung that day in the Roman Catholic service.

LAEVIGATE
Læv"i*gate, a. Etym: [See Levigate.] (Biol.)

Defn: Having a smooth surface, as if polished.

LAEVO-
Læ"vo-

Defn: . A prefix. See Levo.

LAEVOROTATORY
Læ"vo*ro"ta*to*ry, a.

Defn: Same as Levorotatory. Cf. Dextrorotatory.

LAEVULOSE
Læv"u*lose`, n. (Chem.)

Defn: See Levulose.

LAFAYETTE La`fa`yette", n. (Zoöl.) (a) The dollar fish. (b) A market fish, the goody, or spot (Liostomus xanthurus), of the southern coast of the United States.

LAFT
Laft, obs. p. p.

Defn: of Leave. Chaucer.

LAFTE
Laf"te, obs. imp.

Defn: of Leave. Chaucer.

LAG
Lag, a. Etym: [Of Celtic origin: cf. Gael. & Ir. lagweak, feeble,
faint, W. llag, llac, slack, loose, remiss, sluggish; prob. akin to
E. lax, languid.]

1. Coming tardily after or behind; slow; tardy. [Obs.] Came too lag to see him buried. Shak.

2. Last; long-delayed; — obsolete, except in the phrase lag end. "The lag end of my life." Shak.

3. Last made; hence, made of refuse; inferior. [Obs.] "Lag souls." Dryden.

LAG
Lag, n.

1. One who lags; that which comes in last. [Obs.] "The lag of all the flock." Pope.

2. The fag-end; the rump; hence, the lowest class. The common lag of people. Shak.

3. The amount of retardation of anything, as of a valve in a steam engine, in opening or closing.

4. 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.

5. (Zoöl.)

Defn: See Graylag. Lag of the tide, the interval by which the time of high water falls behind the mean time, in the first and third quarters of the moon; — opposed to priming of the tide, or the acceleration of the time of high water, in the second and fourth quarters; depending on the relative positions of the sun and moon. — Lag screw, an iron bolt with a square head, a sharp-edged thread, and a sharp point, adapted for screwing into wood; a screw for fastening lags.

LAG
Lag, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Lagged; p. pr. & vb. n. Lagging.]

Defn: To walk or more slowly; to stay or fall behind; to linger or loiter. "I shall not lag behind." Milton.

Syn.
— To loiter; linger; saunter; delay; be tardy.

LAG
Lag, v. t.

1. To cause to lag; to slacken. [Obs.] "To lag his flight." Heywood.

2. (Mach.)

Defn: To cover, as the cylinder of a steam engine, with lags. See
Lag, n., 4.

LAG
Lag, n.

Defn: One transported for a crime. [Slang, Eng.]

LAG
Lag, v. t.

Defn: To transport for crime. [Slang, Eng.]
She lags us if we poach. De Quincey.

LAGAN
La"gan, n. & v.

Defn: See Ligan.

LAGARTO
La*gar"to, n. Etym: [See Alligator.]

Defn: An alligator. [Obs.] Sir W. Raleigh.

LAGENA
La*ge"na, n.; pl. L. Lagenæ, E. Lagenas. Etym: [L., a flask; cf. Gr.
(Anat.)

Defn: 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
La*ge"ni*an, a. Etym: [See Lagena.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Like, or pertaining to, Lagena, a genus of Foraminifera having a straight, chambered shell.

LAGENIFORM
La*ge"ni*form, a. Etym: [See Lagena, and -form.] (Bot.)

Defn: Shaped like a bottle or flask; flag-shaped.

LAGER
La"ger, n.

Defn: Lager beer.

LAGER BEER La"ger beer`. Etym: [G. lager bed, storehouse + bier beer. See Lair, and Beer.]

Defn: 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.

LAGER WINE
La"ger wine`

Defn: . Wine which has been kept for some time in the cellar.
Simmonds.

LAGGARD
Lag"gard, a. Etym: [Lag + -ard.]

Defn: Slow; sluggish; backward.

LAGGARD
Lag"gard, n.

Defn: One who lags; a loiterer.

LAGGER
Lag"ger, n.

Defn: A laggard.

LAGGING
Lag"ging, n.

1. (Mach.)

Defn: 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.

2. Lags, collectively; narrow planks extending from one rib to another in the centering of arches.

LAGGINGLY
Lag"ging*ly, adv.

Defn: In a lagging manner; loiteringly.

LAGLY
Lag"ly, adv.

Defn: Laggingly. [Prov. Eng.]

LAGNIAPPE; LAGNAPPE
La*gniappe, La*gnappe", n. [Etym. uncertain.]

Defn: In Louisiana, a trifling present given to customers by tradesmen; a gratuity.

Lagniappe . . .is something thrown in, gratis, for good measure.
Mark Twain.

LAGOMORPH
Lag"o*morph, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of the Lagomorpha.

LAGOMORPHA
Lag`o*mor"pha, n. pl. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A group of rodents, including the hares. They have four incisors in the upper jaw. Called also Duplicidentata.

LAGOON La*goon", n. Etym: [It. or Sp. laguna, L. lacuna ditch, pool, pond,lacus lake. See Lake, and cf. Lacuna.] [Written also lagune.]

1. A shallow sound, channel, pond, or lake, especially one into which the sea flows; as, the lagoons of Venice.

2. A lake in a coral island, often occupying a large portion of its area, and usually communicating with the sea. See Atoll. Lagoon island, a coral island consisting of a narrow reef encircling a lagoon.

LAGOPHTHALMIA; LAGOPHTHALMOS
Lag`oph*thal"mi*a, Lag`oph*thal"mos, n. Etym: [NL. lagophtalmia, fr.
Gr. lagw`s hare + 'ofqalmo`s eye; — so called from the notion that a
hare sleeps with his eyes open.] (Med.)

Defn: A morbid condition in which the eye stands wide open, giving a peculiar staring appearance.

LAGOPOUS
La*go"pous, a. Etym: [Gr. (Bot.)

Defn: Having a dense covering of long hair, like the foot of a hare.

LAGTHING
Lag"thing, n. [Norw. lagting, lagthing; lag company, society (akin to
E. law, lay) + ting, thing, parliament. See Thing.]

Defn: See Legislatature, below.

LAGUNE
La*gune", n.

Defn: See Lagoon.

LAIC; LAICAL
La"ic, La"ic*al, a. Etym: [L. laicus: cf. F. laïque. See Lay laic.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to a layman or the laity. "Laical literature."
Lowell.
An unprincipled, unedified, and laic rabble. Milton.

LAIC
La"ic, n.

Defn: A layman. Bp. Morton.

LAICALITY
La"ic*al"i*ty, n.

Defn: The state or quality of being laic; the state or condition of a layman.

LAICALLY
La"ic*al*ly, adv.

Defn: As a layman; after the manner of a layman; as, to treat a matter laically.

LAID
Laid, imp. & p. p.

Defn: of Lay. Laid paper, paper marked with parallel lines or water marks, as if ribbed, from parallel wires in the mold. It is called blue laid, cream laid, etc., according to its color.

LAIDLY
Laid"ly, a.

Defn: Ugly; loathsome. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]
This laidly and loathsome worm. W. Howitt.

LAIN
Lain, p. p.

Defn: of Lie, v. i.

LAINERE
Lain"ere, n.

Defn: See Lanier. [Obs.] Chaucer.

LAIR Lair, n. Etym: [OE. leir, AS. leger; akin to D. leger, G. lager couch, lair, OHG. laga, Goth. ligrs, and to E. lie. See Lie to be prostrate, and cf. Layer, Leaguer.]

1. A place in which to lie or rest; especially, the bed or couch of a wild beast.

2. A burying place. [Scot.] Jamieson.

3. A pasture; sometimes, food. [Obs.] Spenser.

LAIRD
Laird, n. Etym: [See Lord.]

Defn: A lord; a landholder, esp. one who holds land directly of the crown. [Scot.]

LAIRDSHIP
Laird"ship, n.

Defn: The state of being a laird; an estate; landed property. [Scot.]
Ramsay.

LAISM
La"ism, n.

Defn: See Lamaism. [R.]

LAISSEZ FAIRE
Lais`sez" faire". Etym: [F., let alone.]

Defn: Noninterference; — an axiom of some political economists, deprecating interference of government by attempts to foster or regulate commerce, manufactures, etc., by bounty or by restriction; as, the doctrine of laissez faire; the laissez faire system government.

LAITY
La"i*ty, n. Etym: [See Lay, a.]

1. The people, as distinguished from the clergy; the body of the people not in orders. A rising up of the laity against the sacerdotal caste. Macaulay.

2. The state of a layman. [Obs.] Ayliffe.

3. Those who are not of a certain profession, as law or medicine, in distinction from those belonging to it.

LAKAO
La*ka"o, n.

Defn: Sap green. [China]

LAKE
Lake, n. Etym: [F. laque, fr. Per. See Lac.]

Defn: 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.

LAKE
Lake, n. Etym: [Cf. G. laken.]

Defn: A kind of fine white linen, formerly in use. [Obs.] Chaucer.

LAKE Lake, v. i. Etym: [AS. lacan, læcan, to spring, jump, lac play, sport, or fr. Icel. leika to play, sport; both akin to Goth. laikan to dance. sq. root120. Cf. Knowledge.]

Defn: To play; to sport. [Prov. Eng.]

LAKE Lake, n. Etym: [AS. lac, L. lacus; akin to AS. lagu lake, sea, Icel. lögr; OIr. loch; cf. Gr. Loch, Lough.]

Defn: 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.

Note: Lakes are for the most part of fresh water; the salt lakes, like the Great Salt Lake of Utah, have usually no outlet to the ocean. Lake dwellers (Ethnol.), people of a prehistoric race, or races, which inhabited different parts of Europe. Their dwellings were built on piles in lakes, a short distance from the shore. Their relics are common in the lakes of Switzerland. — Lake dwellings (Archæol.), dwellings built over a lake, sometimes on piles, and sometimes on rude foundations kept in place by piles; specifically, such dwellings of prehistoric times. Lake dwellings are still used by many savage tribes. Called also lacustrine dwellings. See Crannog. — Lake fly (Zoöl.), any one of numerous species of dipterous flies of the genus Chironomus. In form they resemble mosquitoes, but they do not bite. The larvæ live in lakes. — Lake herring (Zoöl.), the cisco (Coregonus Artedii). — Lake poets, Lake school, a collective name originally applied in contempt, but now in honor, to Southey, Coleridge, and Wordsworth, who lived in the lake country of Cumberland, England, Lamb and a few others were classed with these by hostile critics. Called also lakers and lakists. — Lake sturgeon (Zoöl.), a sturgeon (Acipenser rubicundus), of moderate size, found in the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River. It is used as food. — Lake trout (Zoöl.), any one of several species of trout and salmon; in Europe, esp. Salmo fario; in the United States, esp. Salvelinus namaycush of the Great Lakes, and of various lakes in New York, Eastern Maine, and Canada. A large variety of brook trout (S. fontinalis), inhabiting many lakes in New England, is also called lake trout. See Namaycush. — Lake whitefish. (Zoöl.) See Whitefish. — Lake whiting (Zoöl.), an American whitefish (Coregonus Labradoricus), found in many lakes in the Northern United States and Canada. It is more slender than the common whitefish.

LAKE-DWELLER
Lake"-dwell`er, n.

Defn: See Lake dwellers, under Lake.

LAKELET
Lake"let, n.

Defn: A little lake. Southey.

LAKER Lak"er, n. One that is connected with a lake or lakes, as in habitation, toil, etc.: (a) One of the poets of the Lake school. See Lake poets, under Lake, n. (b) (Zoöl.) A fish living in, or taken from, a lake, esp. the namaycush. (c) A lake steamer or canal boat.

The bridge tender . . . thought the Cowies "a little mite" longer
than that laker.
The Century.

LAKEWEED
Lake"weed`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: The water pepper (Polygonum Hydropiper), an aquatic plant of
Europe and North America.

LAKH
Lakh, n.

Defn: Same as Lac, one hundred thousand.

LAKIN
La"kin, n.

Defn: See Ladykin.

LAKKE
Lak"ke, n. & v.

Defn: See Lack. [Obs.] Chaucer.

LAKY
Lak"y, a.

Defn: Pertaining to a lake. Sir W. Scott.

LAKY
Lak"y, a. Etym: [From Lake the pigment.]

Defn: Transparent; — said of blood rendered transparent by the action of some solvent agent on the red blood corpuscles.

LALLATION Lal*la"tion, n. Etym: [L. lallare to sing lalla, or lullaby: cf. F. lallation.]

Defn: An imperfect enunciation of the letter r, in which it sounds like l.

LALO
La"lo, n.

Defn: 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.

LAM
Lam, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Lammed; p. pr. & vb. n. Lamming.] Etym:
[Icel. lemja to beat, or lama to bruise, both fr. lami, lama, lame.
See Lame.]

Defn: To beat soundly; to thrash. [Obs. or Low] Beau. & Fl.

LAMA
La"ma, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: See Llama.

LAMA La"ma, n. Etym: [Thibet. blama (pronounced lä''ma) a chief, a high priest.]

Defn: In Thibet, Mongolia, etc., a priest or monk of the belief called Lamaism. The Grand Lama, or Dalai Lama Etym: [lit., Ocean Lama], the supreme pontiff in the lamaistic hierarchy. See Lamaism.

LAMAIC
La"ma*ic, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to Lamaism.

LAMAISM
La"ma*ism, n.

Defn: 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.

LAMAIST; LAMAITE
La"ma*ist, La"ma*ite n.

Defn: One who believes in Lamaism.

LAMAISTIC
La`ma*is"tic, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to Lamaism.

LAMANTIN La*man"tin, n. Etym: [F. lamantin, lamentin, prob. from the name of the animal in the Antilles. Cf. Manater.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The manatee. [Written also lamentin, and lamantine.]

LAMARCKIAN
La*marck"i*an, a.

Defn: Pertaining to, or involved in, the doctrines of Lamarckianism.

LAMARCKIANISM
La*marck"i*an*ism, n. (Biol.)

Defn: Lamarckism.

LAMARCKISM La"marck"ism, n. Etym: [From Lamarck, a distinguished French naturalist.] (Biol.)

Defn: The theory that structural variations, characteristic of species and genera, are produced in animals and plants by the direct influence of physical environments, and esp., in the case of animals, by effort, or by use or disuse of certain organs.

LAMASERY
La"ma*ser*y, n. Etym: [See 2d Lama.]

Defn: A mo

LAMB
Lamb, n. Etym: [AS. lamb; akin to D. & Dan. lam, G. & Sw. lamm, OS.,
Goth., & Icel. lamb.]

1. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The young of the sheep.

2. Any person who is as innocent or gentle as a lamb.

3. A simple, unsophisticated person; in the cant of the Stock Exchange, one who ignorantly speculates and is victimized. Lamb of God, The Lamb (Script.), the Jesus Christ, in allusion to the paschal lamb. The twelve apostles of the Lamb. Rev. xxi. 14. Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. John i. 29. — Lamb's lettuce (Bot.), an annual plant with small obovate leaves (Valerianella olitoria), often used as a salad; corn salad. [Written also lamb lettuce.] — Lamb's tongue, a carpenter's plane with a deep narrow bit, for making curved grooves. Knight. — Lamb's wool. (a) The wool of a lamb. (b) Ale mixed with the pulp of roasted apples; — probably from the resemblance of the pulp of roasted apples to lamb's wool. [Obs.] Goldsmith.

LAMB
Lamb, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Lambed; p. pr. & vb. n. Lambing.]

Defn: To bring forth a lamb or lambs, as sheep.

LAMBALE
Lamb"ale`, n.

Defn: A feast at the time of shearing lambs.

LAMBASTE
Lam*baste", v. t. Etym: [Lam + baste to beat.]

Defn: To beat severely. [Low] Nares.

LAMBATIVE
Lam"ba*tive, a. Etym: [L. lambere to lick. See Lambent.]

Defn: Taken by licking with the tongue. "Sirups and lambative medicines." Sir T. Browne.

LAMBATIVE
Lam"ba*tive, n.

Defn: A medicine taken by licking with the tongue; a lincture.
Wiseman.

LAMBDA
Lamb"da, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr.

1. The name of the Greek letter

2. (Anat.)

Defn: The point of junction of the sagittal and lambdoid sutures of the skull. Lambda moth (Zoöl.), a moth so called from a mark on its wings, resembling the Greek letter lambda (

LAMBDACISM Lamb"da*cism, n. Etym: [L. lambdacismus, Gr. la`mbda the letter lambda (

1. A fault in speaking or in composition, which consists in too frequent use of the letter l, or in doubling it erroneously.

2. 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.

3. The use of the sound of l for that of r in pronunciation; lallation; as, Amelican for American.

LAMBDOID
Lamb"doid, a. Etym: [Gr. la`mbda the letter lambda (e"i^dos shape.]

Defn: Shaped like the Greek letter lambda (as, the lambdoid suture between the occipital and parietal bones of the skull.

LAMBDOIDAL
Lamb*doid"al, a.

Defn: Same as Lambdoid.

LAMBENT Lam"bent, a. Etym: [L. lambens, -enlis, p. pr. of lambere to lick; akin to lap. See Lap to drink by licking.]

1. Playing on the surface; touching lightly; gliding over. "A lambent flame." Dryden. "A lambent style." Beaconsfield.

2. Twinkling or gleaming; fickering. "The lambent purity of the stars." W. Irving.

LAMBERT PINE
Lam"bert pine`. Etym: [So called from Lambert, an English botanist.]
(Bot.)

Defn: 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.

LAMBKILL
Lamb"kill`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A small American ericaceous shrub (Kalmia angustifolia); — called also calfkill, sheepkill, sheep laurel, etc. It is supposed to poison sheep and other animals that eat it at times when the snow is deep and they cannot find other food.

LAMBKIN
Lamb"kin, n.

Defn: A small lamb.

LAMBLIKE
Lamb"like, a.

Defn: Like a lamb; gentle; meek; inoffensive.

LAMBOYS
Lam"boys, n. pl. Etym: [Cf. F. lambeau. Cf. Label.] (Anc. Armor)

Defn: Same as Base, n., 19.

LAMBREQUIN
Lam"bre*quin, n. Etym: [F. Cf. Lamboys, Label.]

1. A kind of pendent scarf or covering attached to the helmet, to protect it from wet or heat.

2. A leather flap hanging from a cuirass. Wilhelm.

3. 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
Lamb"skin`, n.

1. The skin of a lamb; especially, a skin dressed with the wool on, and used as a mat. Also used adjectively.

2. A kind of woolen.

LAMBSKINNET
Lamb"skin`net", n.

Defn: See Lansquenet.

LAMB'S-QUARTERS
Lamb's-quar"ters, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A name given to several plants of the Goosefoot family, sometimes used as pot herbs, as Chenopodium album and Atriplex patulsa.

LAMDOIDAL
Lam*doid"al, a.

Defn: Lambdoid. [R.]

LAME Lame, a. [Compar. Lamer; superl. Lamest.] Etym: [OE. lame, AS. lama; akin to D. lam, G. lahm,OHG., Dan., & Sw. lam, Icel. lami, Russ. lomate to break, lomota rheumatism.]

1. (a) Moving with pain or difficulty on account of injury, defect, or temporary obstruction of a function; as, a lame leg, arm, or muscle. (b) To some degree disabled by reason of the imperfect action of a limb; crippled; as, a lame man. "Lame of one leg." Arbuthnot. "Lame in both his feet." 2 Sam. ix. 13. "He fell, and became lame." 2 Sam. iv. 4.

2. Hence, hobbling; limping; inefficient; imperfect. "A lame endeavor." Barrow. O, most lame and impotent conclusion! Shak. Lame duck (stock Exchange), a person who can not fulfill his contracts. [Cant]

LAME
Lame, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Lamed; p. pr. & vb. n. Laming.]

Defn: To make lame.
If you happen to let child fall and lame it. Swift.

LAMEL
Lam"el, n.

Defn: See Lamella.

LAMELLA La*mel"la, n.; pl. L. Lamellæ, E. Lamellas. Etym: [L. lamella, dim. of lamina plate, leaf, layer: cf. F. lamelle. Cf. Lamina, Omelet.]

Defn: 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.

LAMELLAR; LAMELLARLY
Lam"el*lar, a. Etym: [Cf. F. lamellaire.]

Defn: Flat and thin; lamelliform; composed of lamellæ.
— Lam"el*lar*ly, adv.

Defn: In thin plates or scales.

LAMELLARY
Lam"el*la*ry, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to lamella or to lamellæ; lamellar.

LAMELLATE; LAMELLATED
Lam"el*late, Lam"el*la`ted, a. Etym: [See Lamella.]

Defn: Composed of, or furnished with, thin plates or scales. See
Illust. of Antennæ.

LAMELLIBRANCH
La*mel"li*branch, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of the Lamellibranchia. Also used adjectively.

LAMELLIBRANCHIA; LAMELLIBRANCHIATA La*mel`li*bran"chi*a, La*mel`li*bran`chi*a"ta, n. pl. Etym: [NL. See lamella, and Branchia, Branchiate.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A class of Mollusca including all those that have bivalve shells, as the clams, oysters, mussels, etc.

Note: They usually have two (rarely but one) flat, lamelliform gills on each side of the body. They have an imperfectly developed head, concealed within the shell, whence they are called Acephala. Called also Conchifera, and Pelecypoda. See Bivalve.

LAMELLIBRANCHIATE
Lam`el*li*bran"chi*ate, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Having lamellar gills; belonging to the Lamellibranchia.
— n.

Defn: One of the Lamellibranchia.

LAMELLICORN La*mel"li*corn, a. Etym: [Lamella + L. cornu a horn: cf. F. lamellicorne. See Lamella.] (Zoöl.) (a) Having antennæ terminating in a group of flat lamellæ; — said of certain coleopterous insects. (b) Terminating in a group of flat lamellæ; — said of antennæ. — n.

Defn: A lamellicorn insect.

LAMELLICORNIA
La*mel`li*cor"ni*a, n. pl. Etym: [NL. See Lamellicorn.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A group of lamellicorn, plant-eating beetles; — called also
Lamellicornes.

LAMELLIFEROUS
Lam`el*lif"er*ous, a. Etym: [Lamella + -ferous: cf. F. lamellifère.]

Defn: Bearing, or composed of, lamellæ, or thin layers, plates, or scales; foliated.

LAMELLIFORM
La*mel"li*form, a. Etym: [Lamella + -form : cf. F. lamelliforme.]

Defn: Thin and flat; scalelike; lamellar.

LAMELLIROSTRAL Lam`el*li*ros"tral, a. Etym: [Lamella + rostral : cf. F. lamellirostre.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Having a lamellate bill, as ducks and geese.

LAMELLIROSTRES
La*mel`li*ros"tres, n. pl. Etym: [NL. See Lamella, and Rostrum.]
(Zoöl.)

Defn: A group of birds embracing the Anseres and flamingoes, in which the bill is lamellate.

LAMELLOSE
Lam"el*lose`, a. Etym: [Cf. F. lamelleux.]

Defn: Composed of, or having, lamellæ; lamelliform.

LAMELY
Lame"ly, adv. Etym: [See Lame.]

Defn: An a lame, crippled, disabled, or imperfect manner; as, to walk lamely; a figure lamely drawn.

LAMENESS
Lame"ness, n.

Defn: The condition or quality of being lame; as, the lameness of an excuse or an argument.

LAMENT La*ment", v. i. Etym: [F. lamenter, L. lamentari, fr. lamentum a lament.]

Defn: To express or feel sorrow; to weep or wail; to mourn.
Jeremiah lamented for Josiah. 2 Chron. xxxv. 25.
Ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice. John xvi. 20.

LAMENT
La*ment", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Lamented; p. pr. & vb. n. Lamenting.]

Defn: To mourn for; to bemoan; to bewail.
One laughed at follies, one lamented crimes. Dryden.

Syn.
— To deplore; mourn; bewail. See Deplore.

LAMENT
La*ment", n. Etym: [L. lamentum. Cf. Lament, v.]

1. Grief or sorrow expressed in complaints or cries; lamentation; a wailing; a moaning; a weeping. Torment, and loud lament, and furious rage. Milton.

2. An elegy or mournful ballad, or the like.

LAMENTABLE
Lam"en*ta*ble, a. Etym: [L. lamentabilis : cf. F. lamentable.]

1. Mourning; sorrowful; expressing grief; as, a lamentable countenance. "Lamentable eye." Spenser.

2. Fitted to awaken lament; to be lamented; sorrowful; pitiable; as, a lamentable misfortune, or error. "Lamentable helplessness." Burke.

3. Miserable; pitiful; paltry; — in a contemptuous or Bp.
Stillingfleet.
— Lam"en*ta*ble*ness, n.
— Lam"en*ta*bly, adv.

LAMENTATION
Lam`en*ta"tion, n. Etym: [F. lamentation, L. lamentatio.]

1. The act of bewailing; audible expression of sorrow; wailing; moaning. In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation and weeping Matt. ii. 18.

2. pl. (Script.)

Defn: A book of the Old Testament attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, and taking its name from the nature of its contents.

LAMENTED
La*ment"ed, a.

Defn: Mourned for; bewailed.
This humble praise,lamented shade ! receive. Pope.

LAMENTER
La*ment"er (, n.

Defn: One who laments.

LAMENTIN
La*men"tin, n.

Defn: See Lamantin.

LAMENTING
La*ment"ing, n.

Defn: Lamentation.
Lamentings heard i' the air. Shak.

LAMENTINGLY
La*ment"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: In a lamenting manner.

LAMES
Lames, n. pl. Etym: [F. lame a thin plate, L. lamina.] (Armor)

Defn: Small steel plates combined together so as to slide one upon the form a piece of armor.

LAMETTA
La*met"ta, n. Etym: [Cf. It. lametta, dim of lama a thin plate.]

Defn: Foil or wire made of gold, silver, or brass. De Colange.

LAMIA
La"mi*a, n. Etym: [L., fr. Gr. (Class. Myth.)

Defn: 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 with.

LAMINA
Lam"i*na, n.; pl. L. Lamella.

1. A thin plate or scale; a laying over another; — said of thin plates or platelike substances, as of bone or minerals.

2. (Bot.)

Defn: The blade of a leaf; the broad, expanded portion of a petal or sepal of a flower. Gray.

3. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A thin plate or scale; specif., one of the thin, flat processes composing the vane of a feather.

LAMINABILITY
Lam`i*na*bil"i*ty, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being laminable.

LAMINABLE
Lam"i*na*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being split into laminæ or thin plates, as mica; capable of being extended under pressure into a thin plate or strip. When a body can be readily extended in all directions under the hammer, it is said to be malleable; and when into fillets under the rolling press, it is said to be laminable. Ure.

LAMINAR; LAMINAL
Lam"i*nar, Lam"i*nal, a. Etym: [Cf. F. laminaire. See Lamina]

Defn: In, or consisting of, thin plates or layers; having the form of a thin plate or lamina.

LAMINARIA
Lam`i*na"ri*a, n. Etym: [NL. See Lamina.] (Bot.)

Defn: 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
Lam`i*na"ri*an, a.

Defn: 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.

LAMINARITE
Lam"i*na*rite, n. Etym: [See Lamina.] (Paleon.)

Defn: A broad-leafed fossil alga.

LAMINARY
Lam"i*na*ry, a.

Defn: Laminar.

LAMINATE
Lam"i*nate, a. Etym: [See Lamina.]

Defn: Consisting of, or covered with, laminæ, or thin plates, scales, or layers, one over another; laminated.

LAMINATE
Lam"i*nate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Laminated; p. pr. & vb. n.
Laminating.] Etym: [See Lamina.]

1. To cause to separate into thin plates or layers; to divide into thin plates.

2. To form, as metal, into a thin plate, as by rolling.

LAMINATE
Lam"i*nate, v. i.

Defn: To separate into laminæ.

LAMINATED
Lam"i*na`ted, a.

Defn: Laminate. Laminated arch (Arch.), a timber arch made of layers of bent planks secured by treenails.

LAMINATING
Lam"i*na`ting, a.

Defn: Forming, or separating into, scales or thin layers.

LAMINATION
Lam`i*na"tion, n.

Defn: The process of laminating, or the state of being laminated.

LAMINIFEROUS
Lam`i*nif"er*ous, a. Etym: [Lamina + -ferous.]

Defn: Having a structure consisting of laminæ, or thin layers.

LAMINIPLANTAR
Lam`i*ni*plan"tar, a. Etym: [Lamina + L. planta sole of the foot.]
(Zoöl.)

Defn: Having the tarsus covered behind with a horny sheath continuous on both sides, as in most singing birds, except the larks.

LAMINITIS
Lam`i*ni"tis, n. Etym: [NL. See Lamina, and -itis.] (Far.)

Defn: Inflammation of the laminæ or fleshy plates along the coffin bone of a horse; founder. Youatt.

LAMISH
Lam"ish, a.

Defn: Somewhat lame. Wood.

LAMM
Lamm, v. t.

Defn: See Lam.

LAMMAS Lam"mas, n. Etym: [AS. hlammesse, hlafmæsse, loaf mass, bread feast, or feast of first fruits; hlaf loaf + mæsse mass. See Loaf, and Mass religious service.]

Defn: The first day of August; — called also Lammas day, and
Lammastide.

LAMMERGEIR; LAMMERGEIER Lam"mer*geir, Lam"mer*gei`er, n. Etym: [G. lämmergeier; lamm, pl. lämmer, lamb + geier vulture.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A very large vulture (Gypaëtus barbatus), which inhabits the mountains of Southern Europe, Asia, and Northern Africa. When full- grown it is nine or ten feet in extent of wings. It is brownish black above, with the under parts and neck rusty yellow; the forehead and crown white; the sides of the head and beard black. It feeds partly on carrion and partly on small animals, which it kills. It has the habit of carrying tortoises and marrow bones to a great height, and dropping them on stones to obtain the contents, and is therefore called bonebreaker and ossifrage. It is supposed to be the ossifrage of the Bible. Called also bearded vulture and bearded eagle. [Written also lammergeyer.]

LAMNUNGUIA Lam*nun"gui*a, n. pl. Etym: [NL., fr. L. lamina a scale + unguis a nail.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Same as Hyracoidea.

LAMP
Lamp, n.Etym: [OE. (with excrescent p), fr. F. lame, L. lamina. See
Lamina.]

Defn: A thin plate or lamina. [Obs.] Chaucer.

LAMP
Lamp, n. Etym: [F. lampe, L. lampas, -adis, fr. Gr. Lampad, Lantern.]

1. 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.

2. Figuratively, anything which enlightens intellectually or morally; anything regarded metaphorically a performing the uses of a lamp. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Ps. cxix. 105. Ages elapsed ere Homer's lamp appeared. Cowper.

3. (Elec.)

Defn: A device or mechanism for producing light by electricity. See Incandescent lamp, under Incandescent. Æolipile lamp, a hollow ball of copper containing alcohol which is converted into vapor by a lamp beneath, so as to make a powerful blowpipe flame when the vapor is ignited. Weale. — Arc lamp (Elec.), a form of lamp in which the voltaic arc is used as the source of light. — Dëbereiner's lamp, an apparatus for the instantaneous production of a flame by the spontaneous ignition of a jet of hydrogen on being led over platinum sponge; — named after the German chemist Döbereiner, who invented it. Called also philosopher's lamp. — Flameless lamp, an aphlogistic lamp. — Lamp burner, the part of a lamp where the wick is exposed and ignited. Knight. — Lamp fount, a reservoir for oil, in a lamp. — Lamp jack. See 2d Jack, n., 4 (l) & (n). — Lamp shade, a screen, as of paper, glass, or tin, for softening or obstructing the light of a lamp. — Lamp shell (Zoöl.), any brachiopod shell of the genus Terebratula and allied genera. The name refers to the shape, which is like that of an antique lamp. See Terebratula. — Safety lamp, a miner's lamp in which the flame is surrounded by fine wire gauze, preventing the kindling of dangerous explosive gases; — called also, from Sir Humphry Davy the inventor, Davy lamp. — To smell of the lamp, to bear marks of great study and labor, as a literary composition.

LAMPAD
Lam"pad, n. Etym: [Gr. Lamp.]

Defn: A lamp or candlestick. [R.]
By him who 'mid the golden lampads went. Trench.

LAMPADIST
Lam"pa*dist, n. Etym: [Gr. Lamp.] (Gr. Antiq.)

Defn: One who gained the prize in the lampadrome.

LAMPADROME
Lam"pa*drome, n. Etym: [Gr. (Gr. Antiq.)

Defn: 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
Lam"pas, n. Etym: [F. lampas.]

Defn: 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.

LAMPATE
Lam"pate, n. Etym: [Cf. F. lampate.] (Chem.)

Defn: A supposed salt of lampic acid. [Obs.]

LAMPBLACK
Lamp"black`, n. Etym: [Lamp + black.]

Defn: The fine impalpable soot obtained from the smoke of carbonaceous substances which have been only partly burnt, as in the flame of a smoking lamp. It consists of finely divided carbon, with sometimes a very small proportion of various impurities. It is used as an ingredient of printers' ink, and various black pigments and cements.

LAMPER EEL
Lam"per eel`. (Zoöl.)

Defn: See Lamprey.

LAMPERN
Lam"pern, n. Etym: [See Lamprey.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The river lamprey (Ammocoetes, or Lampetra, fluviatilis).

Note: The name is also applied to other river lampreys.

LAMPERS
Lam"pers, n.

Defn: See Lampas.

LAMPIC
Lam"pic, a. Etym: [F. lampique, fr. lampe lamp. See Lamp.] (Chem.)

Defn: Pertaining to, or produced by, a lamp; — formerly said of a supposed acid.

LAMPING
Lamp"ing, a.

Defn: Shining; brilliant. [Obs.] "Lamping eyes." Spenser.

LAMPLESS
Lamp"less, a.

Defn: Being without a lamp, or without light; hence, being without
appreciation; dull.
Your ladies' eyes are lampless to that virtue. Beau. & Fl.

LAMPLIGHT
Lamp"light`, n.

Defn: Light from a lamp.
This world's artificial lamplights. Owen Meredith.

LAMPLIGHTER
Lamp"light`er, n.

1. One who, or that which, lights a lamp; esp., a person who lights street lamps.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The calico bass.

LAMPOON Lam*poon", n. Etym: [F. lampon a drinking song, fr. lampons let us drink, — the burden of such a song, fr. lamper to guzzle, to drink much and greedily; of German origin, and akin to E. lap to drink. Prob. so called because drinking songs often contain personal slander or satire.]

Defn: A personal satire in writing; usually, malicious and abusive censure written only to reproach and distress. Like her who missed her name in a lampoon, And grieved to find herself decayed so soon. Dryden.

LAMPOON
Lam*poon", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Lampooned; p. pr. & vb. n.
Lampooning.]

Defn: To subject to abusive ridicule expressed in writing; to make the subject of a lampoon. Ribald poets had lampooned him. Macaulay.

Syn.
— To libel; defame; satirize; lash.

LAMPOONER
Lam*poon"er, n.

Defn: The writer of a lampoon. "Libelers, lampooners, and pamphleteers." Tatler.

LAMPOONRY
Lam*poon"ry, n.

Defn: The act of lampooning; a lampoon, or lampoons.

LAMP-POST
Lamp"-post`, n.

Defn: A post (generally a pillar of iron) supporting a lamp or lantern for lighting a street, park, etc.

LAMPREL
Lam"prel, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: See Lamprey.

LAMPREY Lam"prey, n. ; pl. Lampreys. Etym: [OE. lampreie, F. lamproie, LL. lampreda, lampetra, from L. lambere to lick + petra rock, stone. The lampreys are so called because they attach themselves with their circular mouths to rocks and stones, whence they are also called rocksuckers. See Lap to drink, Petrify.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: An eel-like marsipobranch of the genus Petromyzon, and allied genera. The lampreys have a round, sucking mouth, without jaws, but set with numerous minute teeth, and one to three larger teeth on the palate (see Illust. of Cyclostomi). There are seven small branchial openings on each side. [Written also lamper eel, lamprel, and lampron.]

Note: The common or sea lamprey of America and Europe (Petromyzon marinus), which in spring ascends rivers to spawn, is considered excellent food by many, and is sold as a market fish in some localities. The smaller river lampreys mostly belong to the genus Ammocoeles, or Lampetra, as A. fluviatilis, of Europe, and A. æpypterus of America. All lampreys attach themselves to other fishes, as parasites, by means of the suckerlike mouth.

LAMPRON
Lam"pron, n. Etym: [Cf. OE. lampreon. See Lamprey.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: See Lamprey.

LAMPYRINE
Lam*py"rine, n. Etym: [See Lampyris.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: An insect of the genus Lampyris, or family Lampyridæ. See
Lampyris.

LAMPYRIS
Lam*py"ris, n. Etym: [L., glowworm, Gr. ( (Zoöl.)

Defn: A genus of coleopterous insects, including the glowworms.

LANARKITE
Lan"ark*ite, n. Etym: [From Lanarkshire, a county in Scotland.]
(Min.)

Defn: A mineral consisting of sulphate of lead, occurring either massive or in long slender prisms, of a greenish white or gray color.

LANARY La"na*ry, n. Etym: [L. lanaria, fr. lanarius belonging to wool, lana wool.]

Defn: A place for storing wool.

LANATE; LANATED
La"nate, La"na*ted,Etym: [L. lanatus, fr. lana wool, down.]

Defn: Wooly; covered with fine long hair, or hairlike filaments.

LANCASHIRE BOILER
La"ca*shire boil"er

Defn: . A steam boiler having two flues which contain the furnaces and extend through the boiler from end to end.

LANCASTERIAN
Lan`cas*te"ri*an, a.

Defn: 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.

LANCE
Lance, n. Etym: [OE. lance, F. lance, fr. L. lancea; cf. Gr. Launch.]

1. 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. A braver soldier never couched lance. Shak.

2. A soldier armed with a lance; a lancer.

3. (Founding)

Defn: A small iron rod which suspends the core of the mold in casting a shell.

4. (Mil.)

Defn: An instrument which conveys the charge of a piece of ordnance and forces it home.

5. (Pyrotech.)

Defn: One of the small paper cases filled with combustible composition, which mark the outlines of a figure. Free lance, in the Middle Ages, and subsequently, a knight or roving soldier, who was free to engage for any state or commander that purchased his services; hence, a person who assails institutions or opinions on his own responsibility without regard to party lines or deference to authority. — Lance bucket (Cavalry), a socket attached to a saddle or stirrup strap, in which to rest the but of a lance. — Lance corporal, same as Lancepesade. — Lance knight, a lansquenet. B. Jonson. — Lance snake (Zoöl.), the fer-de-lance. — Stink-fire lance (Mil.), a kind of fuse filled with a composition which burns with a suffocating odor; — used in the counter operations of miners. To break a lance, to engage in a tilt or contest.

LANCE
Lance, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Lanced (; p. pr. & vb. n. Lancing.]

1. To pierce with a lance, or with any similar weapon. Seized the due victim, and with fury lanced Her back. Dryden.

2. To open with a lancet; to pierce; as, to lance a vein or an abscess.

3. To throw in the manner of a lance. See Lanch.

LANCE FISH
Lance" fish`. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A slender marine fish of the genus Ammodytes, especially
Ammodytes tobianus of the English coast; — called also sand lance.

LANCEGAY; LANCEGAYE
Lance"gay`, Lance"gaye`, n. Etym: [OF. lancegaie, corrupted from the
same source as E. assagai, under the influence of F. lance lance. See
Assagai.]

Defn: A kind of spear anciently used. Its use was prohibited by a statute of Richard II. Nares. In his hand a launcegay, A long sword by his side. Chaucer.

LANCELET
Lance"let, n. Etym: [Lance + -let.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: 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.

LANCELY
Lance"ly, a.

Defn: Like a lance. [R.] Sir P. Sidney.

LANCEOLAR Lan"ce*o*lar, a. Etym: [L. lanceola a little lance, dim. of lancea lance: cf. F. lancéolaire.] (Bot.)

Defn: Lanceolate.

LANCEOLATE; LANCEOLATED Lan"ce*o*late, Lan"ce*o*la`ted a. Etym: [L. lanceolatus: cf. F. lancéol. See Lanceolar.] (Bot. & Zoöl.)

Defn: Rather narrow, tapering to a point at the apex, and sometimes at the base also; as, a lanceolate leaf.

LANCEPESADE
Lance`pe*sade", n. Etym: [F. lancepessade, lanspessade, anspessade,
It. lancia spezzata a broken lance or demilance, a demilance roan, a
light horseman, bodyguard.]

Defn: An assistant to a corporal; a private performing the duties of a corporal; — called also lance corporal.

LANCER
Lan"cer, n. Etym: [Cf. F. lancier.]

1. 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. Wilhelm.

2. A lancet. [Obs.]

3. pl. (Dancing)

Defn: A set of quadrilles of a certain arrangement. [Written also lanciers.]

LANCET
Lan"cet, n. Etym: [F. lancette, dim. of lance lance. See Lance.]

1. A surgical instrument of various forms, commonly sharp-pointed and two-edged, used in venesection, and in opening abscesses, etc.

2. (Metal.)

Defn: An iron bar used for tapping a melting furnace. Knight. Lancet arch (Arch.), a pointed arch, of which the width, or span, is narrow compared with the height. — Lancet architecture, a name given to a style of architecture, in which lancet arches are common; — peculiar to England and 13th century. — Lancet fish. (Zoöl.) (a) A large, voracious, deep-sea fish (Alepidosaurus ferox), having long, sharp, lancetlike teeth. (b) The doctor, or surgeon fish.

LANCEWOOD
Lance"wood`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A tough, elastic wood, often used for the shafts of gigs, archery bows, fishing rods, and the like. Also, the tree which produces this wood, Duguetia Quitarensis (a native of Guiana and Cuba), and several other trees of the same family (Anonaseæ). Australian lancewood, a myrtaceous tree (Backhousia Australis).

LANCH
Lanch, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Lanched; p. pr. & vb. n. Lanching. See
Lanching. See Launch, Lance.]

Defn: To throw, as a lance; to let fly; to launch.
See Whose arm can lanch the surer bolt. Dryden & Lee.

LANCIFEROUS
Lan*cif"er*ous, a Etym: [Lance + -ferous.]

Defn: Bearing a lance.

LANCIFORM
Lan"ci*form, a Etym: [Lance + -form: cf. F. lanciforme.]

Defn: Having the form of a lance.

LANCINATE
Lan"ci*nate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Lancinated; p. pr. & vb. n.
Lancinating.] Etym: [L. lancinatus, p. p. of lancinare to fear.]

Defn: To tear; to lacerate; to pierce or stab. De Quincey.

LANCINATING
Lan"ci*na`ting, a.

Defn: Piercing; seeming to pierce or stab; as, lancinating pains (i.e., severe, darting pains).

LANCINATION
Lan`ci*na"tion, n.

Defn: A tearing; laceration. "Lancinations of the spirit." Jer.
Taylor.

LAND
Land, n.

Defn: Urine. See Lant. [Obs.]

LAND
Land, n. Etym: [AS. land, lond; akin to D., G., Icel., Sw., Dan., and
Goth. land. ]

1. 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. They turn their heads to sea, their sterns to land. Dryden.

2. 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. Go view the land, even Jericho. Josh. ii. 1. Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey, Where wealth accumulates and men decay. Goldsmith.

Note: In the expressions "to be, or dwell, upon land," "to go, or fare, on land," as used by Chaucer, land denotes the country as distinguished from the town. A poor parson dwelling upon land [i.e., in the country]. Chaucer.

3. Ground, in respect to its nature or quality; soil; as, wet land; good or bad land.

4. The inhabitants of a nation or people. These answers, in the silent night received, The kind himself divulged, the land believed. Dryden.

5. The mainland, in distinction from islands.

6. The ground or floor. [Obs.] Herself upon the land she did prostrate. Spenser.

7. (Agric.)

Defn: The ground left unplowed between furrows; any one of several portions into which a field is divided for convenience in plowing.

8. (Law)

Defn: 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. Kent. Bouvier. Burrill.

9. (Naut.)

Defn: The lap of the strakes in a clinker-built boat; the lap of plates in an iron vessel; — called also landing. Knight.

10. 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 agent, a person employed to sell or let land, to collect rents, and to attend to other money matters connected with land. — Land boat, a vehicle on wheels propelled by sails. — Land blink, a peculiar atmospheric brightness seen from sea over distant snow-covered land in arctic regions. See Ice blink. — Land breeze. See under Breeze. — Land chain. See Gunter's chain. — Land crab (Zoöl.), any one of various species of crabs which live much on the land, and resort to the water chiefly for the purpose of breeding. They are abundant in the West Indies and South America. Some of them grow to a large size. — Land fish a fish on land; a person quite out of place.Shak. — Land force, a military force serving on land, as distinguished from a naval force. — Land, ho! (Naut.), a sailor's cry in announcing sight of land. — Land ice, a field of ice adhering to the coast, in distinction from a floe. — Land leech (Zoöl.), any one of several species of blood-sucking leeches, which, in moist, tropical regions, live on land, and are often troublesome to man and beast. — Land measure, the system of measurement used in determining the area of land; also, a table of areas used in such measurement. — Land, or House, of bondage, in Bible history, Egypt; by extension, a place or condition of special oppression. — Land o' cakes, Scotland. — Land of Nod, sleep. — Land of promise, in Bible history, Canaan: by extension, a better country or condition of which one has expectation. — Land of steady habits, a nickname sometimes given to the State of Connecticut. — Land office, a government office in which the entries upon, and sales of, public land are registered, and other business respecting the public lands is transacted. [U.S.] — Land pike. (Zoöl.) (a) The gray pike, or sauger. (b) The Menobranchus. — Land service, military service as distinguished from naval service. — Land rail. (Zoöl) (a) The crake or corncrake of Europe. See Crake. (b) An Australian rail (Hypotænidia Phillipensis); — called also pectoral rail. — Land scrip, a certificate that the purchase money for a certain portion of the public land has been paid to the officer entitled to receive it. [U.S.] — Land shark, a swindler of sailors on shore. [Sailors' Cant] — Land side (a) That side of anything in or on the sea, as of an island or ship, which is turned toward the land. (b) The side of a plow which is opposite to the moldboard and which presses against the unplowed land. — Land snail (Zoöl.), any snail which lives on land, as distinguished from the aquatic snails are Pulmonifera, and belong to the Geophila; but the operculated land snails of warm countries are Dioecia, and belong to the Tænioglossa. See Geophila, and Helix. — Land spout, a descent of cloud and water in a conical form during the occurrence of a tornado and heavy rainfall on land. — Land steward, a person who acts for another in the management of land, collection of rents, etc. — Land tortoise, Land turtle (Zoöl.), any tortoise that habitually lives on dry land, as the box tortoise. See Tortoise. — Land warrant, a certificate from the Land Office, authorizing a person to assume ownership of a public land. [U.S.] — Land wind. Same as Land breeze (above). — To make land (Naut.), to sight land. To set the land, to see by the compass how the land bears from the ship. — To shut in the land, to hide the land, as when fog, or an intervening island, obstructs the view.

LAND
Land, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Landed; p. pr. & vb. n. Landing.]

1. To set or put on shore from a ship or other water craft; to disembark; to debark. I 'll undertake top land them on our coast. Shak.

2. To catch and bring to shore; to capture; as, to land a fish.

3. 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.

LAND
Land, v. i.

Defn: To go on shore from a ship or boat; to disembark; to come to the end of a course.

LANDAMMAN Lan"dam*man, n. Etym: [G. Landamman; land land, country + amimann bailiff. See Land, and Ambassador.]

1. A chief magistrate in some of the Swiss cantons.

2. The president of the diet of the Helvetic republic.

LANDAU
Lan"dau, n. Etym: [From the town Ladau in Germany; cf. F. landau. See
Land, Island.]

Defn: 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. [Written also landaw.]

LANDAULET
Lan`dau*let", n. Etym: [Cf. F. landaulet, dim, of landau. See
Landau.]

Defn: A small landau.

LANDDROST; LANDTROST Land"drost`, n.; pl. -drosten (#). Sometimes incorrectly Landtrost. [D., fr. land land + drost a kind of official; akin to G. truchsess.] In Cape Colony: (a) A chief magistrate in rural districts. He was replaced in 1827 by "resident magistrates." (b) The president of the Heemraad.

LANDED
Land"ed, a.

1. Having an estate in land. The House of Commons must consist, for the most part, of landed men. Addison.

2. Consisting in real estate or land; as, landed property; landed security.

LANDER
Land"er, n.

1. One who lands, or makes a landing. "The lander in a lonely isle." Tennyson.

2. (Mining)

Defn: A person who waits at the mouth of the shaft to receive the kibble of ore.

LANDFALL
Land"fall, n.

1. A sudden transference of property in land by the death of its owner.

2. (Naut.)

Defn: Sighting or making land when at sea. A good landfall (Naut.), the sighting of land in conformity with the navigator's reckoning and expectation.

LANDFLOOD
Land"flood`, n.

Defn: An overflowing of land by river; an inundation; a freshet.
Clarendon.

LANDGRAVE
Land"grave`, n. Etym: [G. landgraf; land land + graf earl, count; cf.
D. landgraaf, F. landgrave.]

Defn: A German nobleman of a rank corresponding to that of an earl in
England and of a count in France.

Note: The title was first adopted by some German counts in the twelfth century, to distinguish themselves from the inferior counts under their jurisdiction. Three of them were princes of the empire.

LANDGRAVIATE
Land*gra"vi*ate, n. Etym: [Cf. F. landgraviat.]

1. The territory held by a landgrave.

2. The office, jurisdiction, or authority of a landgrave.

LANDGRAVINE
Land"gra*vine, n. Etym: [G. landgräfin; cf. D. landgravin.]

Defn: The wife of a landgrave.

LANDHOLDER
Land"hold`er, n.

Defn: A holder, owner, or proprietor of land.
— Land"hold`ing, n. & a.

LANDING
Land"ing, a.

Defn: Of, pertaining to or used for, setting, bringing, or going, on shore. Landing charges, charges or fees paid on goods unloaded from a vessel. — Landing net, a small, bag-shaped net, used in fishing to take the fish from the water after being hooked. — Landing stage, a floating platform attached at one end to a wharf in such a manner as to rise and fall with the tide, and thus facilitate passage between the wharf and a vessel lying beside the stage. — Landing waiter, a customhouse officer who oversees the landing of goods, etc., from vessels; a landwaiter.

LANDING
Land"ing, n.

1. A going or bringing on shore.

2. A place for landing, as from a ship, a carriage. etc.

3. (Arch.)

Defn: The level part of a staircase, at the top of a flight of stairs, or connecting one flight with another. Landing place. me as Landing, n., 2 and 3.

LANDLADY
Land"la`dy, n.; pl. Landladies. Etym: [Cf. Landlord.]

1. A woman having real estate which she leases to a tenant or tenants.

2. The mistress of an inn or lodging house.

LAND LEAGUE
Land League.

Defn: In Ireland, a combination of tenant farmers and other, organized, with Charles Stewart Parnell as president, in 1879 with a view to the reduction of farm rents and a reconstruction of the land laws. — Land"*lea`guer (#), n. — Land"*lea`guism (#), n.

The Land League, of which Machael Davitt was the founder, originated in Mayo in August, and at a Dublin in October the organization was extended to all Ireland, with Parnell as president. Encyc. Brit.

LANDLEAPER
Land"leap`er, n.

Defn: See Landlouper.

LANDLESS
Land"less, a.

Defn: Having no property in land.

LANDLOCK
Land"lock`, v. t.

Defn: To inclose, or nearly inclose, as a harbor or a vessel, with land.

LANDLOCKED
Land"locked`, a.

1. Inclosed, or nearly inclosed, by land.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: 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.

LANDLOPER
Land"lo`per, n.

Defn: Same as Landlouper.

LANDLORD
Land"lord`, n. Etym: [See Land, and Lord.]

1. The lord of a manor, or of land; the owner of land or houses which he leases to a tenant or tenants.

2. The master of an inn or of a lodging house. Upon our arrival at the inn, my companion fetched out the jolly landlord. Addison.

LANDLORDISM
Land"lord`ism, n.

Defn: 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. J. S. Mill.

LANDLORDRY
Land"lord`ry, n.

Defn: The state of a landlord. [Obs.]

LANDLOUPER Land"loup`er, n. Etym: [D. landlooper, lit., landrunner; land land + loopen to run. See Land, and Leap.]

Defn: A vagabond; a vagrant. [Written also landleaper and landloper.]
"Bands of landloupers." Moltey.

LANDLOUPING
Land"loup`ing, a.

Defn: Vagrant; wandering about.

LANDLUBBER Land"lub`ber, n. Etym: [Prop. fr. land + lubber, or possibly corrupted fr. laudlouper.] (Naut.)

Defn: One who passes his life on land; — so called among seamen in contempt or ridicule.

LANDMAN
Land"man, n.; pl. Landmen (.

1. A man who lives or serves on land; — opposed to seaman.

2. (Eng.)

Defn: An occupier of land. Cowell.

LANDMARK
Land"mark`, n. Etym: [AS. landmearc. See Land, and Mark a sign.]

1. 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.

2. Any conspicuous object on land that serves as a guide; some prominent object, as a hill or steeple. Landmarks of history, important events by which eras or conditions are determined.

LAND OF STEADY HABITS
Land of Steady Habits.

Defn: Connecticut; — a nickname alluding to the moral character of its inhabitants, implied by the rigid laws (see Blue laws) of the early period.

LANDOWNER
Land"own`er, n.

Defn: An owner of land.

LANDOWNING
Land"own`ing, n.

Defn: The owning of land.
— a.

Defn: Having property in land; of or pertaining to landowners.

LAND-POOR
Land"-poor`, a.

Defn: Pecuniarily embarrassed through owning much unprofitable land.
[Colloq.]

LANDREEVE
Land"reeve`, n. Etym: [Land + reeve an officer.]

Defn: A subordinate officer on an extensive estate, who acts as an assistant to the steward.

LANDSCAPE Land"scape, n. [Formerly written also landskip.] Etym: [D. landschap; land land + -schap, equiv. to E. -schip; akin to G. landschaft, Sw. landskap, Dan. landskab. See Land, and -schip.]

1. A portion of land or territory which the eye can comprehend in a single view, including all the objects it contains.

2. 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.

3. The pictorial aspect of a country. The landscape of his native country had taken hold on his heart. Macaulay. Landscape gardening, The art of laying out grounds and arranging trees, shrubbery, etc., in such a manner as to produce a picturesque effect.

LANDSCAPIST
Land"scap`ist, n.

Defn: A painter of landscapes.

LANDSKIP
Land"skip, n. Etym: [See Landscape.]

Defn: A landscape. [Obs. except in poetry.] Straight my eye hath caught new pleasures, Whilst the landskip round it measures. Milton.

LANDSLIP; LANDSLIDE
Land"slip`, Land"slide`, n.

1. The slipping down of a mass of land from a mountain, hill, etc.

2. The land which slips down.

LANDSMAN
Lands"man, n.; pl. Landsmen.

1. One who lives on the land; — opposed to seaman.

2. (Naut.)

Defn: A sailor on his first voyage.

LANDSTHING Lands"thing`, n. [Dan. landsthing, landsting, fr. land land + thing, ting, parliament. See Land; Thing.] (Denmark.)

Defn: See Legislature, below.

LANDSTORM
Land"storm`, n. [Sw.]

Defn: See Varnpligtige.

LANDSTREIGHT
Land"streight`, n. Etym: [See Strait.]

Defn: A narrow strip of land. [Obs.]

LANDSTURM
Land"sturm`, n. Etym: [G. See Land, and Storm.]

Defn: That part of the reserve force in Germany which is called out last.

LANDTAG
Land"tag`, n. Etym: [G. See Land, and Day.]

Defn: The diet or legislative body; as, the Landtag of Prussia.

LANDWAITER
Land"wait`er, n.

Defn: See Landing waiter, under Landing, a.

LANDWARD
Land"ward, adv. & a.

Defn: Toward the land.

LANDWEHR
Land"wehr`, n. Etym: [G., fr. land land, country + wehr defense.]

Defn: 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.

LANE
Lane, a. Etym: [See Lone.]

Defn: Alone [Scot.] His lane, by himself; himself alone.

LANE
Lane, n. Etym: [OE. lane, lone, AS. lone, lone; akin to D. laan,
OFries. lana, lona.]

Defn: A passageway between fences or hedges which is not traveled as a highroad; an alley between buildings; a narrow way among trees, ras, a lane between lines of men, or through a field of ice. It is become a turn-again lane unto them which they can not go through. Tyndale.

LANG
Lang, a. & adv.

Defn: Long. [Obs. or Scot.]

LANGAHA
Lan"ga*ha, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A curious colubriform snake of the genus Xyphorhynchus, from Madagascar. It is brownish red, and its hose is prolonged in the form of a sharp blade.

LANGAREY
Lan`ga*rey", n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: 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.

LANGATE
Lan"gate, n. (Surg.)

Defn: A linen roller used in dressing wounds.

LANGDAK
Lang"dak`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A wolf (Canis pallipes), found in India, allied to the jackal.

LANGRAGE; LANGREL
Lan"grage, Lan"grel, n.

Defn: 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.

LANGRET
Lan"gret, n.

Defn: A kind of loaded die. [Obs.]

LANGRIDGE
Lan"gridge, n.

Defn: See Langrage.

Note: [Sometimes compounded with shot.]

LANGSYNE
Lang`syne", adv. & n. Etym: [Scot. lang long + syne since.]

Defn: Long since; long ago. [Scot.]

LANGTERALOO
Lang`ter*a*loo", n. Etym: [See Loo.]

Defn: An old game at cards. See Loo (a) Tatler.

LANGUAGE
Lan"guage, n. Etym: [OE. langage, F. langage, fr. L. lingua the
tongue, hence speech, language; akin to E. tongue. See Tongue, cf.
Lingual.]

1. 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.

Note: Language consists in the oral utterance of sounds which usage has made the representatives of ideas. When two or more persons customarily annex the same sounds to the same ideas, the expression of these sounds by one person communicates his ideas to another. This is the primary sense of language, the use of which is to communicate the thoughts of one person to another through the organs of hearing. Articulate sounds are represented to the eye by letters, marks, or characters, which form words.

2. The expression of ideas by writing, or any other instrumentality.

3. The forms of speech, or the methods of expressing ideas, peculiar to a particular nation.

4. The characteristic mode of arranging words, peculiar to an individual speaker or writer; manner of expression; style. Others for language all their care express. Pope.

5. The inarticulate sounds by which animals inferior to man express their feelings or their wants.

6. The suggestion, by objects, actions, or conditions, of ideas associated therewith; as, the language of flowers. There was . . . language in their very gesture. Shak.

7. The vocabulary and phraseology belonging to an art or department of knowledge; as, medical language; the language of chemistry or theology.

8. A race, as distinguished by its speech. [R.] All the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshiped the golden image. Dan. iii. 7. Language master, a teacher of languages.[Obs.]

Syn. — Speech; tongue; idiom; dialect; phraseology; diction; discourse; conversation; talk. — Language, Speech, Tongue, Idiom, Dialect. Language is generic, denoting, in its most extended use, any mode of conveying ideas; speech is the language of articulate sounds; tongue is the Anglo- Saxon tern for language, esp. for spoken language; as, the English tongue. Idiom denotes the forms of construction peculiar to a particular language; dialects are varieties if expression which spring up in different parts of a country among people speaking substantially the same language.

LANGUAGE
Lan"guage, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Languaged; p. pr. & vb. n.
Languaging.]

Defn: To communicate by language; to express in language. Others were languaged in such doubtful expressions that they have a double sense. Fuller.

LANGUAGED
Lan"guaged, a.

Defn: Having a language; skilled in language; — chiefly used in composition. " Manylanguaged nations." Pope.

LANGUAGELESS
Lan"guage*less, a.

Defn: Lacking or wanting language; speechless; silent. Shak.

LANGUED
Langued, a. Etym: [F. langue tongue. See Language.] (Her.)

Defn: Tongued; having the tongue visible.
Lions . . . represented as armed and langued gules. Cussans.

LANGUE D'OC
Langue` d'oc". Etym: [F., language of oc yes.]

Defn: The dialect, closely akin to French, formerly spoken south of the Loire (in which the word for "yes" was oc); Provencal.

LANGUE D'OIL
Langue` d'oïl". Etym: [F., language of oïl yes.]

Defn: The dialect formerly spoken north of the Loire (in which the word for "yes" was oïl, F. oui).

LANGUENTE
Lan*guen"te, adv. Etym: [It., p. pr. of languire. See Languish.]
(Mus.)

Defn: In a languishing manner; pathetically.

LANGUET
Lan"guet, n. Etym: [F. languette, dim. of langue tongue, L. lingua.]

1. 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.

2. That part of the hilt, in certain kinds of swords, which overlaps the scabbard.

LANGUID Lan"guid, a. Etym: [L. languidus, fr. languere to be faint or languid: cf. F. languide. See Languish.]

1. Drooping or flagging from exhaustion; indisposed to exertion; without animation; weak; weary; heavy; dull. " Languid, powerless limbs. " Armstrong. Fire their languid souls with Cato's virtue. Addison.

2. Slow in progress; tardy. " No motion so swift or languid." Bentley.

3. Promoting or indicating weakness or heaviness; as, a languid day. Feebly she laugheth in the languid moon. Keats. Their idleness, aimless and languid airs. W. Black.

Syn.
— Feeble; weak; faint; sickly; pining; exhausted; weary; listless;
heavy; dull; heartless.
— Lan"guid*ly, adv.
— Lan"guid*ness, n.

LANGUISH Lan"guish, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Languished; p. pr. & vb. n. Languishing.] Etym: [OE. languishen, languissen, F. languir, L. languere; cf. Gr. lakra to lag behind; prob. akin to E. lag, lax, and perh. to E. slack.See -ish.]

1. 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. We . . . do languish of such diseases. 2 Esdras viii. 31. Cease, fond nature, cease thy strife, And let me landguish into life. Pope. For the fields of Heshbon languish. Is. xvi. 8.

2. To assume an expression of weariness or tender grief, appealing for sympathy. Tennyson.

Syn.
— To pine; wither; fade; droop; faint.

LANGUISH
Lan"guish, v. i.

Defn: To cause to dr [Obs.] Shak. Dryden.

LANGUISH
Lan"guish, n.

Defn: See Languishiment. [Obs. or Poetic]
What, of death, too, That rids our dogs of languish Shak.
And the blue languish of soft Allia's eye. Pope.

LANGUISHER
Lan"guish*er, n.

Defn: One who languishes.

LANGUISHING
Lan"guish*ing, a.

1. Becoming languid and weak; pining; losing health and strength.

2. Amorously pensive; as, languishing eyes, or look.

LANGUISHINGLY
Lan"guish*ing*ly, adv.

Defn: In a languishing manner.

LANGUISHMENT
Lan"guish*ment, n.

1. The state of languishing. " Lingering languishment." Shak.

2. Tenderness of look or mien; amorous pensiveness.

LANGUISHNESS
Lan"guish*ness, n.

Defn: Languishment. [Obs.]

LANGUOR Lan"guor, n. Etym: [OE. langour, OF. langour, F. langueur, L. languor. See Languish.]

1. A state of the body or mind which is caused by exhaustion of strength and characterized by a languid feeling; feebleness; lassitude; laxity.

2. Any enfeebling disease. [Obs.] Sick men with divers languors. Wyclif (Luke iv. 40).

3. Listless indolence; dreaminess. Pope. " German dreams, Italian languors." The Century.

Syn. — Feebleness; weakness; faintness; weariness; dullness; heaviness; lassitude; listlessness.

LANGUOROUS
Lan"guor*ous, a. Etym: [From Languor: cf. F. langoureux.]

Defn: Producing, or tending to produce, languor; characterized by
languor. [Obs. or Poetic]
Whom late I left in languorous constraint. Spenser.
To wile the length from languorous hours, and draw The sting from
pain. Tennyson.

LANGURE
Lan"gure, v. i.

Defn: To languish. [Obs.] Chaucer.

LANGYA
Lan"gya, n. (Zoöl.) Etym: [Native name Anglicized.]

Defn: 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.

LANIARD
Lan"iard, n.

Defn: See Lanyard.

LANIARIFORM
La`ni*ar"i*form, a. Etym: [Laniary + -form.] (Anat.)

Defn: Shaped like a laniary, or canine, tooth. Owen.

LANIARY La"ni*a*ry, a. Etym: [L. laniarius, fr. lanius butcher, laniare to tear in pieces: cf. F. laniaire.] (Anat.)

Defn: Lacerating or tearing; as, the laniary canine teeth.

LANIARY
La"ni*a*ry, n. Etym: [L. Laniary, a.]

1. The shambles; a place of slaughter. [R.]

2. (Anat.)

Defn: A laniary, or canine, tooth.

LANIATE
La"ni*ate, v. t. Etym: [L. laniatus, p. p. of laniare.]

Defn: To tear in pieces. [R.]

LANIATION
La`ni*a"tion, n. Etym: [L. laniatio.]

Defn: A tearing in pieces. [R.]

LANIER Lan"ier, n. Etym: [F. lanière. See Lanyard.] [Written also lanner, lanyer.]

1. A thong of leather; a whip lash. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

2. A strap used to fasten together parts of armor, to hold the shield by, and the like. Fairholt.

LANIFEROUS
La*nif"er*ous, n. Etym: [L. lanifer; lana wool + ferre to bear: cf.
F. lanifère.]

Defn: Bearing or producing wool.

LANIFICAL
La*nif"i*cal, a. Etym: [L. lanificus; lana wool + facere to make.]

Defn: Working in wool.

LANIFICE
Lan"i*fice, n. Etym: [L. lanificium: cf. OF. lanifice.]

Defn: Anything made of wool. [Obs.] Bacon.

LANIGEROUS
La*nig"er*ous, a. Etym: [L. laniger; lano wool + gerere to hear.]

Defn: Bearing or producing wool.

LANIOID La"ni*oid, a. Etym: [NL. Lanius (fr. L. lanius a butcher), the typical genus + -oid.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to the shrikes (family Laniidæ).

LANK Lank, a. [Compar. Lanker; superl. Lankest.] Etym: [AS. hlanc; cf. G. lenken to turn, gelenk joint, OHG. hlanca hip, side, flank, and E. link of a chain.]

1. Slender and thin; not well filled out; not plump; shrunken; lean. Meager and lank with fasting grown. Swift. Who would not choose . . . to have rather a lank purse than an empty brain Barrow.

2. Languid; drooping.[Obs.] Who, piteous of her woes, reared her lank head. Milton. Lank hair, long, thin hair. Macaulay.

LANK
Lank, v. i. & t.

Defn: To become lank; to make lank. [Obs.] Shak. G. Fletcher.

LANKINESS
Lank"i*ness, n.

Defn: The condition or quality or being lanky.

LANKLY
Lank"ly, adv.

Defn: In a lank manner.

LANKNESS
Lank"ness, n.

Defn: The state or quality of being lank.

LANKY
Lank"y, a.

Defn: Somewhat lank. Thackeray.
The lanky Dinka, nearly seven feet in height. The Century.

LANNER; LANNERET
Lan"ner, n. f. Lan"ner*et, n. m. Etym: [F. lanier, OF. also, lasnier.
Cf. Lanyard.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A long-tailed falcon (Falco lanarius), of Southern Europe,
Asia, and Northern Africa, resembling the American prairie falcon.

LANOLIN
Lan"o*lin, n. Etym: [L. lana wool + oleum oil.] (Physiol. Chem.)

Defn: A peculiar fatlike body, made up of cholesterin and certain fatty acids, found in feathers, hair, wool, and keratin tissues generally.

Note: Under the same name, it is prepared from wool for commercial purposes, and forms an admirable basis for ointments, being readily absorbed by the skin.

LANSEH
Lan"seh, n.

Defn: The small, whitish brown fruit of an East Indian tree (Lansium domesticum). It has a fleshy pulp, with an agreeable subacid taste. Balfour.

LANSQUENET Lans"que*net, n. Etym: [F., fr. G. landsknecht a foot soldier, also a game of cards introduced by these foot soldiers; land country + knecht boy, servant. See Land, and Knight.]

1. 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.

2. A game at cards, vulgarly called lambskinnet. [They play] their little game of lansquenet. Longfellow.

LANT
Lant, n.

Defn: Urine. [Prov. Eng.] Nares.

LANT
Lant, n. Etym: [Cf. Lance.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any one of several species of small, slender, marine fishes of the genus Ammedytes. The common European species (A. tobianus) and the American species (A. Americanus) live on sandy shores, buried in the sand, and are caught in large quantities for bait. Called also launce, and sand eel.

LANT
Lant, n.

Defn: See Lanterloo. [Obs.] Halliwell.

LANTANIUM; LANTANUM
Lan*ta"ni*um, Lan"ta*num, n. (Chem.)

Defn: See Lanthanum.

LANTANURIC Lan`ta*nu"ric, a. Etym: [Formed by transposition of the letters of allantoin and -uric.] (Chem.)

Defn: Pertaining to, or designating, a nitrogenous organic acid of the uric acid group, obtained by the decomposition of allantoin, and usually called allanturic acid.

LANTERLOO
Lan"ter*loo`, n.

Defn: An old name of loo (a).

LANTERN
Lan"tern, n. Etym: [F. lanterne, L. lanterna, laterna, from Gr.
Lamp.]

1. Something inclosing a light, and protecting it from wind, rain, etc. ; — sometimes portable, as a closed vessel or case of horn, perforated tin, glass, oiled paper, or other material, having a lamp or candle within; sometimes fixed, as the glazed inclosure of a street light, or of a lighthouse light.

2. (Arch.) (a) An open structure of light material set upon a roof, to give light and air to the interior. (b) A cage or open chamber of rich architecture, open below into the building or tower which it crowns. (c) 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.

3. (Mach.)

Defn: A lantern pinion or trundle wheel. See Lantern pinion (below).

4. (Steam Engine)

Defn: 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.

5. (Founding)

Defn: A perforated barrel to form a core upon.

6. (Zoöl.)

Defn: See Aristotle's lantern.

Note: Fig. 1 represents a hand lantern; fig. 2, an arm lantern; fig. 3, a breast lantern; — so named from the positions in which they are carried. Dark lantern, a lantern with a single opening, which may be closed so as to conceal the light; — called also bull's-eye. — Lantern fly, Lantern carrier (Zoöl.), any one of several species of large, handsome, hemipterous insects of the genera Laternaria, Fulgora, and allies, of the family Fulgoridæ. The largest species is Laternaria phosphorea of Brazil. The head of some species has been supposed to be phosphorescent. — Lantern jaws, long, thin jaws; hence, a thin visage. — Lantern pinion, Lantern wheel (Mach.), a kind of pinion or wheel having cylindrical bars or trundles, instead of teeth, inserted at their ends in two parallel disks or plates; — so called as resembling a lantern in shape; — called also wallower, or trundle. — Lantern shell (Zoöl.), any translucent, marine, bivalve shell of the genus Anatina, and allied genera. — Magic lantern, an optical instrument consisting of a case inclosing a light, and having suitable lenses in a lateral tube, for throwing upon a screen, in a darkened room or the like, greatly magnified pictures from slides placed in the focus of the outer lens.

LANTERN
Lan"tern, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Lanterned; p. pr. & vb. n. Lanterning.]
Etym: [Cf. F. lanterner to hang at the lamp post, fr. lanterne. See
Lantern.]

Defn: To furnish with a lantern; as, to lantern a lighthouse.

LANTERN-JAWED
Lan"tern-jawed`, a.

Defn: Having lantern jaws or long, thin jaws; as, a lantern-jawed person.

LANTHANITE
Lan"tha*nite, n. (Min.)

Defn: Hydrous carbonate of lanthanum, found in tabular while crystals.

LANTHANUM
Lan"tha*num, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Chem.)

Defn: A rare element of the group of the earth metals, allied to aluminium. It occurs in certain rare minerals, as cerite, gadolinite, orthite, etc., and was so named from the difficulty of separating it from cerium, didymium, and other rare elements with which it is usually associated. Atomic weight 138.5. Symbol La. [Formerly written also lanthanium.]

LANTHOPINE
Lan"tho*pine, n. Etym: [Gr. (Chem.)

Defn: An alkaloid found in opium in small quantities, and extracted as a white crystalline substance.

LANTHORN
Lan"thorn, n.

Defn: See Lantern. [Obs.]

LANUGINOSE; LANUGINOUS La*nu"gi*nose`, La*nu"gi*nous, a. Etym: [L. lanuginosus, fr. lanugo, -ginis, woolly substance, down, fr. lana wool: cf. F. lanugineux.]

Defn: Covered with down, or fine soft hair; downy.

LANUGO
La*nu"go, n. Etym: [See Lanuginose.] (Anat.)

Defn: The soft woolly hair which covers most parts of the mammal fetus, and in man is shed before or soon after birth.

LANYARD
Lan"yard, n. Etym: [F.lanière thong, strap, OF. lasniere, fr. lasne
strap, thong, L. lacinia lappet. flap, edge of a garment. Cf.
Lanier.] [Written also laniard.]

1. (Naut.)

Defn: 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.

2. (Mil.)

Defn: 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.

LANYER
Lan"yer, n.

Defn: See Lanier.

LAOCOON; LAOCOOEN
La*oc"o*ön, n. Etym: [L., fr. Gr.

1. (Class. Myth.)

Defn: A priest of Apollo, during the Trojan war. (See 2.)

2. (Sculp.)

Defn: A marble group in the Vatican at Rome, representing the priest Laocoön, with his sons, infolded in the coils of two serpents, as described by Virgil.

LAODICEAN
La*od`i*ce"an, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to Laodicea, a city in Phrygia Major; like the
Christians of Laodicea; lukewarm in religion. Rev. iii. 14-16.

LAP Lap, n. Etym: [OE. lappe, AS. læppa; akin to D. lap patch, piece, G. lappen, OHG. lappa, Dan. lap, Sw. lapp.]

1. The loose part of a coat; the lower part of a garment that plays loosely; a skirt; an apron. Chaucer.

2. An edge; a border; a hem, as of cloth. Chaucer. If he cuts off but a lap of truth's garment, his heart smites him. Fuller.

3. 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. Men expect that happiness should drop into their laps. Tillotson.

4. 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.

Note: The lap of shingles or slates in roofing is the distance one course extends over the second course below, the distance over the course immediately below being called the cover.

5. (Steam Engine)

Defn: The amount by which a slide valve at its half stroke overlaps a port in the seat, being equal to the distance the valve must move from its mid stroke position in order to begin to open the port. Used alone, lap refers to outside lap. See Outside lap (below).

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. (Cotton Manuf.)

Defn: A sheet, layer, or bat, of cotton fiber prepared for the carding machine.

10. (Mach.)

Defn: 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 joint, a joint made by one layer, part, or piece, overlapping another, as in the scarfing of timbers. — Lap weld, a lap joint made by welding together overlapping edges or ends. — Inside lap (Steam Engine), lap of the valve with respect to the exhaust port. — Outside lap, lap with respect to the admission, or steam, port.

LAP
Lap, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Lapped (; p. pr. & vb. n. Lapping.]

1. To rest or recline in a lap, or as in a lap. To lap his head on lady's breast. Praed.

2. To cut or polish with a lap, as glass, gems, cutlery, etc. See 1st Lap, 10.

LAP Lap, v. t. Etym: [OE. lappen to fold (see Lap, n.); cf. also OE. wlappen, perh. another form of wrappen, E, wrap.]

1. To fold; to bend and lay over or on something; as, to lap a piece of cloth.

2. To wrap or wind around something. About the paper . . . I lapped several times a slender thread of very black silk. Sir I. Newton.

3. To infold; to hold as in one's lap; to cherish. Her garment spreads, and laps him in the folds. Dryden.

4. To lay or place over anything so as to partly or wholly cover it; as, to lap one shingle over another; to lay together one partly over another; as, to lap weather-boards; also, to be partly over, or by the side of (something); as, the hinder boat lapped the foremost one.

5. (Carding & Spinning)

Defn: To lay together one over another, as fleeces or slivers for further working. To lap boards, shingles, etc., to lay one partly over another. — To lap timbers, to unite them in such a way as to preserve the same breadth and depth throughout, as by scarfing. Weale.

LAP
Lap, v. i.

Defn: 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. The upper wings are opacous; at their hinder ends, where they lap over, transparent, like the wing of a flay. Grew.

LAP
Lap, v. i. Etym: [OE. lappen, lapen, AS. lapian; akin to LG. lappen,
OHG. laffan, Icel. lepja, Dan. lade, Sw. läppja, L. lambere; cf. Gr.
llepio. Cf. Lambent.]

1. To take up drink or food with the tongue; to drink or feed by licking up something. The dogs by the River Nilus's side, being thirsty, lap hastily as they run along the shore. Sir K. Digby.

2. To make a sound like that produced by taking up drink with the tongue. I heard the ripple washing in the reeds, And the wild water lapping on the crag. Tennyson.

LAP
Lap, v. t.

Defn: To take into the mouth with the tongue; to lick up with a quick
motion of the tongue.
They 'II take suggestion as a cat laps milk. Shak.

LAP
Lap, n.

1. The act of lapping with, or as with, the tongue; as, to take anything into the mouth with a lap.

2. The sound of lapping.

LAPAROCELE
Lap"a*ro*cele`, n. Etym: [Gr. (Med.)

Defn: A rupture or hernia in the lumbar regions.

LAPAROTOMY
Lap`a*rot"o*my, n. Etym: [Gr. (Surg.)

Defn: A cutting through the walls of the abdomen, as in the Cæsarean section.

LAPBOARD
Lap"board`, n.

Defn: A board used on the lap as a substitute for a table, as by tailors.

LAPDOG
Lap"dog`, n.

Defn: A small dog fondled in the lap.

LAPEL
La*pel", n. Etym: [Dim. of lap a fold.]

Defn: That part of a garment which is turned back; specifically, the lap, or fold, of the front of a coat in continuation of collar. [Written also lappel and lapelle.]

LAPELLED
La*pelled", a.

Defn: Furnished with lapels.

LAPFUL
Lap"ful, n.; pl. Lapfuls (.

Defn: As much as the lap can contain.

LAPICIDE
Lap"i*cide, n. Etym: [L. lapicida, fr. lapis stone + caedere to cut.]

Defn: A stonecutter. [Obs.]

LAPIDARIAN
Lap`i*da"ri*an, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to stone; inscribed on stone; as, a lapidarian record.

LAPIDARIOUS
Lap`i*da"ri*ous, a. Etym: [L. lapidarius, fr. lapis, -idis, stone.]

Defn: Consisting of stones.

LAPIDARY Lap"i*da*ry, n. ; pl. Lapidaries. Etym: [L. lapidarius, fr. lapidarius pertaining to stone: cf. F. lapidaire.]

1. An artificer who cuts, polishes, and engraves precious stones; hence, a dealer in precious stones.

2. A virtuoso skilled in gems or precious stones; a connoisseur of lapidary work. Lapidary's lathe, mill, or wheel, a machine consisting essentially of a revolving lap on a vertical spindle, used by a lapidary for grinding and polishing.

LAPIDARY Lap"i*da*ry, a. Etym: [L. lapidarius pertaining to stone: cf. F. lapidaire.]

1. Of or pertaining to the art of cutting stones, or engraving on stones, either gems or monuments; as, lapidary ornamentation.

2. Of or pertaining to monumental inscriptions; as, lapidary adulation. Lapidary style, that style which is proper for monumental and other inscriptions; terse; sententious.

LAPIDATE Lap"i*date, v. t. Etym: [L.lapidatus, p. p. of lapidare, fr. lapis stone.]

Defn: To stone. [Obs.]

LAPIDATION
Lap`i*da"tion, n. Etym: [L. lapidatio: cf. F. lapidation.]

Defn: The act of stoning. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.

LAPIDEOUS
La*pid"e*ous, a. Etym: [L. lapideus, fr. lapis stone.]

Defn: Of the nature of stone; [Obs.] Ray.

LAPIDESCENCE
Lap`i*des"cence, n.

1. The state or quality of being lapidescent.

2. A hardening into a stone substance.

3. A stony concretion. Sir T. Browne.

LAPIDESCENT Lap`i*des"cent, a. Etym: [L. lapidescens, p. pr. of lapidescere to become stone, fr. lapis, -idis, stone: cf. F. lapidescent.]

Defn: Undergoing the process of becoming stone; having the capacity of being converted into stone; having the quality of petrifying bodies.

LAPIDESCENT
Lap"i*des"cent, n.

Defn: Any substance which has the quality of petrifying other bodies, or of converting or being converted into stone.

LAPIDIFIC; LAPIDIFICAL Lap`i*dif"ic, Lap`i*dif"ic*al, a. Etym: [L. lapis, -idis, stone + facere to make: cf. F. lapidifique.]

Defn: Forming or converting into stone.

LAPIDIFICATION
La*pid`i*fi*ca"tion, n. Etym: [Cf. F. lapidification.]

Defn: The act or process of lapidifying; fossilization; petrifaction.

LAPIDIFY
La*pid"i*fy, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Lapidified; p. pr. & vb. n.
Lapidifying.] Etym: [Cf. f. lapidifier. See Lapidific, and -fy.]

Defn: To convert into stone or stony material; to petrify.

LAPIDIFY
La*pid"i*fy, v. i.

Defn: To become stone or stony

LAPIDIST
Lap"i*dist, n. Etym: [L. lapis, -idis, a stone.]

Defn: A lapidary. Ray.

LAPILLATION
Lap"il*la"tion, n.Etym: [See Lapilli.]

Defn: The state of being, or the act of making, stony.

LAPILLI La*pil"li, n. pl. Etym: [L. lapillus a little stone, dim. of lapis stone.] (Min.)

Defn: Volcanic ashes, consisting of small, angular, stony fragments or particles.

LAPIS
La"pis, n.; pl. Lapides. Etym: [L.]

Defn: A stone. Lapis calaminaris (. Etym: [NL.] (Min.) Calamine. — Lapis infernalis (. Etym: [L.] Fused nitrate of silver; lunar caustic.

LAPIS LAZULI
La"pis laz"u*li. (Min.)

Defn: An albuminous mineral of a rich blue color. Same as Lazuli, which see.

LAP-JOINTED
Lap"-joint`ed, a.

Defn: Having a lap joint, or lap joints, as many kinds of woodwork and metal work.

LAPLANDER
Lap"land*er, n.

Defn: A native or inhabitant of Lapland; — called also Lapp.

LAPLANDISH
Lap"land*ish, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to Lapland.

LAPLING
Lap"ling, n. Etym: [Lap of a garment + ling.]

Defn: One who has been fondled to excess; one fond of ease and sensual delights; — a term of contempt.

LAPP
Lapp, n.

Defn: Same as Laplander. Cf. Lapps.

LAPPACEOUS
Lap*pa"ceous, a. Etym: [L. lappaceus burlike, fr. lappa a bur.]
(Bot.)

Defn: Resembling the capitulum of burdock; covered with forked points.

LAPPER
Lap"per, n. Etym: [From Lap to drink.]

Defn: One who takes up food or liquid with his tongue.

LAPPET
Lap"pet, n. Etym: [Dim. of lap a fold.]

Defn: A small decorative fold or flap, esp, of lace or muslin, in a garment or headdress. Swift. Lappet moth (Zoöl.), one of several species of bombycid moths, which have stout, hairy caterpillars, flat beneath. Two common American species (Gastropacha Americana, and Tolype velleda) feed upon the apple tree.

LAPPET
Lap"pet, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Lappeted; p. pr. & vb. n. Lappeting.]

Defn: To decorate with, or as with, a lappet. [R.] Landor.

LAPPIC
Lap"pic, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to Lapland, or the Lapps.
— n.

Defn: The language of the Lapps. See Lappish.

LAPPING
Lap"ping, n.

Defn: A kind of machine blanket or wrapping material used by calico printers. Ure. Lapping engine, Lapping machine (Textile Manuf.), A machine for forming fiber info a lap. See its Lap, 9.

LAPPISH
Lap"pish, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to the Lapps; Laplandish.
— n.

Defn: The language spoken by the Lapps in Lapland. It is related to the Finnish and Hungarian, and is not an Aryan language.

LAPPONIAN; LAPPONIC
Lap*po"ni*an, Lap*pon"ic, a.

Defn: Laplandish; Lappish.

LAPPS
Lapps, n. pl.; sing. Lapp (. (Ethnol.)

Defn: A branch of the Mongolian race, now living in the northern parts of Norway, Sweden, and the adjacent parts of Russia.

LAPSABLE
Laps"a*ble, a.

Defn: Lapsible. Cudworth.

LAPSE Lapse, n. Etym: [L. lapsus, fr. labi, p. p. lapsus, to slide, to fall: cf. F. laps. See Sleep.]

1. A gliding, slipping, or gradual falling; an unobserved or imperceptible progress or passing away,; — restricted usually to immaterial things, or to figurative uses. The lapse to indolence is soft and imperceptible. Rambler. Bacon was content to wait the lapse of long centuries for his expected revenue of fame. I. Taylor.

2. A slip; an error; a fault; a failing in duty; a slight deviation from truth or rectitude. To guard against those lapses and failings to which our infirmities daily expose us. Rogers.

3. (Law)

Defn: 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.

4. (Theol.)

Defn: A fall or apostasy.

LAPSE
Lapse, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Lapsed; p. pr. & vb. n. Lapsing.]

1. To pass slowly and smoothly downward, backward, or away; to slip downward, backward, or away; to glide; — mostly restricted to figurative uses. A tendency to lapse into the barbarity of those northern nations from whom we are descended. Swift. Homer, in his characters of Vulcan and Thersites, has lapsed into the burlesque character. Addison.

2. 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. To lapse in fullness Is sorer than to lie for need. Shak.

3. (Law) (a) 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. (b) To become ineffectual or void; to fall. If the archbishop shall not fill it up within six months ensuing, it lapses to the king. Ayliffe.

LAPSE
Lapse, v. t.

1. To let slip; to permit to devolve on another; to allow to pass. An appeal may be deserted by the appellant's lapsing the term of law. Ayliffe.

2. To surprise in a fault or error; hence, to surprise or catch, as an offender. [Obs.] For which, if be lapsed in this place, I shall pay dear. Shak.

LAPSED
Lapsed, a.

1. Having slipped downward, backward, or away; having lost position, privilege, etc., by neglect; — restricted to figurative uses. Once more I will renew His lapsed powers, though forfeit. Milton.

2. Ineffectual, void, or forfeited; as, a lapsed policy of insurance; a lapsed legacy. Lapsed devise, Lapsed legacy (Law), a devise, or legacy, which fails to take effect in consequence of the death of the devisee, or legatee, before that of the testator, or for ether cause. Wharton (Law Dict.).

LAPSIBLE
Laps"i*ble, a.

Defn: Liable to lapse.

LAPSIDED
Lap"sid`ed, a.

Defn: See Lopsided.

LAPSTONE
Lap"stone`, n.

Defn: A stone for the lap, on which shoemakers beat leather.

LAPSTREAK; LAPSTRAKE
Lap"streak`, Lap"strake`, a.

Defn: Made with boards whose edges lap one over another; clinker- built; — said of boats.

LAPUTAN
La*pu"tan, a.

Defn: 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. "Laputan ideas." G. Eliot.

LAP-WELDED
Lap"-weld`ed, a

Defn: Having edges or ends united by a lap weld; as, a lap-welded pipe.

LAPWING
Lap"wing`, n. Etym: [OE.lapwynke, leepwynke, AS. hleápewince; hleápan
to leap, jump + (prob.) a word akin to AS. wincian to wink, E. wink,
AS. wancol wavering; cf. G. wanken to stagger, waver. See Leap, and
Wink.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A small European bird of the Plover family (Vanellus cristatus, or V. vanellus). It has long and broad wings, and is noted for its rapid, irregular fight, upwards, downwards, and in circles. Its back is coppery or greenish bronze. Its eggs are the "plover's eggs" of the London market, esteemed a delicacy. It is called also peewit, dastard plover, and wype. The gray lapwing is the Squatarola cinerea.

LAPWORK
Lap"work`, n.

Defn: Work in which one part laps over another. Grew.

LAQUAY
Laq"uay, n.

Defn: A lackey. [Obs.] Evelyn.

LAQUEAR
La"que*ar, n.; pl. Laquearia. Etym: [L.] (Arch.)

Defn: A lacunar.

LAQUEARY
Laq"ue*a*ry, a. Etym: [L. laqueus a noose.]

Defn: Using a noose, as a gladiator. [Obs. or R.]
Retiary and laqueary combatants. Sir T. Browne.

LAR
Lar, n.; pl. Lares, sometimes Lars. Etym: [L.] (Rom. Myth.)

Defn: 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. Nor will she her dear Lar forget, Victorious by his benefit. Lovelace. The Lars and Lemures moan with midnight plaint. Milton. Looking backward in vain toward their Lares and lands. Longfellow.

LAR
Lar, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A species of gibbon (Hylobates lar), found in Burmah. Called also white-handed gibbon.

LARAMIE GROUP
Lar"a*mie group`. (Geol.)

Defn: An extensive series of strata, principally developed in the Rocky Mountain region, as in the Laramie Mountains, and formerly supposed to be of the Tertiary age, but now generally regarded as Cretaceous, or of intermediate and transitional character. It contains beds of lignite, often valuable for coal, and is hence also called the lignitic group. See Chart of Geology.

LARBOARD Lar"board`, n. Etym: [Lar- is of uncertain origin, possibly the same as lower, i. e., humbler in rank, because the starboard side is considered by mariners as higher in rank; cf. D. laag low, akin to E. low. See Board, n., 8.] (Naut.)

Defn: The left-hand side of a ship to one on board facing toward the bow; port; — opposed to Ant: starboard.

Note: Larboard is a nearly obsolete term, having been superseded by port to avoid liability of confusion with starboard, owing to similarity of sound.

LARBOARD
Lar"board`, a.

Defn: On or pertaining to the left-hand side of a vessel; port; as, the larboard quarter.

LARCENER; LARCENIST
Lar"ce*ner, Lar"ce*nist, n.

Defn: One who commits larceny.

LARCENOUS
Lar"ce*nous, a. Etym: [Cf. OE. larrecinos. See Larceny.]

Defn: Having the character of larceny; as, a larcenous act;
committing larceny. "The larcenous and burglarious world." Sydney
Smith.
— Lar"ce*nous*ly, adv.

LARCENY
Lar"ce*ny, n.; pl. Larcenies. Etym: [F. larcin, OE. larrecin, L.
latrocinium, fr. latro robber, mercenary, hired servant; cf. Gr.
(Latrociny.] (Law)

Defn: The unlawful taking and carrying away of things personal with intent to deprive the right owner of the same; theft. Cf. Embezzlement. Grand larceny and Petit larceny are distinctions having reference to the nature or value of the property stolen. They are abolished in England. — Mixed, or Compound, larceny, that which, under statute, includes in it the aggravation of a taking from a building or the person. — Simple larceny, that which is not accompanied with any aggravating circumstances.

LARCH Larch, n. Etym: [Cf. OE. larege (Cotgrave), It.larice, Sp. larice, alerce, G. lärche; all fr. L. larix, -icis, Gr. ( (Bot.)

Defn: A genus of coniferous trees, having deciduous leaves, in fascicles (see Illust. of Fascicle).

Note: The European larch is Larix Europæa. The American or black larch is L. Americana, the hackmatack or tamarack. The trees are generally of a drooping, graceful appearance.

LARCHEN
Larch"en, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to the larch. Keats.

LARD
Lard, n. Etym: [F., bacon, pig's fat, L. lardum, laridum; cf. Gr. (

1. Bacon; the flesh of swine. [Obs.] Dryden.

2. The fat of swine, esp. the internal fat of the abdomen; also, this fat melted and strained. Lard oil, an illuminating and lubricating oil expressed from lard. — Leaf lard, the internal fat of the hog, separated in leaves or masses from the kidneys, etc.; also, the same melted.

LARD Lard, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Larded; p. pr. & vb. n. Larding.] Etym: [F. larder. See Lard, n.]

1. 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. And larded thighs on loaded altars laid. Dryden.

2. To fatten; to enrich.
[The oak] with his nuts larded many a swine. Spenser.
Falstaff sweats to death. And lards the lean earth as he walks along.
Shak.

3. To smear with lard or fat. In his buff doublet larded o'er with fat Of slaughtered brutes. Somerville.

4. To mix or garnish with something, as by way of improvement; to interlard. Shak. Let no alien Sedley interpose To lard with wit thy hungry Epsom prose. Dryden.

LARD
Lard, v. i.

Defn: To grow fat. [Obs.]

LARDACEIN
Lar`da*ce"in, n. Etym: [See Lardaceous.] (Physiol. Chem.)

Defn: A peculiar amyloid substance, colored blue by iodine and sulphuric acid, occurring mainly as an abnormal infiltration into the spleen, liver, etc.

LARDACEOUS
Lar*da"ceous, a. Etym: [Cf. F. lardacé.]

Defn: Consisting of, or resembling, lard. Lardaceous degeneration
(Med.), amyloid degeneration.

LARDER
Lard"er, n. Etym: [OF. lardier. See Lard, n.]

Defn: A room or place where meat and other articles of food are kept before they are cooked. Shak.

LARDERER
Lard"er*er, n.

Defn: One in charge of the larder.

LARDERY
Lard"er*y, n. Etym: [Cf. OE. larderie.]

Defn: A larder. [Obs.]

LARDON; LARDOON
Lar"don, Lar*doon", n. Etym: [F. lardon, fr. lard lard.]

Defn: A bit of fat pork or bacon used in larding.

LARDRY
Lard"ry, n. Etym: [See Lardery.]

Defn: A larder. [Obs.]

LARDY
Lard"y, a.

Defn: Containing, or resembling, lard; of the character or consistency of lard.

LARE
Lare, n. Etym: [See Lore.]

Defn: Lore; learning. [Obs.]

LARE
Lare, n.

Defn: Pasture; feed. See Lair. [Obs.] Spenser.

LARE
Lare, v. t.

Defn: To feed; to fatten. [Obs.] Beau. & Fl.

LARES
La"res, n. pl.

Defn: See 1st Lar.

LARGE Large, a. [Compar. Larger; superl. Largest.] Etym: [F., fr. L. largus. Cf. Largo.]

1. Exceeding most other things of like in bulk, capacity, quantity, superficial dimensions, or number of constituent units; big; great; capacious; extensive; — opposed to small; as, a nlarge horse; a large house or room; a large lake or pool; a large jug or spoon; a large vineyard; a large army; a large city.

Note: For linear dimensions, and mere extent, great, and not large, is used as a qualifying word; as, great length, breadth, depth; a great distance; a great height.

2. Abundant; ample; as, a large supply of provisions. We hare yet large day. Milton.

3. Full in statement; diffuse; full; profuse. I might be very large upon the importance and advantages of education. Felton.

4. Having more than usual power or capacity; having broad sympathies and generous impulses; comprehensive; — said of the mind and heart.

5. Free; unembarrassed. [Obs.] Of burdens all he set the Paynims large. Fairfax.

6. Unrestrained by decorum; — said of language. [Obs.] "Some large jests he will make." Shak.

7. Prodigal in expending; lavish. [Obs.] Chaucer.

8. (Naut.)

Defn: 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. At large. (a) Without restraint or confinement; as, to go at large; to be left at large. (b) Diffusely; fully; in the full extent; as, to discourse on a subject at large. — Common at large. See under Common, n. — Electors at large, Representative at large, electors, or a representative, as in Congress, chosen to represent the whole of a State, in distinction from those chosen to represent particular districts in a State. [U. S.] — To give, go, run, or sail large (Naut.), to have the wind crossing the direction of a vessel's course in such a way that the sails feel its full force, and the vessel gains its highest speed. See Large, a., 8.

Syn. — Big; bulky; huge; capacious; comprehensive; ample; abundant; plentiful; populous; copious; diffusive; liberal.

LARGE
Large, adv.

Defn: Freely; licentiously. [Obs.] Chaucer.

LARGE
Large, n. (Mus.)

Defn: A musical note, formerly in use, equal to two longs, four breves, or eight semibreves.

LARGE-ACRED
Large"-a`cred, a.

Defn: Possessing much land.

LARGE-HANDED
Large"-hand`ed, a.

Defn: Having large hands, Fig.: Taking, or giving, in large quantities; rapacious or bountiful.

LARGE-HEARTED
Large"-heart`ed, a.

Defn: Having a large or generous heart or disposition; noble;
liberal.
— Large"-heart`ed*ness, n.

LARGELY
Large"ly, adv.

Defn: In a large manner. Dryden. Milton.

LARGENESS
Large"ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being large.

LARGESS; LARGESSE
Lar"gess, Lar"gesse, n. Etym: [F. largesse, fr. large. See Large, a.]

1. Liberality; generosity; bounty. [Obs.] Fulfilled of largesse and of all grace. Chaucer.

2. A present; a gift; a bounty bestowed. The heralds finished their proclamation with their usual cry of "Largesse, largesse, gallant knights!" and gold and silver pieces were showered on them from the galleries. Sir W. Scott.

LARGET
Lar"get, n. Etym: [Cf. F. larget.]

Defn: A sport piece of bar iron for rolling into a sheet; a small billet.

LARGHETTO
Lar*ghet"to, a. & adv. Etym: [It., dim. of largo largo.] (Mus.)

Defn: Somewhat slow or slowly, but not so slowly as largo, and rather more so than andante.

LARGIFICAL
Lar*gif"i*cal, a. Etym: [L. largificus; largus large + facere.]

Defn: Generous; ample; liberal. [Obs.]

LARGIFLUOUS Lar*gif"lu*ous, a. Etym: [L. largifiuus; large abundantly + fluere to flow.]

Defn: Flowing copiously. [Obs.]

LARGILOQUENT
Lar*gil"o*quent, a. Etym: [Cf. L. largiloquus.]

Defn: Grandiloquent. [Obs.]

LARGISH
Lar"gish, a.

Defn: Somewhat large. [Colloq.]

LARGITION Lar*gi"tion, Etym: [L. largitio, fr. largiri, p. p. largitus, to give bountifully.]

Defn: The bestowment of a largess or gift. [Obs.]

LARGO
Lar"go, a. & adv. Etym: [It., large, L. largus, See Large.] (Mus.)

Defn: Slow or slowly; — more so than adagio; next in slowness to grave, which is also weighty and solemn. — n.

Defn: A movement or piece in largo time.

LARIAT
Lar"i*at, n. Etym: [Sp. la reata the rope; la the + reata rope. Cf.
Reata.]

Defn: 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. [Mexico & Western U.S.]

LARIAT
Lar"i*at, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Lariated; p. pr. & vb. n. Lariating.]

Defn: To secure with a lariat fastened to a stake, as a horse or mule for grazing; also, to lasso or catch with a lariat. [Western U.S.]

LARINE
La"rine, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to the Gull family (Laridæ).

LARIXINIC
Lar`ix*in"ic, a. (Chem.)

Defn: Of, or derived from, the larch (Larix); as, larixinic acid.

LARK
Lark, n. Etym: [Perh fr. AS. lac play, sport. Cf. Lake, v. i.]

Defn: A frolic; a jolly time. [Colloq.] Dickens.

LARK
Lark, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Larked; p. pr. & vb. n. Larking.]

Defn: To sport; to frolic. [Colloq.]

LARK
Lark, n. Etym: [OE. larke, laverock, AS. lawerce; akin to D.
leeuwerik, LG. lewerke, OHG. l, G. lerche, Sw. lärka, Dan. lerke,
Icel. lævirki.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any one numerous species of singing birds of the genus Alauda and allied genera (family Alaudidæ). They mostly belong to Europe, Asia, and Northern Africa. In America they are represented by the shore larks, or horned by the shore larks, or horned larks, of the genus Otocoris. The true larks have holaspidean tarsi, very long hind claws, and usually, dull, sandy brown colors.

Note: The European skylark, or lark of the poets (Alauda arvensis), is of a brown mottled color, and is noted for its clear and sweet song, uttered as it rises and descends almost perpendicularly in the air. It is considered a table delicacy, and immense numbers are killed for the markets. Other well-known European species are the crested, or tufted, lark (Alauda cristata), and the wood lark (A. arborea). The pipits, or titlarks, of the genus Anthus (family Motacillidæ) are often called larks. See Pipit. The American meadow larks, of the genus Sturnella, are allied to the starlings. See Meadow Lark. The Australian bush lark is Mirafra Horsfieldii. See Shore lark. Lark bunting (Zoöl.), a fringilline bird (Calamospiza melanocorys) found on the plains of the Western United States. — Lark sparrow (Zoöl.), a sparrow (Chondestes grammacus), found in the Mississippi Valley and the Western United States.

LARK
Lark, v. i.

Defn: To catch larks; as, to go larking.

LARK-COLORED
Lark"-col`ored, a.

Defn: Having the sandy brown color of the European larks.

LARKER Lark"er, n. Etym: [See 3d Lark, for sense 1, and 1st Lark, for sense 2.]

1. A catcher of larks.

2. One who indulges in a lark or frolic. [Colloq.]

LARK'S-HEEL
Lark's"-heel`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: Indian cress.

LARKSPUR
Lark"spur, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A genus of ranunculaceous plants (Delphinium), having showy flowers, and a spurred calyx. They are natives of the North Temperate zone. The commonest larkspur of the gardens is D. Consolida. The flower of the bee larkspur (D. elatum) has two petals bearded with yellow hairs, and looks not unlike a bee.

LARMIER
Lar"mi*er, n. Etym: [F., fr. larme tear, drop, L. lacrima. See
Lachrymose.] (Anat.)

Defn: See Tearpit.

LAROID
La"roid, a. Etym: [Larus + -oid.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Like or belonging to the Gull family (Laridæ).

LARRIKIN Lar"ri*kin, n. [Cf. E. dial. larrikin a mischievous or frolicsome youth, larrick lively, careless, larack to trolic, to romp.]

Defn: A rowdy street loafer; a rowdyish or noisy ill-bred fellow; — variously applied, as to a street blackguard, a street Arab, a youth given to horse-play, etc. [Australia & Eng.] — a.

Defn: Rowdy; rough; disorderly. [Australia & Eng.]

Mobs of unruly larrikins.
Sydney Daily Telegraph.

Larrikin is often popularly explained by the following anecdote (which is without foundation): An Irish policeman at Melbourne, on bringing a notorious rough into court, was asked by the magistrate what the prisoner had been doing, and replied, "He was a-larrikin' [i. e., a-larking] about the streets."

LARRUP
Lar"rup, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Larruped; p. pr. & vb. n. Larruping.]
Etym: [Perh, a corrupt. of lee rope, used by sailors in beating the
boys; but cf. D. larpen to thresh, larp a whip, blow.]

Defn: To beat or flog soundly. [Prov. Eng. & Colloq. U.S.] Forby.

LARRY
Lar"ry, n.

Defn: Same as Lorry, or Lorrie.

LARUM
Lar"um

Defn: , See Alarum, and Alarm.

LARVA Lar"va, n.; pl. L. Larvæ, E. Larvas. Etym: [L. larva ghost, specter, mask.]

1. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any young insect from the time that it hatches from the egg until it becomes a pupa, or chrysalis. During this time it usually molts several times, and may change its form or color each time. The larvæ of many insects are much like the adults in form and habits, but have no trace of wings, the rudimentary wings appearing only in the pupa stage. In other groups of insects the larvæ are totally unlike the parents in structure and habits, and are called caterpillars, grubs, maggots, etc.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The early, immature form of any animal when more or less of a metamorphosis takes place, before the assumption of the mature shape.

LARVAL
Lar"val, a. Etym: [L. larvalis ghostly. See Larva.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to a larva.

LARVALIA
Lar*va"li*a, n. pl. Etym: [NL. See Larval.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: 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.

LARVATE
Lar"vate, a. [L. larva mask.]

Defn: Masked; hence, concealed; obscure; — applied in medicine to doubtful cases of some diseases; as, larvate pneumonis; larvate epilepsy.

LARVATED
Lar"va*ted, a. Etym: [L.larvatus bewitched. See Larva.]

Defn: Masked; clothed as with a mask.

LARVE
Larve, n.; pl.Larves. Etym: [F.]

Defn: A larva.

LARVIFORM
Lar"vi*form, a. Etym: [Larva + -form.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Having the form or structure of a larva.

LARVIPAROUS
Lar*vip"a*rous, a. Etym: [Larva + L. parete to bring forth.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Depositing living larvæ, instead of eggs; — said of certain insects.

LARY
La"ry, n. Etym: [Cf. F. lare sea gull, L. larus a sort of sea bird,
Gr. (

Defn: A guillemot; — called also lavy. [Prov. Eng.]

LARYNGEAL
Lar`yn*ge"al, a. Etym: [From Larynx.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to the larynx; adapted to operations on the larynx; as, laryngeal forceps.

LARYNGEAN
Lar`yn*ge"an, a.

Defn: See Laryngeal.

LARYNGECTOMY
Lar`yn*gec"to*my, n. [Larynx + Gr. to cut out.] (Surg.)

Defn: Excision of the larynx.

LARYNGISMUS
Lar`yn*gis"mus, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Larynx.] (Med.)

Defn: A spasmodic state of the glottis, giving rise to contraction or closure of the opening.

LARYNGITIS
Lar`yn*gi"tis, n. Etym: [NL. See Larynx, and -tis.] (Med.)

Defn: Inflammation of the larynx.

LARYNGOGRAPH
La*ryn"go*graph, n. [larynx + -graph.]

Defn: An instrument for recording the larynx movements in speech.

LARYNGOLOGICAL
La*ryn`go*log"ic*al, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to laryngology.

LARYNGOLOGIST
Lar`yn*gol"o*gist, n.

Defn: One who applies himself to laryngology.

LARYNGOLOGY
Lar`yn*gol"o*gy, n. Etym: [Larynx + -logy.]

Defn: Systematized knowledge of the action and functions of the larynx; in pathology, the department which treats of the diseases of the larynx.

LARYNGOPHONY
Lar`yn*goph"o*ny, n. Etym: [Larynx + Gr. (

Defn: The sound of the voice as heard through a stethoscope when the latter is placed upon the larynx.

LARYNGOSCOPE
La*ryn"go*scope, n. Etym: [Larynx + -scope.] (Surg.)

Defn: An instrument, consisting of an arrangement of two mirrors, for reflecting light upon the larynx, and for examining its image.

LARYNGOSCOPIC
La*ryn`go*scop"ic, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to the inspection of the larynx.

LARYNGOSCOPIST
Lar`yn*gos"co*pist, n.

Defn: One skilled in laryngoscopy.

LARYNGOSCOPY
Lar`yn*gos"co*py, n.

Defn: The art of using the laryngoscope; investigations made with the laryngoscope.

LARYNGOTOME
La*ryn"go*tome, n. (Surg.)

Defn: An instrument for performing laryngotomy.

LARYNGOTOMY
Lar`yn*got"o*my, n. Etym: [Gr. (laryngotomie.] (Surg.)

Defn: The operation of cutting into the larynx, from the outside of the neck, for assisting respiration when obstructed, or for removing foreign bodies.

LARYNGOTRACHEAL
La*ryn`go*tra"che*al, a. Etym: [Larynx + tracheal.] (Anat.)

Defn: Pertaining to both larynx and trachea; as, the laryngotracheal cartilage in the frog.

LARYNGOTRACHEOTOMY
La*ryn`go*tra`che*ot"o*my, n. Etym: [Larynx + tracheotomy.] (Surg.)

Defn: The operation of cutting into the larynx and the upper part of the trachea, — a frequent operation for obstruction to breathing.

LARYNX
Lar"ynx, n. [ (Anat.)

Defn: The expanded upper end of the windpipe or trachea, connected with the hyoid bone or cartilage. It contains the vocal cords, which produce the voice by their vibrations, when they are stretched and a current of air passes between them. The larynx is connected with the pharynx by an opening, the glottis, which, in mammals, is protected by a lidlike epiglottis.

Note: In the framework of the human larynx, the thyroid cartilage, attached to the hyoid bone, makes the protuberance on the front of the neck known as Adam's apple, and is articulated below to the ringlike cricoid cartilage. This is narrow in front and high behind, where, within the thyroid, it is surmounted by the two arytenoid cartilages, from which the vocal cords pass forward to be attached together to the front of the thyroid. See Syrinx.

LAS
Las, n.

Defn: A lace. See Lace. [Obs.] Chaucer.

LAS
Las, a. & adv.

Defn: Less. [Obs.] Chaucer.

LASCAR Las"car, n. Etym: [Per. & Hind. lashkar an army, an inferior artillery man, a cooly, a native sailor.]

Defn: A native sailor, employed in European vessels; also, a menial employed about arsenals, camps, camps, etc.; a camp follower. [East Indies]

LASCIOUS
Las"ci*ous, a.

Defn: Loose; lascivious. [Obs.] "To depaint lascious wantonness."
Holland.

LASCIVIENCY
Las*civ"i*en*cy, n. Etym: [See Lascivient.]

Defn: Lasciviousness; wantonness. [Obs.]

LASCIVIENT Las*civ"i*ent, a. Etym: [L. lasciviens, pr. of lascivire to be wanton, fr. lascivus. See Lascivious.]

Defn: Lascivious. [Obs.] Dr. H. More.

LASCIVIOUS Las*civ"i*ous, a. Etym: [L. lascivia wantonness, fr. lascivus wanton; cf. Gr. (lash to desire.]

1. Wanton; lewd; lustful; as, lascivious men; lascivious desires. Milton.

2. Tending to produce voluptuous or lewd emotions.
He capers nimbly in a lady's chamber To the lascivious pleasing of a
lute. Shak.
— Las*civ"i*ous*ly, adv.
— Las*civ"i*ous*ness, n.

LASERWORT
La"ser*wort`, n. Etym: [L.laser the juice of the laserwort.] (Bot.)

Defn: 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 Lash, n. Etym: [OE. lasche; cf. D. lasch piece set in, joint, seam, G. lashe latchet, a bit of leather, gusset, stripe, laschen to furnish with flaps, to lash or slap, Icel. laski gusset, flap, laska to break.]

1. The thong or braided cord of a whip, with which the blow is given. I observed that your whip wanted a lash to it. Addison.

2. A leash in which an animal is caught or held; hence, a snare. [Obs.]

3. A stroke with a whip, or anything pliant and tough; as, the culprit received thirty-nine lashes.

4. A stroke of satire or sarcasm; an expression or retort that cuts or gives pain; a cut. The moral is a lash at the vanity of arrogating that to ourselves which succeeds well. L'Estrange.

5. A hair growing from the edge of the eyelid; an eyelash.

6. In carpet weaving, a group of strings for lifting simultaneously certain yarns, to form the figure.

LASH
Lash, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Lashed; p. pr. & vb. n. Lashng.]

1. To strike with a lash ; to whip or scourge with a lash, or with something like one. We lash the pupil, and defraud the ward. Dryden.

2. 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. And big waves lash the frighted shores. Dryden.

3. To throw out with a jerk or quickly. He falls, and lashing up his heels, his rider throws. Dryden.

4. To scold; to berate; to satirize; to censure with severity; as, to lash vice.

LASH
Lash

Defn: ,. v. i. To ply the whip; to strike; to uttercensure or
sarcastic language.
To laugh at follies, or to lash at vice. Dryden.
To lash out, to strike out wildly or furiously.

LASH Lash, v. t. Etym: [Cf. D. lasschen to fasten together, lasch piece, joint, Sw. laska to stitch, Dan. laske stitch. See Lash, n. ]

Defn: 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.

LASHER
Lash"er, n.

Defn: One who whips or lashes.

LASHER
Lash"er, n.

1. A piece of rope for binding or making fast one thing to another; - - called also lashing.

2. A weir in a river. [Eng.] Halliwell.

LASHING
Lash"ing, n.

Defn: The act of one who, or that which, lashes; castigation; chastisement. South. Lashing out, a striking out; also, extravagance.

LASHING
Lash"ing, n.

Defn: See 2d Lasher.

LASK
Lask, n.

Defn: A diarrhea or flux. [Obs.] Holland.

LASKET
Las"ket, n. Etym: [Cf. Lash, Latching.] (Naut.)

Defn: latching.

LASS Lass, n. Etym: [OE. lasse; prob. of Celtic origin; cf. W. llodes girl, fem. of llawd lad. (Lad a youth.]

Defn: A youth woman; a girl; a sweetheart.

LASSE
Lasse, a. & adv.

Defn: Less. [Obs.] Chaucer.

LASSIE
Las"sie, n.

Defn: A young girl; a lass. [Scot.]

LASSITUDE
Las"si*tude, n. Etym: [L. lassitudo, fr. lassus faint, weary; akin to
E. late: cf. F. lassitude. See Late.]

Defn: 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. The corporeal instruments of action being strained to a high pitch . . . will soon feel a lassitude. Barrow.

LASSLORN
Lass"lorn`, a.

Defn: Forsaken by a lass. Shak.

LASSO
Lass"o (lâs"so) n.; pl. Lassos (-soz). Etym: [Sp. lazo, L. laqueus.
See Lace.]

Defn: A rope or long thong of leather with, a running noose, used for catching horses, cattle, etc. Lasso cell (Zoöl.), one of a peculiar kind of defensive and offensive stinging cells, found in great numbers in all coelenterates, and in a few animals of other groups. They are most highly developed in the tentacles of jellyfishes, hydroids, and Actiniæ. Each of these cells is filled with, fluid, and contains a long, slender, often barbed, hollow thread coiled up within it. When the cell contracts the thread is quickly ejected, being at the same time turned inside out. The thread is able to penetrate the flesh of various small, soft-bodied animals, and carries a subtle poison by which they are speedily paralyzed and killed. The threads, at the same time, hold the prey in position, attached to the tentacles. Some of the jellyfishes, as the Portuguese man-of-war, and Cyanea, are able to penetrate the human skin, and inflict painful stings in the same way. Called also nettling cell, cnida, cnidocell.

LASSO
Las"so, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Lassoed; p. pr. & vb. n. Lassoing.]

Defn: To catch with a lasso.

LAST
Last, 3d pers. sing. pres.

Defn: of Last, to endure, contracted from lasteth. [Obs.] Chaucer.

LAST
Last (, a. Etym: [OE. last, latst, contr. of latest, superl. of late;
akin to OS. lezt, lazt, last, D. laatst, G. letzt. See Late, and cf.
Latest.]

1. Being after all the others, similarly classed or considered, in time, place, or order of succession; following all the rest; final; hindmost; farthest; as, the last year of a century; the last man in a line of soldiers; the last page in a book; his last chance. Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. Neh. viii. 18. Fairest of stars, last in the train of night. Milton.

2. Next before the present; as, I saw him last week.

3. Supreme; highest in degree; utmost. Contending for principles of the last importance. R. Hall .

4. Lowest in rank or degree; as, the last prize. Pope.

5. 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.

At last, at the end of a certain period; after delay. "The duke of Savoy felt that the time had at last arrived." Motley. — At the last. Etym: [Prob. fr. AS. on laste behind, following behind, fr. last race, track, footstep. See Last mold of the foot.] At the end; in the conclusion. [Obs.] "Gad, a troop shall overcome him; but he shall overcome at the last." Gen. xlix. 19. — Last heir, the person to whom lands escheat for want of an heir. [Eng.] Abbott. — On one's last legs, at, or near, the end of one's resources; hence, on the verge of failure or ruin, especially in a financial sense. [Colloq.] — To breathe one's last, to die. — To the last, to the end; till the conclusion. And blunder on in business to the last. Pope.

Syn. — At Last, At Length. These phrases both denote that some delayed end or result has been reached. At length implies that a long period was spent in so doing; as, after a voyage of more than three months, we at Length arrived safe. At last commonly implies that something has occurred (as interruptions, disappointments, etc.) which leads us to emphasize the idea of having reached the end; as, in spite of every obstacle, we have at last arrived.

LAST
Last, adv. Etym: [See Last, a.]

1. 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.

2. In conclusion; finally.lastly Pleased with his idol, he commends, admires, Adores; and, last, the thing adored desires. Dryden.

3. At a time next preceding the present time. How long is't now since last yourself and I Were in a mask Shak.

LAST
Last, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Lasted; p. pr. & vb. n. Lasting.] Etym:
[OE. lasten, As. læstan to perform, execute, follow, last, continue,
fr. last, l, trace, footstep, course; akin to G. leisten to perform,
Goth. laistjan to follow. See Last mold of the foot.]

1. To continue in time; to endure; to remain in existence. [I] proffered me to be slave in all that she me would ordain while my life lasted. Testament of Love.

2. 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 Last, n. Etym: [AS. lasttrace, track, footstep; akin to D. leest a last, G. leisten, Sw. läst, Dan. læst, Icel. leistr the foot below the ankle, Goth. laists track, way; from a root signifying, to go. Cf. Last, v. i., Learn, Delirium.]

Defn: A wooden block shaped like the human foot, on which boots and
shoes are formed.
The cobbler is not to go beyond his last. L'Estrange.
Darning last, a smooth, hard body, often egg-shaped, put into a
stocking to preserve its shape in darning.

LAST
Last, v. t.

Defn: To shape with a last; to fasten or fit to a last; to place smoothly on a last; as, to last a boot.

LAST
Last, n. Etym: [As. hlæst, fr. hladan to lade; akin to OHG. hlast,
G., D., Dan., & Sw. last: cf. F. laste, last, a last, of German or
Dutch origin. See Lade.]

1. A load; a heavy burden; hence, a certain weight or measure, generally estimated at 4,000 lbs., but varying for different articles and in different countries. In England, a last of codfish, white herrings, meal, or ashes, is twelve barrels; a last of corn, ten quarters, or eighty bushels, in some parts of England, twenty-one quarters; of gunpowder, twenty-four barrels, each containing 100 lbs; of red herrings, twenty cades, or 20,000; of hides, twelve dozen; of leather, twenty dickers; of pitch and tar, fourteen barrels; of wool, twelve sacks; of flax or feathers, 1,700 lbs.

2. The burden of a ship; a cargo.

LASTAGE Last"age n. Etym: [E. lestage ballasting, fr. lest ballast, or LL. lastagium, lestagium. See Last a load.]

1. A duty exacted, in some fairs or markets, for the right to carry things where one will. [Obs.]

2. A tax on wares sold by the last. [Obs.] Cowell.

3. The lading of a ship; also, ballast. Spelman.

4. Room for stowing goods, as in a ship.

LASTE
Last"e, obs. imp.

Defn: of Last, to endure. Chaucer.

LASTER
Last"er, n.

Defn: 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.

LASTERY
Last"er*y, n.

Defn: A red color.[Obs.] Spenser.

LASTING
Last"ing, a.

Defn: Existing or continuing a long while; enduring; as, a lasting good or evil; a lasting color.

Syn. — Durable; permanent; undecaying; perpetual; unending. — Lasting, Permanent, Durable. Lasting commonly means merely continuing in existence; permanent carries the idea of continuing in the same state, position, or course; durable means lasting in spite of agencies which tend to destroy.

LASTING
Last"ing, n.

1. Continuance; endurance. Locke.

2. A species of very durable woolen stuff, used for women's shoes; everlasting.

3. The act or process of shaping on a last.

LASTING
Last"ing, adv.

Defn: In a lasting manner.

LASTINGLY
Last"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: In a lasting manner.

LASTLY
Last"ly, adv.

1. In the last place; in conclusion.

2. at last; finally.

LAT
Lat, v. t.

Defn: To let; to allow. [Obs.] Chaucer.

LATA; LATAH
La"ta, La"tah, n. [Malay.]

Defn: A convulsive tic or hysteric neurosis prevalent among Malays, similar to or identical with miryachit and jumping disease, the person affected performing various involuntary actions and making rapid inarticulate ejaculations in imitation of the actions and words of another person.

LATAKIA
Lat`a*ki"a, n. Etym: [Turk.]

Defn: A superior quality of Turkish smoking tobacco, so called from the place where produced, the ancient Laodicea.

LATCH
Latch, v. t. Etym: [Cf. F. lécher to lick (of German origin). Cf.
Lick.]

Defn: To smear; to anoint. [Obs.] Shak.

LATCH
Latch, n. Etym: [OE. lacche, fr. lacchen to seize, As. læccan.]

1. That which fastens or holds; a lace; a snare. [Obs.] Rom. of R.

2. 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.

3. (Naut.)

Defn: A latching.

4. A crossbow. [Obs.] Wright.

LATCH
Latch, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Latched; p. pr. & vb. n. Latching.] Etym:
[OE.lacchen. See Latch. n.]

1. To catch so as to hold. [Obs.] Those that remained threw darts at our men, and latching our darts, sent them again at us. Golding.

2. To catch or fasten by means of a latch. The door was only latched. Locke.

LATCHET Latch"et, n. Etym: [OE. lachet, from an OF. dialect form of F. lacet plaited string, lace dim. of lacs. See Lace.]

Defn: The string that fastens a shoe; a shoestring.

LATCHING
Latch"ing, n. (Naut.)

Defn: 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. [Usually in pl.]

LATCHKEY
Latch"key`, n.

Defn: A key used to raise, or throw back, the latch of a door, esp. a night latch.

LATCHSTRING
Latch"string`, n.

Defn: 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. To find the latchstring out, to meet with hospitality; to be welcome. (Intrusion is prevented by drawing in the latchstring.) [Colloq. U.S.]

LATE Late, a. [Compar. Later, or latter (; superl. Latest.] Etym: [OE. lat slow, slack, As.læt; akin to Os. lat, D. laat late, G. lass weary, lazy, slack, Icel. latr, Sw. lat, Dan. lad, Goth. lats, and to E. let, v. See Let to permit, and cf. Alas, Lassitude.]

1. Coming after the time when due, or after the usual or proper time; not early; slow; tardy; long delayed; as, a late spring.

2. Far advanced toward the end or close; as, a late hour of the day; a late period of life.

3. 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.

4. Not long past; happening not long ago; recent; as, the late rains; we have received late intelligence.

5. Continuing or doing until an advanced hour of the night; as, late revels; a late watcher.

LATE
Late, adv. Etym: [AS. late. See Late, a.]

1. After the usual or proper time, or the time appointed; after delay; as, he arrived late; — opposed to early.

2. Not long ago; lately.

3. Far in the night, day, week, or other particular period; as, to lie abed late; to sit up late at night. Of late, in time not long past, or near the present; lately; as, the practice is of late uncommon. — Too late, after the proper or available time; when the time or opportunity is past.

LATED
Lat"ed, a.

Defn: Belated; too late. [Obs.] Shak.

LATEEN
La*teen", a. (Naut.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to a peculiar rig used in the Mediterranean and adjacent waters, esp. on the northern coast of Africa. See below. Lateen sail. Etym: [F. voile latine a sail in the shape of a right- angled triangle; cf. It. & Sp. vela latina; properly Latin sail. See Latin.] (Naut.) A triangular sail, extended by a long yard, which is slung at about one fourth of its length from the lower end, to a low mast, this end being brought down at the tack, while the other end is elevated at an angle or about forty-five degrees; — used in small boats, feluccas, xebecs, etc., especially in the Mediterranean and adjacent waters. Some lateen sails have also a boom on the lower side.

LATELY
Late"ly, adv.

Defn: Not long ago; recently; as, he has lately arrived from Italy.

LATENCE
La"tence, n.

Defn: Latency. Coleridge.

LATENCY
La"ten*cy, n. Etym: [See Latent.]

Defn: The state or quality of being latent. To simplify the discussion, I shall distinguish three degrees of this latency. Sir W. Hamilton.

LATENESS
Late"ness, n.

Defn: The state, condition, or quality, of being late; as, the lateness of his arrival; the lateness of the hour; the lateness of the season.

LATENT La"tent, a. Etym: [L. latens, -entis, p. pr. of latere to lie hid or concealed; cf. Gr. lethargy: cf. F.latent.]

Defn: Not visible or apparent; hidden; springs of action. The evils latent in the most promising contrivances are provided for as they arise. Burke. Latent buds (bot.), buds which remain undeveloped or dormant for a long time, but may at length grow. Latent heat (Physics), that quantity of heat which disappears or becomes concealed in a body while producing some change in it other than rise of temperature, as fusion, evaporation, or expansion, the quantity being constant for each particular body and for each species of change. — Latent period. (a) (Med.) The regular time in which a disease is supposed to be existing without manifesting itself. (b) (Physiol.) One of the phases in a simple muscular contraction, in which invisible preparatory changes are taking place in the nerve and muscle. (c) (Biol.) One of those periods or resting stages in the development of the ovum, in which development is arrested prior to renewed activity.

LATENTLY
La"tent*ly, adv.

Defn: In a secret or concealed manner; invisibly.

LATER
La"ter, n.; pl. Lateres. Etym: [L.]

Defn: A brick or tile. Knight.

LATER
Lat"er, a.

Defn: Compar. of Late, a. & adv.

LATERAD
Lat"er*ad, adv. Etym: [L. latus, lateris, side + ad to.] (Anat.)

Defn: Toward the side; away from the mesial plane; — opposed to mesiad.

LATERAL
Lat"er*al, a. Etym: [L. lateralis, fr. latus, lateris, side: cf.
F.latéral.]

1. Of or pertaining to the sides; as, the lateral walls of a house; the lateral branches of a tree.

2. (Anat.)

Defn: Lying at, or extending toward, the side; away from the mesial plane; external; — opposed to mesial.

3. Directed to the side; as, a lateral view of a thing. Lateral cleavage (Crystallog.), cleavage parallel to the lateral planes. — Lateral equation (Math.), an equation of the first degree. [Obs.] — Lateral line (Anat.), in fishes, a line of sensory organs along either side of the body, often marked by a distinct line of color. — Lateral pressure or stress (Mech.), a pressure or stress at right angles to the length, as of a beam or bridge; — distinguished from longitudinal pressure or stress. — Lateral strength (Mech.), strength which resists a tendency to fracture arising from lateral pressure. — Lateral system (Bridge Building), the system of horizontal braces (as between two vertical trusses) by which lateral stiffness is secured.

LATERALITY
Lat`er*al"i*ty, n.

Defn: The state or condition of being lateral.

LATERALLY
Lat"er*al*ly, adv.

Defn: By the side; sidewise; toward, or from, the side.

LATERAN
Lat"er*an, n.

Defn: 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.

Note: The name is said to have been derived from that of the Laterani family, who possessed a palace on or near the spot where the church now stands. In this church several ecclesiastical councils, hence called Lateran councils, have been held.

LATERED
Lat"ered, a.

Defn: Inclined to delay; dilatory. [Obs.] "When a man is too latered." Chaucer.

LATERIFOLIOUS Lat`er*i*fo"li*ous, a. Etym: [L. latus, lateris, side + folium leaf: cf. F. latérifolié.] (Bot.)

Defn: Growing from the stem by the side of a leaf; as, a laterifolious flower.

LATERITE
Lat"er*ite, n. Etym: [L. later brick, tile: cf. F. latérite.] (Geol.)

Defn: An argillaceous sandstone, of a red color, and much seamed; — found in India.

LATERITIC
Lat`er*it"ic, a.

Defn: consisting of, containing, or characterized by, laterite; as, lateritic formations.

LATERITIC
Lat`er*it"ic, a.

Defn: Consisting of, containing, or characterized by, laterite; as, lateritic formations.

LATERITIOUS
Lat"er*i"tious, a. Etym: [L.lateritius, fr. later a brick.]

Defn: Like bricks; of the color of red bricks. Lateritious sediment (Med.), a sediment in urine resembling brick dust, observed after the crises of fevers, and at the termination of gouty paroxysms. It usually consists of uric acid or urates with some coloring matter.

LATES
La"tes, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A genus of large percoid fishes, of which one species (Lates
Niloticus) inhabits the Nile, and another (L. calcarifer

LATESCENCE
La*tes"cence, n.

Defn: A slight withdrawal from view or knowledge. Sir W. Hamilton.

LATESCENT La*tes"cent, a. Etym: [L. latescens, -entis, p. pr. of latescere to be concealed, fr. latere to be hid.]

Defn: Slightly withdrawn from view or knowledge; as, a latescent meaning. Sir W. Hamilton.

LATEWAKE
Late"wake`, n.

Defn: See Lich wake, under Lich.

LATEWARD
Late"ward, a. & adv.

Defn: Somewhat late; backward. [Obs.] "Lateward lands." Holland.

LATEX
La"tex, n. Etym: [L.] (Bot.)

Defn: 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 Lath, n.; pl. Laths. Etym: [OE. laththe, latthe, latte, AS. lætta; akin to D. lat, G. latte, OHG. latta; cf. W. llath a rod, staff, yard. Cf. Lattice, Latten.]

Defn: 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 brick, a long, slender brick, used in making the floor on which malt is placed in the drying kiln. Lath nail a slender nail for fastening laths.

LATH
Lath, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Lathed; p. pr. & vb. n. Lathing.]

Defn: To cover or line with laths.

LATHE
Lathe, n. Etym: [AS.læedh. Of. uncertain origin.]

Defn: 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. [Written also lath.] Brande & C.

LATHE Lathe, n. Etym: [OE. lathe a granary; akin to G. lade a chest, Icel. hlaedha a storehouse, barn; but cf. also Icel. löedh a smith's lathe. Senses 2 and 3 are perh. of the same origin as lathe a granary, the original meaning being, a frame to hold something. If so, the word is from an older form of E. lade to load. See Lade to load.]

1. A granary; a barn. [Obs.] Chaucer.

2. (Mach.)

Defn: 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.

3. 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. Blanchard lathe, a lathe for turning irregular forms after a given pattern, as lasts, gunstocks, and the like. — Drill lathe, or Speed lathe, a small lathe which, from its high speed, is adapted for drilling; a hand lathe. — Engine lathe, a turning lathe in which the cutting tool has an automatic feed; — used chiefly for turning and boring metals, cutting screws, etc. — Foot lathe, a lathe which is driven by a treadle worked by the foot. — Geometric lathe. See under Geometric — Hand lathe, a lathe operated by hand; a power turning lathe without an automatic feed for the tool. — Slide lathe, an engine lathe. — Throw lathe, a small lathe worked by one hand, while the cutting tool is held in the other.

LATHER
Lath"er, n. Etym: [AS. leáedhor niter, in leáedhorwyrt soapwort; cf.
Icel. lau; perh. akin to E. lye.]

1. Foam or froth made by soap moistened with water.

2. Foam from profuse sweating, as of a horse.

LATHER
Lath"er, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Lathered; p. pr. & vb. n. Lathering.]
Etym: [AS. leedhrian to lather, anoint. See Lather, n. ]

Defn: To spread over with lather; as, to lather the face.

LATHER
Lath"er, v. i.

Defn: To form lather, or a froth like lather; to accumulate foam from profuse sweating, as a horse.

LATHER
Lath"er, v. t. Etym: [Cf. Leather.]

Defn: To beat severely with a thong, strap, or the like; to flog.
[Low]

LATHEREEVE; LATHREEVE
Lathe"reeve`, Lath"reeve`, n.

Defn: Formerly, the head officer of a lathe. See 1st Lathe.

LATHING
Lath"ing, n.

Defn: The act or process of covering with laths; laths, collectively; a covering of laths.

LATH-SHAPED
Lath"-shaped`, a.

Defn: Having a slender elongated form, like a lath; — said of the feldspar of certain igneous rocks, as diabase, as seen in microscopic sections.

LATHWORK
Lath"work`, n.

Defn: Same as Lathing.

LATHY
Lath"y, a.

Defn: Like a lath; long and slender.
A lathy horse, all legs and length. R. Browning.

LATIAN
La"tian, a.

Defn: Belonging, or relating, to Latium, a country of ancient Italy.
See Latin.

LATIBULIZE
La*tib"u*lize, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Latibulized (; p. pr. & vb. n.
Latibulizing.] Etym: [L. latibulum hiding place, fr. latere to lie
hid.]

Defn: To retire into a den, or hole, and lie dormant in winter; to retreat and lie hid. [R.] G. Shaw.

LATIBULUM
La*tib"u*lum, n; pl. Latibula. Etym: [L.]

Defn: A concealed hiding place; a burrow; a lair; a hole.

LATICIFEROUS
Lat`i*cif"er*ous, a. Etym: [L. latex, laticis, a liquid + -ferous.]
(Bot.)

Defn: Containing the latex; — applied to the tissue or tubular vessels in which the latex of the plant is found.

LATICLAVE
Lat"i*clave, n. Etym: [L. laticlavus, laticlavium; latus broad +
clavus nail, a purple stripe on the tunica: cf. F. laticlave.] (Rom.
Antiq.)

Defn: A broad stripe of purple on the fore part of the tunic, worn by senators in ancient Rome as an emblem of office.

LATICOSTATE
Lat`i*cos"tate, a. Etym: [L. latus broad + E. costate.]

Defn: Broad-ribbed.

LATIDENTATE
Lat`i*den"tate, a. Etym: [L. latus broad + E. dentate.]

Defn: Broad-toothed.

LATIFOLIATE; LATIFOLIOUS Lat`i*fo"li*ate, Lat`i*fo"li*ous, a. Etym: [L. latifolius; latus broad + folium leaf: cf. F. latifolié.] (Bot.)

Defn: Having broad leaves.

LATIGO
La"ti*go, n. [Sp. látigo.]

Defn: A strap for tightening a saddle girth. [Western U. S. & Sp.
Amer.]

LATIGO HALTER
La"ti*go hal"ter.

Defn: A kind of halter usually made of raw hide.

LATIMER
Lat"i*mer, n. Etym: [OF. latinier, latimier, prop., one knowing
Latin.]

Defn: An interpreter. [Obs.] Coke.

LATIN
Lat"in, a. Etym: [F., fr. L. Latinus belonging to Latium, Latin, fr.
Latium a country of Italy, in which Rome was situated. Cf. Ladin,
Lateen sail, under Lateen.]

1. Of or pertaining to Latium, or to the Latins, a people of Latium; Roman; as, the Latin language.

2. Of, pertaining to, or composed in, the language used by the Romans or Latins; as, a Latin grammar; a Latin composition or idiom. Latin Church (Eccl. Hist.), the Western or Roman Catholic Church, as distinct from the Greek or Eastern Church. — Latin cross. See Illust. 1 of Cross. — Latin races, a designation sometimes loosely given to certain nations, esp. the French, Spanish, and Italians, who speak languages principally derived from Latin. Latin Union, an association of states, originally comprising France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Italy, which, in 1865, entered into a monetary agreement, providing for an identity in the weight and fineness of the gold and silver coins of those countries, and for the amounts of each kind of coinage by each. Greece, Servia, Roumania, and Spain subsequently joined the Union.

LATIN
Lat"in, n.

1. A native or inhabitant of Latium; a Roman.

2. The language of the ancient Romans.

3. An exercise in schools, consisting in turning English into Latin. [Obs.] Ascham.

4. (Eccl.)

Defn: A member of the Roman Catholic Church. (Dog Latin, barbarous Latin; a jargon in imitation of Latin; as, the log Latin of schoolboys. — Late Latin, Low Latin, terms used indifferently to designate the latest stages of the Latin language; low Latin (and, perhaps, late Latin also), including the barbarous coinages from the French, German, and other languages into a Latin form made after the Latin had become a dead language for the people. — Law Latin, that kind of late, or low, Latin, used in statutes and legal instruments; — often barbarous.

LATIN
Lat"in, v. t.

Defn: To write or speak in Latin; to turn or render into Latin.
[Obs.] Fuller.

LATINISM
Lat"in*ism, n. Etym: [Cf. F. latinisme.]

Defn: 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.

Note: The term is also sometimes used by Biblical scholars to designate a Latin word in Greek letters, or the Latin sense of a Greek word in the Greek Testament.

LATINIST
Lat"in*ist, n. Etym: [Cf. F. latiniste.]

Defn: One skilled in Latin; a Latin scholar. Cowper.
He left school a good Latinist. Macaulay.

LATINISTIC
Lat`in*is"tic, a.

Defn: Of, pertaining to, or derived from, Latin; in the Latin style or idiom. "Latinistic words." Fitzed. Hall.

LATINITASTER
La*tin"i*tas`ter, n. Etym: [Cf. Poetaster.]

Defn: One who has but a smattering of Latin. Walker.

LATINITY
La*tin"i*ty, n. Etym: [L. latinitas: cf. F. latinité.]

Defn: The Latin tongue, style, or idiom, or the use thereof; specifically, purity of Latin style or idiom. "His eleLatinity." Motley.

LATINIZATION
Lat`in*i*za"tion, n.

Defn: The act or process of Latinizing, as a word, language, or
country.
The Germanization of Britain went far deeper than the Latinization of
France. M. Arnold.

LATINIZE
Lat"in*ize, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Latinized; p. pr. & vb. n.
Latinizing.] Etym: [L. latinizare: cf. F.latiniser.]

1. To give Latin terminations or forms to, as to foreign words, in writing Latin.

2. To bring under the power or influence of the Romans or Latins; to affect with the usages of the Latins, especially in speech. "Latinized races." Lowell.

3. To make like the Roman Catholic Church or diffuse its ideas in; as, to Latinize the Church of England.

LATINIZE
Lat"in*ize, v. i.

Defn: To use words or phrases borrowed from the Latin. Dryden.

2. To come under the influence of the Romans, or of the Roman Catholic Church.

LATINLY
Lat"in*ly, adv.

Defn: In the manner of the Latin language; in correct Latin. [Obs.]
Heylin.

LATION
La"tion, n. Etym: [L. latio, fr. latus borne. See Tolerate.]

Defn: Transportation; conveyance. [Obs.]

LATIROSTRAL; LATIROSTROUS
Lat`i*ros"tral, Lat`i*ros"trous, a. Etym: [Cf. F. latirostre. See
Latirostres.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Having a broad beak. Sir T. Browne.

LATIROSTRES Lat`i*ros"tres, n. pl. Etym: [NL., fr. L. latus broad + rostrum beak.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The broad-billed singing birds, such as the swallows, and their allies.

LATISH
Lat"ish, a.

Defn: Somewhat late. [Colloq.]

LATISTERNAL
Lat`i*ster"nal, a. Etym: [L. latus broad + E. sternal.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Having a broad breastbone, or sternum; — said of anthropoid apes.

LATITANCY
Lat"i*tan*cy, n. Etym: [See Latitant.]

Defn: Act or state of lying hid, or lurking. [R.] Sir T. Browne.

LATITANT Lat"i*tant, a. Etym: [L. latitans, pr. of latitare to lie hid, to lurk, v. intens. fr. latere to be hid: cf. F. latitant.]

Defn: Lying hid; concealed; latent. [R.]

LATITAT
Lat"i*tat, n. Etym: [L., he lies hid.] (O. Eng. Law)

Defn: A writ based upon the presumption that the person summoned was hiding. Blackstone.

LATITATION
Lat`i*ta"tion, n. Etym: [L. latitatio.]

Defn: A lying in concealment; hiding. [Obs.]

LATITUDE Lat"i*tude, n. Etym: [F. latitude, L. latitudo, fr. latus broad, wide, for older stlatus; perh. akin to E. strew.]

1. Extent from side to side, or distance sidewise from a given point
or line; breadth; width.
Provided the length do not exceed the latitude above one third part.
Sir H. Wotton.

2. Room; space; freedom from confinement or restraint; hence, looseness; laxity; independence. In human actions there are no degrees and precise natural limits described, but a latitude is indulged. Jer. Taylor.

3. Extent or breadth of signification, application, etc.; extent of deviation from a standard, as truth, style, etc. No discreet man will believe Augustine's miracles, in the latitude of monkish relations. Fuller.

4. Extent; size; amplitude; scope. I pretend not to treat of them in their full latitude. Locke.

5. (Geog.)

Defn: Distance north or south of the equator, measured on a meridian.

6. (Astron.)

Defn: The angular distance of a heavenly body from the ecliptic. Ascending latitude, Circle of latitude, Geographical latitude, etc. See under Ascending. Circle, etc. — High latitude, that part of the earth's surface near either pole, esp. that part within either the arctic or the antarctic circle. — Low latitude, that part of the earth's surface which is near the equator.

LATITUDINAL
Lat`i*tu"di*nal, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to latitude; in the direction of latitude.

LATITUDINARIAN
Lat`i*tu`di*na"ri*an, a. Etym: [Cf. F. latitudinaire.]

1. Not restrained; not confined by precise limits.

2. 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 sentiments upon religious subjects. Allibone.

3. Lax in moral or religious principles.

LATITUDINARIAN
Lat`i*tu`di*na"ri*an, n.

1. One who is moderate in his notions, or not restrained by precise settled limits in opinion; one who indulges freedom in thinking.

2. (Eng. Eccl. Hist.)

Defn: 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. They were called "men of latitude;" and upon this, men of narrow thoughts fastened upon them the name of latitudinarians. Bp. Burnet.

3. (Theol.)

Defn: One who departs in opinion from the strict principles of orthodoxy.

LATITUDINARIANISM
Lat`i*tu`di*na"ri*an*ism, n.

Defn: A latitudinarian system or condition; freedom of opinion in matters pertaining to religious belief. Fierce sectarianism bred fierce latitudinarianism. De Quincey. He [Ammonius Saccas] plunged into the wildest latitudinarianism of opinion. J. S. Harford.

LATITUDINOUS
Lat`i*tu"di*nous, a.

Defn: Having latitude, or wide extent.

LATON; LATOUN
Lat"on, Lat"oun, n.

Defn: Latten, 1. [Obs.] Chaucer.

LATRANT
La"trant, a. Etym: [L. latrans, p. pr. of latrare. See Latrate.]

Defn: Barking. [Obs.] Tickell.

LATRATE
La"trate, v. i. Etym: [L. latratus, p. p. of latrare to bark.]

Defn: To bark as a dog. [Obs.]

LATRATION
La*tra"tion, n.

Defn: A barking. [Obs.]

LATREUTICAL
La*treu"tic*al, a. Etym: [Gr.

1. Acting as a hired servant; serving; ministering; assisting. [Obs.]

2. Of or pertaining to latria. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.

LATRIA
La*tri"a, n. Etym: [L., fr. Gr.

Defn: The highest kind of worship, or that paid to God; — distinguished by the Roman Catholics from dulia, or the inferior worship paid to saints.

LATRINE
La*trine", n. Etym: [L. latrina: cf. F. latrines.]

Defn: A privy, or water-closet, esp. in a camp, hospital, etc.

LATROCINY
Lat"ro*cin`y, n. Etym: [L. latrocinium. Cf. Larceny.]

Defn: Theft; larceny. [Obs.]

LATTEN Lat"ten, n. Etym: [OE. latoun, laton, OF. laton, F. laiton, prob. fr. OF. late lath, F. latte; — because made in thin plates; cf. It. latta a sheet of tinned iron, tin plate. F. latte is of German origin. See Lath a thin board.]

1. A kind of brass hammered into thin sheets, formerly much used for making church utensils, as candlesticks, crosses, etc.; — called also latten brass. He had a cross of latoun full of stones. Chaucer.

2. Sheet tin; iron plate, covered with tin; also, any metal in thin sheets; as, gold latten. Black latten, brass in milled sheets, composed of copper and zinc, used by braziers, and for drawing into wire. — Roll latten, latten polished on both sides ready for use. — Shaven latten, a thinner kind than black latten. — White latten, a mixture of brass and tin.

LATTER Lat"ter, a. Etym: [OE. later, lætter, compar. of lat late. See Late, and cf. Later.]

1. Later; more recent; coming or happening after something else; — opposed to former; as, the former and latter rain.

2. Of two things, the one mentioned second. The difference between reason and revelation, and in what sense the latter is superior. I. Watts.

3. Recent; modern. Hath not navigation discovered in these latter ages, whole nations at the bay of Soldania Locke.

4. Last; latest; final. [R.] "My latter gasp." Shak. Latter harvest, the last part of the harvest. — Latter spring, the last part of the spring of the year. Shak.

LATTERDAY
Lat"ter*day`, a.

Defn: Belonging to present times or those recent by comparison.

LATTER-DAY SAINT
Lat"ter-day` saint".

Defn: A Mormon; — the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints being the name assumed by the whole body of Mormons.

LATTERKIN
Lat"ter*kin, n.

Defn: A pointed wooden tool used in glazing leaden lattice.

LATTERLY
Lat"ter*ly, adv.

Defn: Lately; of late; recently; at a later, as distinguished from a
former, period.
Latterly Milton was short and thick. Richardson.

LATTERMATH
Lat"ter*math, n. Etym: [Cf. Aftermath.]

Defn: The latter, or second, mowing; the aftermath.

LATTICE
Lat"tice, n. Etym: [OE. latis, F. lattis lathwork, fr. latte lath.
See Latten, 1st Lath.]

1. 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. The mother of Sisera looked out at a window, and cried through the lattice. Judg. v. 28.

2. (Her.)

Defn: The representation of a piece of latticework used as a bearing, the bands being vertical and horizontal. Lattice bridge, a bridge supported by lattice girders, or latticework trusses. — Lattice girder (Arch.), a girder of which the wed consists of diagonal pieces crossing each other in the manner of latticework. — Lattice plant (Bot.), an aquatic plant of Madagascar (Ouvirandra fenestralis), whose leaves have interstices between their ribs and cross veins, so as to resemble latticework. A second species is O. Berneriana. The genus is merged in Aponogeton by recent authors.

LATTICE
Lat"tice, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Latticed; p. pr. & vb. n. Latticing.]

1. To make a lattice of; as, to lattice timbers.

2. To close, as an opening, with latticework; to furnish with a lattice; as, to lattice a window. To lattice up, to cover or inclose with a lattice. Therein it seemeth he [Alexander] hath latticed up Cæsar. Sir T. North.

LATTICEWORK
Lat"tice*work`, n.

Defn: Same as Lattice, n., 1.

LATTICING
Lat"ti*cing, n.

1. The act or process of making a lattice of, or of fitting a lattice to.

2. (Bridge Building)

Defn: A system of bars crossing in the middle to form braces between principal longitudinal members, as of a strut.

LATUS RECTUM
La"tus rec"tum. Etym: [L., the right side.] (Conic Sections)

Defn: 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.

LAUD
Laud, n. Etym: [L. laus, laudis. See Laud, v. i.]

1. High commendation; praise; honor; exaltation; glory. "Laud be to God." Shak. So do well and thou shalt have laud of the same. Tyndals.

2. A part of divine worship, consisting chiefly of praise; — usually in the pl.

Note: In the Roman Catholic Church, the prayers used at daybreak, between those of matins and prime, are called lauds.

3. Music or singing in honor of any one.

LAUD
Laud, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Lauded; p. pr. & vb. n. Lauding.] Etym:
[L.laudare, fr. laus, laudis, praise. Cf. Allow.]

Defn: To praise in words alone, or with words and singing; to
celebrate; to extol.
With all the company of heaven, we laud and magnify thy glorious
name. Book of Common Prayer.

LAUDABILITY
Laud`a*bil"i*ty, n. Etym: [L. laudabilitas.]

Defn: Laudableness; praiseworthiness.

LAUDABLE Laud"a*ble, a. Etym: [L. laudabilis: cf. OE. laudable. See Laud, v. i.]

1. Worthy of being lauded; praiseworthy; commendable; as, laudable motives; laudable actions; laudable ambition.

2. (Med.)

Defn: Healthy; salubrious; normal; having a disposition to promote healing; not noxious; as, laudable juices of the body; laudable pus. Arbuthnot.

LAUDABLENESS
Laud"a*ble*ness, n.

Defn: The quality of being laudable; praiseworthiness; commendableness.

LAUDABLY
Laud"a*bly, adv.

Defn: In a laudable manner.

LAUDANINE
Lau"da*nine, n. Etym: [From Laudanum.] (Chem.)

Defn: A white organic base, resembling morphine, and obtained from certain varieties of opium.

LAUDANUM
Lau"da*num, n. Etym: [Orig. the same wort as ladanum, ladbdanum: cf.
F. laudanum, It. laudano, ladano. See Ladanum.]

Defn: Tincture of opium, used for various medical purposes.

Note: A fluid ounce of American laudanum should contain the soluble matter of one tenth of an ounce avoirdupois of powdered opium with equal parts of alcohol and water. English laudanum should have ten grains less of opium in the fluid ounce. U. S. Disp. Dutchman's laudanum (Bot.) See under Dutchman.

LAUDATION Lau*da"tion, n. Etym: [L. laudatio: cf. OE. taudation. See Land, v. t.]

Defn: The act of lauding; praise; high commendation.

LAUDATIVE
Laud"a*tive, a. Etym: [L. laudativus laudatory: cf. F. laudatif.]

Defn: Laudatory.

LAUDATIVE
Laud"a*tive, n.

Defn: A panegyric; a eulogy. [Obs.] Bacon.

LAUDATOR
Lau*da"tor, n. Etym: [L.]

1. One who lauds.

2. (Law)

Defn: An arbitrator. [Obs.] Cowell.

LAUDATORY
Laud"a*to*ry, a. Etym: [L. laudatorius: cf. OF. laudatoire.]

Defn: Of or pertaining praise, or to the expression of praise; as, laudatory verses; the laudatory powers of Dryden. Sir J. Stephen.

LAUDER
Laud"er, n.

Defn: One who lauds.

LAUGH Laugh, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Laughed; p. pr. & vb. n. Laughing.] Etym: [OE. laughen, laghen, lauhen, AS. hlehhan, hlihhan, hlyhhan, hliehhan; akin to OS. hlahan, D. & G.lachen, OHG. hlahhan, lahhan, lahh, Icel. hlæja. Dan. lee, Sw. le, Goth. hlahjan; perh. of imitative origin.]

1. To show mirth, satisfaction, or derision, by peculiar movement of the muscles of the face, particularly of the mouth, causing a lighting up of the face and eyes, and usually accompanied by the emission of explosive or chuckling sounds from the chest and throat; to indulge in laughter. Queen Hecuba laughed that her eyes ran o'er. Shak. He laugheth that winneth. Heywood's Prov.

2. Fig.: To be or appear gay, cheerful, pleasant, mirthful, lively, or brilliant; to sparkle; to sport. Then laughs the childish year, with flowerets crowned. Dryden. In Folly's cup still laughs the bubble Joy. Pope. To laugh at, to make an object of laughter or ridicule; to make fun of; to deride. No wit to flatter left of all his store, No fool to laugh at, which he valued more. Pope. — To laugh in the sleeve, to laugh secretly, or so as not to be observed, especially while apparently preserving a grave or serious demeanor toward the person or persons laughed at. — To laugh out, to laugh in spite of some restraining influence; to laugh aloud. — To laugh out of the other corner (or side) of the mouth, to weep or cry; to feel regret, vexation, or disappointment after hilarity or exaltation. [Slang]

LAUGH
Laugh, v. t.

1. To affect or influence by means of laughter or ridicule. Will you laugh me asleep, for I am very heavy Shak. I shall laugh myself to death. Shak.

2. To express by, or utter with, laughter; — with out. From his deep chest laughs out a loud applause. Shak. To laugh away. (a) To drive away by laughter; as, to laugh away regret. (b) To waste in hilarity. "Pompey doth this day laugh away his fortune." Shak. — To laugh down. (a) To cause to cease or desist by laughter; as, to laugh down a speaker. (b) To cause to be given up on account of ridicule; as, to laugh down a reform. — To laugh one out of, to cause one by laughter or ridicule to abandon or give up; as, to laugh one out of a plan or purpose. — To laugh to scorn, to deride; to treat with mockery, contempt, and scorn; to despise.

LAUGH
Laugh, n.

Defn: An expression of mirth peculiar to the human species; the sound heard in laughing; laughter. See Laugh, v. i. And the loud laugh that spoke the vacant mind. Goldsmith. That man is a bad man who has not within him the power of a hearty laugh. F. W. Robertson.

LAUGHABLE
Laugh"a*ble, a.

Defn: Fitted to excite laughter; as, a laughable story; a laughable scene.

Syn.
— Droll; ludicrous; mirthful; comical. See Droll, and Ludicrous.
— Laugh"a*ble*ness, n.
— Laugh"a*bly, adv.

LAUGHER
Laugh"er, n.

1. One who laughs.

2. A variety of the domestic pigeon.

LAUGHING
Laugh"ing, a. & n.

Defn: from Laugh, v. i. Laughing falcon (Zoöl.), a South American hawk (Herpetotheres cachinnans); — so called from its notes, which resemble a shrill laughing. — Laughing gas (Chem.), hyponitrous oxide, or protoxide of nitrogen; — so called from the exhilaration and laughing which it sometimes produces when inhaled. It is much used as an anæsthetic agent. — Laughing goose (Zoöl.), the European white-fronted goose. — Laughing gull. (Zoöl.) (a) A common European gull (Xema ridibundus); — called also pewit, black cap, red-legged gull, and sea crow. (b) An American gull (Larus atricilla). In summer the head is nearly black, the back slate color, and the five outer primaries black. — Laughing hyena (Zoöl.), the spotted hyena. See Hyena. — Laughing jackass (Zoöl.), the great brown kingfisher (Dacelo gigas), of Australia; — called also giant kingfisher, and gogobera. — Laughing owl (Zoöl.), a peculiar owl (Sceloglaux albifacies) of New Zealand, said to be on the verge of extinction. The name alludes to its notes.

LAUGHINGLY
Laugh"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: With laughter or merriment.

LAUGHINGSTOCK
Laugh"ing*stock`, n.

Defn: An object of ridicule; a butt of sport. Shak. When he talked, he talked nonsense, and made himself the laughingstock of his hearers. Macaulay.

LAUGHSOME
Laugh"some, a.

Defn: Exciting laughter; also, addicted to laughter; merry. [R.]

LAUGHTER Laugh"ter, n. Etym: [AS. hleahtor; akin to OHG. hlahtar, G. gelächter, Icel. hlatr, Dan. latter. See Laugh, v. i. ]

Defn: A movement (usually involuntary) of the muscles of the face, particularly of the lips, with a peculiar expression of the eyes, indicating merriment, satisfaction, or derision, and usually attended by a sonorous and interrupted expulsion of air from the lungs. See Laugh, v. i. The act of laughter, which is a sweet contraction of the muscles of the face, and a pleasant agitation of the vocal organs, is not merely, or totally within the jurisdiction of ourselves. Sir T. Browne. Archly the maiden smiled, and with eyes overrunning with laughter. Longfellow.

LAUGHTERLESS
Laugh"ter*less, a.

Defn: Not laughing; without laughter.

LAUGHWORTHY
Laugh"wor`thy, a.

Defn: Deserving to be laughed at. [R.] B. Jonson.

LAUMONTITE
Lau"mont*ite, n. Etym: [From Dr. Laumont, the discoverer.] (Min.)

Defn: 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. [Written also laumonite.]

LAUNCE
Launce, n.

Defn: A lance. [Obs.]

LAUNCE Launce, n. Etym: [It. lance, L. lanx, lancis, plate, scale of a balance. Cf. Balance.]

Defn: A balance. [Obs.]
Fortune all in equal launce doth sway. Spenser.

LAUNCE
Launce, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: See Lant, the fish.

LAUNCEGAYE
Launce"gaye`, n.

Defn: See Langegaye. [Obs.]

LAUNCH Launch, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Launched; p. pr. & vb. n. Launching.] Etym: [OE. launchen to throw as a lance, OF. lanchier, another form of lancier, F. lancer, fr. lance lance. See Lance.] [Written also lanch.]

1. To throw, as a lance or dart; to hurl; to let fly.

2. To strike with, or as with, a lance; to pierce. [Obs.] Launch your hearts with lamentable wounds. Spenser.

3. To cause to move or slide from the land into the water; to set afloat; as, to launch a ship. With stays and cordage last he rigged the ship, And rolled on levers, launched her in the deep. Pope.

4. 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. All art is used to sink episcopacy, and launch presbytery in England. Eikon Basilike.

LAUNCH
Launch, v. i.

Defn: To move with force and swiftness like a sliding from the stocks into the water; to plunge; to make a beginning; as, to launch into the current of a stream; to launch into an argument or discussion; to launch into lavish expenditures; — often with out. Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. Luke v. 4. He [Spenser] launches out into very flowery paths. Prior.

LAUNCH
Launch, n.

1. The act of launching.

2. The movement of a vessel from land into the water; especially, the sliding on ways from the stocks on which it is built.

3. Etym: [Cf. Sp. lancha.] (Naut.)

Defn: 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. Launching ways. (Naut.) See Way, n. (Naut.).

LAUND
Laund (lalnd), n. Etym: [See Lawn of grass.]

Defn: A plain sprinkled with trees or underbrush; a glade. [Obs.]
In a laund upon an hill of flowers. Chaucer.
Through this laund anon the deer will come. Shak.

LAUNDER Laun"der, n. Etym: [Contracted fr. OE. lavender, F. lavandière, LL. lavandena, from L. lavare to wash. See Lave.]

1. A washerwoman. [Obs.]

2. (Mining)

Defn: 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
Laun"der, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Laundered; p. pr. & vb. n. Laundering.]

1. To wash, as clothes; to wash, and to smooth with a flatiron or mangle; to wash and iron; as, to launder shirts.

2. To lave; to wet. [Obs.] Shak.

LAUNDERER
Laun"der*er, n.

Defn: One who follows the business of laundering.

LAUNDERING
Laun"der*ing, n.

Defn: The act, or occupation, of one who launders; washing and ironing.

LAUNDRESS
Laun"dress, n.

Defn: A woman whose employment is laundering.

LAUNDRESS
Laun"dress, v. i.

Defn: To act as a laundress.[Obs.]

LAUNDRY
Laun"dry, n.; pl. Laundries. Etym: [OE. lavendrie, OF. lavanderie.
See Launder.]

1. A laundering; a washing.

2. A place or room where laundering is done.

LAUNDRYMAN
Laun"dry*man, n.; pl. Laundrymen (.

Defn: A man who follows the business of laundering.

LAURA
Lau"ra, n. Etym: [LL., fr. Gr. ( (R. C. Ch.)

Defn: A number of hermitages or cells in the same neighborhood occupied by anchorites who were under the same superior. C. Kingsley.

LAURACEOUS
Lau*ra"ceous, a. Etym: [From Laurus.] (Bot.)

Defn: Belonging to, or resembling, a natural order (Lauraceæ) of trees and shrubs having aromatic bark and foliage, and including the laurel, sassafras, cinnamon tree, true camphor tree, etc.

LAURATE
Lau"rate, n. (Chem.)

Defn: A salt of lauric acid.

LAUREATE Lau"re*ate, a. Etym: [L. laureatus, fr. laurea laurel tree, fr. laureus of laurel, fr. laurus laurel: cf. F. lauréat. Cf. Laurel.]

Defn: Crowned, or decked, with laurel. Chaucer. To strew the laureate hearse where Lycid lies. Milton. Soft on her lap her laureate son reclines. Pope. Poet laureate. (b) One who received an honorable degree in grammar, including poetry and rhetoric, at the English universities; — so called as being presented with a wreath of laurel. [Obs.] (b) Formerly, an officer of the king's household, whose business was to compose an ode annually for the king's birthday, and other suitable occasions; now, a poet officially distinguished by such honorary title, the office being a sinecure. It is said this title was first given in the time of Edward IV. [Eng.]

LAUREATE
Lau"re*ate, n.

Defn: One crowned with laurel; a poet laureate. "A learned laureate."
Cleveland.

LAUREATE
Lau"re*ate, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Laureated; p. pr. & vb. n.
Laureating.]

Defn: To honor with a wreath of laurel, as formerly was done in bestowing a degree at the English universities.

LAUREATESHIP
Lau"re*ate*ship, n.

Defn: State, or office, of a laureate.

LAUREATION
Lau`re*a"tion, n. Etym: [Cf. F. lauréation.]

Defn: The act of crowning with laurel; the act of conferring an academic degree, or honorary title.

LAUREL Lau"rel, n. Etym: [OE. lorel, laurer, lorer, OF. lorier, laurier, F. laurier, (assumed) LL. Laurarius, fr. L. laurus.]

1. (Bot.)

Defn: 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.

Note: The fruit is a purple berry. It is found about the Mediterranean, and was early used by the ancient Greeks to crown the victor in the games of Apollo. At a later period, academic honors were indicated by a crown of laurel, with the fruit. The leaves and tree yield an aromatic oil, used to flavor the bay water of commerce.

Note: The name is extended to other plants which in some respect resemble the true laurel. See Phrases, below.

2. A crown of laurel; hence, honor; distinction; fame; — especially in the plural; as, to win laurels.

3. An English gold coin made in 1619, and so called because the
king's head on it was crowned with laurel. Laurel water, water
distilled from the fresh leaves of the cherry laurel, and containing
prussic acid and other products carried over in the process. American
laurel, or Mountain laurel, Kalmia latifolia. See under Mountain.
— California laurel, Umbellularia Californica.
— Cherry laurel (in England called laurel). See under Cherry.
— Great laurel, the rosebay (Rhododendron maximum).
— Ground laurel, trailing arbutus.
— New Zealand laurel, Laurelia Novæ Zelandiæ.
— Portugal laurel, the Prunus Lusitanica.
— Rose laurel, the oleander. See Oleander.
— Sheep laurel, a poisonous shrub, Kalmia angustifolia, smaller
than the mountain laurel, and with smaller and redder flowers.
— Spurge laurel, Daphne Laureola.
— West Indian laurel, Prunus occidentalis.

LAURELED
Lau"reled, a.

Defn: Crowned with laurel, or with a laurel wreath; laureate.
[Written also laurelled.]

LAURENTIAN
Lau*ren"tian, a.

Defn: Pertaining to, or near, the St. Lawrence River; as, the Laurentian hills. Laurentian period (Geol.), the lower of the two divisions of the Archæan age; — called also the Laurentian.

LAURER
Lau"rer, n.

Defn: Laurel. [Obs.] Chaucer.

LAURESTINE Lau"res*tine, n. Etym: [NL. lautus tinus, fr. L. laurus the laurel + tinus laurestine. See Laurel.] (Bot.)

Defn: The Viburnum Tinus, an evergreen shrub or tree of the south of Europe, which flowers during the winter mouths. [Written also laurustine and laurestina.]

LAURIC
Lau"ric, a.

Defn: Pertaining to, or derived from, the European bay or laurel (Laurus nobilis). Lauric acid (Chem.), a white, crystalline substance, C12H24O2, resembling palmitic acid, and obtained from the fruit of the bay tree, and other sources.

LAURIFEROUS
Lau*rif"er*ous, a. Etym: [L. laurifer; laurus + ferre to bear.]

Defn: Producing, or bringing, laurel.

LAURIN
Lau"rin, n. Etym: [Cf. F. laurine.] (Chem.)

Defn: 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
Lau"ri*nol, n. Etym: [Laurin + -ol.] (Chem.)

Defn: Ordinary camphor; — so called in allusion to the family name
(Lauraceæ) of the camphor trees. See Camphor.

LAURIOL
Lau"ri*ol, n.

Defn: Spurge laurel. [Obs.] Chaucer.

LAURITE
Lau"rite, n. Etym: [Etymol. uncertain.] (Min.)

Defn: A rare sulphide of osmium and ruthenium found with platinum in
Borneo and Oregon.

LAURONE
Lau"rone, n. Etym: [Lauric + -one.] (Chem.)

Defn: The ketone of lauric acid.

LAURUS
Lau"rus, n. Etym: [L., laurel.] (Bot.)

Defn: A genus of trees including, according to modern authors, only the true laurel (Laurus nobilis), and the larger L. Canariensis of Madeira and the Canary Islands. Formerly the sassafras, the camphor tree, the cinnamon tree, and several other aromatic trees and shrubs, were also referred to the genus Laurus.

LAUS
Laus, a.

Defn: Loose. [Obs.] Chaucer.

LAUTVERSCHIEBUNG Laut"ver*schie`bung, n.; pl. -schiebungen. [G.; laut sound + verschiebung shifting.] (Philol.) (a) The regular changes which the primitive Indo-European stops, or mute consonants, underwent in the Teutonic languages, probably as early as the 3d century b. c. , often called the first Lautverschiebung, sound shifting, or consonant shifting. (b) A somewhat similar set of changes taking place in the High German dialects (less fully in modern literary German) from the 6th to the 8th century, known as the second Lautverschiebung, the result of which form the striking differences between High German and The Low German Languages. The statement of these changes is commonly regarded as forming part of Grimm's law, because included in it as originally framed.

LAVA La"va, n. Etym: [It. lava lava, orig. in Naples, a torrent of rain overflowing the streets, fr. It. & L. lavare to wash. See Lave.]

Defn: The melted rock ejected by a volcano from its top or fissured sides. It flows out in streams sometimes miles in length. It also issues from fissures in the earth's surface, and forms beds covering many square miles, as in the Northwestern United States.

Note: Lavas are classed, according to their structure, as scoriaceous or cellular, glassy, stony, etc., and according to the material of which they consist, as doleritic, trachytic, etc. Lava millstone, a hard and coarse basaltic millstone from the neighborhood of the Rhine. — Lava ware, a kind of cheap pottery made of iron slag cast into tiles, urns, table tops, etc., resembling lava in appearance.

LA VALLIERE; LAVALLIERE
La val`liere", or La`val`liere", n.

Defn: A neck ornament consisting of a chain and single pendant, or drop.

LAVARET
Lav"a*ret, n. Etym: [F.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A European whitefish (Coregonus laveretus), found in the mountain lakes of Sweden, Germany, and Switzerland.

LAVATIC
La*vat"ic, a.

Defn: Like lava, or composed of lava; lavic.

LAVATION
La*va"tion, n. Etym: [L. lavatio: cf. OF. lavation.]

Defn: A washing or cleansing. [Obs. or R.]

LAVATORY
Lav"a*to*ry, a.

Defn: Washing, or cleansing by washing.

LAVATORY
Lav"a*to*ry, n.; pl. Lavatories. Etym: [L. lavatorium: cf. lavatoire.
See Lave to wash, and cf. Laver.]

1. A place for washing.

2. A basin or other vessel for washing in.

3. A wash or lotion for a diseased part.

4. A place where gold is obtained by washing.

LAVATURE
Lav"a*ture, n.

Defn: A wash or lotion. [Obs.]

LAVE
Lave, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Laved; p. pr. & vb. n. Laving.] Etym: [F.
laver, L. lavare, akin to luere to wash, Gr. Ablution, Deluge,
Lavender, Lava, Lotion.]

Defn: To wash; to bathe; as, to lave a bruise.
His feet the foremost breakers lave. Byron.

LAVE
Lave, v. i.

Defn: To bathe; to wash one's self.
In her chaste current oft the goddess laves. Pope.

LAVE
Lave, v. t. Etym: [OE. laven. See Lavish.]

Defn: To lade, dip, or pour out. [Obs.] Dryden.

LAVE
Lave, n. Etym: [AS. laf the remainder, what is left. Leave.]

Defn: The remainder; others. [Scot.] Bp. Hall.

LAVE-EARED Lave"-eared`, a. Etym: [Cf. W. llaf that extends round, llipa flaccid, flapping, G. lapp flabby, lappohr flap ear.]

Defn: Having large, pendent ears. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.

LAVEER
La*veer", v. i. Etym: [D. laveren.] (Naut.)

Defn: To beat against the wind; to tack. [Obs.] Dryden.

LAVEMENT
Lave"ment, n. Etym: [F. lavement, fr. laver to wash.]

Defn: A washing or bathing; also, a clyster.

LAVENDER Lav"en*der, n. Etym: [OE. lavendre, F. lavande, It. lavanda lavender, a washing, fr. L. lavare to wash; cf. It. lsavendola, LL. lavendula. So called because it was used in bathing and washing. See Lave. to wash, and cf. Lavender.]

1. (Bot.)

Defn: 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.

2. The pale, purplish color of lavender flowers, paler and more delicate than lilac. Lavender cotton (Bot.), a low, twiggy, aromatic shrub (Santolina Chamæcyparissus) of the Mediterranean region, formerly used as a vermifuge, etc., and still used to keep moths from wardrobes. Also called ground cypress. — Lavender water, a perfume composed of alcohol, essential oil of lavender, essential oil of bergamot, and essence of ambergris. — Sea lavender. (Bot.) See Marsh rosemary. — To lay in lavender. (a) To lay away, as clothing, with sprigs of lavender. (b) To pawn. [Obs.]

LAVER Lav"er, n. Etym: [OE. lavour, F. lavoir, L. lavatorium a washing place. See Lavatory.]

1. A vessel for washing; a large basin.

2. (Script. Hist.) (a) A large brazen vessel placed in the court of the Jewish tabernacle where the officiating priests washed their hands and feet. (b) One of several vessels in Solomon's Temple in which the offerings for burnt sacrifices were washed.

3. That which washes or cleanses. J. H. Newman.

LAVER
Lav"er, n. Etym: [From Lave to wash.]

Defn: One who laves; a washer. [Obs.]

LAVER
La"ver, n.

Defn: The fronds of certain marine algæ used as food, and for making a sauce called laver sauce. Green laver is the Ulva latissima; purlpe laver, Porphyra laciniata and P. vulgaris. It is prepared by stewing, either alone or with other vegetables, and with various condiments; - - called also sloke, or sloakan. Mountain laver (Bot.), a reddish gelatinous alga of the genus Palmella, found on the sides of mountains

LAVEROCK
La"ver*ock, n. Etym: [See Lark the bird.]

Defn: The lark. [Old Eng. & Scot.] [Written also lavrock.] Gower.

LAVIC
La"vic, a.

Defn: See Lavatic.

LAVISH Lav"ish, a. Etym: [Akin to E. lave to lade out; cf. AS. gelafian to refresh, G. laben.]

1. Expending or bestowing profusely; profuse; prodigal; as, lavish of money; lavish of praise.

2. Superabundant; excessive; as, lavish spirits. Let her have needful, but not lavish, means. Shak.

Syn.
— Profuse; prodigal; wasteful; extravagant; exuberant; immoderate.
See Profuse.

LAVISH
Lav"ish, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Lavished; p. pr. & vb. n. Lavishing.]

Defn: To expend or bestow with profusion; to use with prodigality; to squander; as, to lavish money or praise.

LAVISHER
Lav"ish*er, n.

Defn: One who lavishes.

LAVISHLY
Lav"ish*ly, adv.

Defn: In a lavish manner.

LAVISHMENT
Lav"ish*ment, n.

Defn: The act of lavishing.

LAVISHNESS
Lav"ish*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being lavish.

LAVOESIUM La*voe"si*um, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Lavoisier, the celebrated French chemist.] (Chem.)

Defn: 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.

LAVOLT; LAVOLTA
La*volt", La*vol"ta, n. Etym: [It.la volta the turn, turning, whirl.
Cf. Volt of a horse, Volta.]

Defn: An old dance, for two persons, being a kind of waltz, in which the woman made a high spring or bound. Shak.

LAVOLTATEER
La*vol`ta*teer", n.

Defn: A dancer of the lavolta.

LAVOUR
Lav"our, n.

Defn: A laver. [Obs.] Chaucer.

LAVROCK
La"vrock, n.

Defn: Same as Laverock.

LAW Law, n. Etym: [OE. lawe, laghe, AS. lagu, from the root of E. lie: akin to OS. lag, Icel. lög, Sw. lag, Dan. lov; cf. L. lex, E. legal. A law is that which is laid, set, or fixed; like statute, fr. L. statuere to make to stand. See Lie to be prostrate.]

1. 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.

Note: A law may be universal or particular, written or unwritten, published or secret. From the nature of the highest laws a degree of permanency or stability is always implied; but the power which makes a law, or a superior power, may annul or change it. These are the statutes and judgments and law, which the Lord made. Lev. xxvi. 46. The law of thy God, and the law of the King. Ezra vii. 26. As if they would confine the Interminable . . . Who made our laws to bind us, not himself. Milton. His mind his kingdom, and his will his law. Cowper.

2. 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.

3. The Jewish or Mosaic code, and that part of Scripture where it is written, in distinction from the gospel; hence, also, the Old Testament. What things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law . . . But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets. Rom. iii. 19, 21.

4. In human government: (a) An organic rule, as a constitution or charter, establishing and defining the conditions of the existence of a state or other organized community. (b) Any edict, decree, order, ordinance, statute, resolution, judicial, decision, usage, etc., or recognized, and enforced, by the controlling authority.

5. In philosophy and physics: A rule of being, operation, or change, so certain and constant that it is conceived of as imposed by the will of God or by some controlling authority; as, the law of gravitation; the laws of motion; the law heredity; the laws of thought; the laws of cause and effect; law of self-preservation.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. Collectively, the whole body of rules relating to one subject, or emanating from one source; — including usually the writings pertaining to them, and judicial proceedings under them; as, divine law; English law; Roman law; the law of real property; insurance law.

9. Legal science; jurisprudence; the principles of equity; applied
justice.
Reason is the life of the law; nay, the common law itself is nothing
else but reason. Coke.
Law is beneficence acting by rule. Burke.
And sovereign Law, that state's collected will O'er thrones and
globes elate, Sits empress, crowning good, repressing ill. Sir W.
Jones.

10. Trial by the laws of the land; judicial remedy; litigation; as,
to go law.
When every case in law is right. Shak.
He found law dear and left it cheap. Brougham.

11. An oath, as in the presence of a court. [Obs.] See Wager of law, under Wager. Avogadro's law (Chem.), a fundamental conception, according to which, under similar conditions of temperature and pressure, all gases and vapors contain in the same volume the same number of ultimate molecules; — so named after Avogadro, an Italian scientist. Sometimes called Ampère's law. — Bode's law (Astron.), an approximative empirical expression of the distances of the planets from the sun, as follows: — Mer. Ven. Earth. Mars. Aste. Jup. Sat. Uran. Nep. 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 0 3 6 12 24 48 96 192 384 — — — — — — — —- —-4 7 10 16 28 52 100 196 388 5.9 7.3 10 15.2 27.4 52 95.4 192 300 where each distance (line third) is the sum of 4 and a multiple of 3 by the series 0, 1, 2, 4, 8, etc., the true distances being given in the lower line. — Boyle's law (Physics), an expression of the fact, that when an elastic fluid is subjected to compression, and kept at a constant temperature, the product of the pressure and volume is a constant quantity, i. e., the volume is inversely proportioned to the pressure; — known also as Mariotte's law, and the law of Boyle and Mariotte. — Brehon laws. See under Brehon. — Canon law, the body of ecclesiastical law adopted in the Christian Church, certain portions of which (for example, the law of marriage as existing before the Council of Tent) were brought to America by the English colonists as part of the common law of the land. Wharton. — Civil law, a term used by writers to designate Roman law, with modifications thereof which have been made in the different countries into which that law has been introduced. The civil law, instead of the common law, prevails in the State of Louisiana. Wharton. — Commercial law. See Law merchant (below). — Common law. See under Common. — Criminal law, that branch of jurisprudence which relates to crimes. — Ecclesiastical law. See under Ecclesiastical. — Grimm's law (Philol.), a statement (propounded by the German philologist Jacob Grimm) of certain regular changes which the primitive Indo-European mute consonants, so-called (most plainly seen in Sanskrit and, with some changes, in Greek and Latin), have undergone in the Teutonic languages. Examples: Skr. bhatr, L. frater, E. brother, G. bruder; L. tres, E. three, G. drei, Skr. go, E. cow, G. kuh; Skr. dha to put, Gr. ti-qe`-nai, E. do, OHG, tuon, G. thun. — Kepler's laws (Astron.), three important laws or expressions of the order of the planetary motions, discovered by John Kepler. They are these: (1) The orbit of a planet with respect to the sun is an ellipse, the sun being in one of the foci. (2) The areas swept over by a vector drawn from the sun to a planet are proportioned to the times of describing them. (3) The squares of the times of revolution of two planets are in the ratio of the cubes of their mean distances. — Law binding, a plain style of leather binding, used for law books; — called also law calf. — Law book, a book containing, or treating of, laws. — Law calf. See Law binding (above). — Law day. (a) Formerly, a day of holding court, esp. a court-leet. (b) The day named in a mortgage for the payment of the money to secure which it was given. [U. S.] — Law French, the dialect of Norman, which was used in judicial proceedings and law books in England from the days of William the Conqueror to the thirty-sixth year of Edward III. — Law language, the language used in legal writings and forms. — Law Latin. See under Latin. — Law lords, peers in the British Parliament who have held high judicial office, or have been noted in the legal profession. — Law merchant, or Commercial law, a system of rules by which trade and commerce are regulated; — deduced from the custom of merchants, and regulated by judicial decisions, as also by enactments of legislatures. — Law of Charles (Physics), the law that the volume of a given mass of gas increases or decreases, by a definite fraction of its value for a given rise or fall of temperature; — sometimes less correctly styled Gay Lussac's law, or Dalton's law. — Law of nations. See International law, under International. — Law of nature. (a) A broad generalization expressive of the constant action, or effect, of natural conditions; as, death is a law of nature; self-defense is a law of nature. See Law, 4. (b) A term denoting the standard, or system, of morality deducible from a study of the nature and natural relations of human beings independent of supernatural revelation or of municipal and social usages. — Law of the land, due process of law; the general law of the land. — Laws of honor. See under Honor. — Laws of motion (Physics), three laws defined by Sir Isaac Newton: (1) Every body perseveres in its state of rest or of moving uniformly in a straight line, except so far as it is made to change that state by external force. (2) Change of motion is proportional to the impressed force, and takes place in the direction in which the force is impressed. (3) Reaction is always equal and opposite to action, that is to say, the actions of two bodies upon each other are always equal and in opposite directions. — Marine law, or Maritime law, the law of the sea; a branch of the law merchant relating to the affairs of the sea, such as seamen, ships, shipping, navigation, and the like. Bouvier. — Mariotte's law. See Boyle's law (above). — Martial law.See under Martial. — Military law, a branch of the general municipal law, consisting of rules ordained for the government of the military force of a state in peace and war, and administered in courts martial. Kent. Warren's Blackstone. — Moral law,the law of duty as regards what is right and wrong in the sight of God; specifically, the ten commandments given by Moses. See Law, 2. — Mosaic, or Ceremonial, law. (Script.) See Law, 3. — Municipal, or Positive, law, a rule prescribed by the supreme power of a state, declaring some right, enforcing some duty, or prohibiting some act; — distinguished from international and constitutional law. See Law, 1. — Periodic law. (Chem.) See under Periodic. — Roman law, the system of principles and laws found in the codes and treatises of the lawmakers and jurists of ancient Rome, and incorporated more or less into the laws of the several European countries and colonies founded by them. See Civil law (above). — Statute law, the law as stated in statutes or positive enactments of the legislative body. — Sumptuary law. See under Sumptuary. — To go to law, to seek a settlement of any matter by bringing it before the courts of law; to sue or prosecute some one. — To take, or have, the law of, to bring the law to bear upon; as, to take the law of one's neighbor. Addison. — Wager of law. See under Wager.

Syn. — Justice; equity. — Law, Statute, Common law, Regulation, Edict, Decree. Law is generic, and, when used with reference to, or in connection with, the other words here considered, denotes whatever is commanded by one who has a right to require obedience. A statute is a particular law drawn out in form, and distinctly enacted and proclaimed. Common law is a rule of action founded on long usage and the decisions of courts of justice. A regulation is a limited and often, temporary law, intended to secure some particular end or object. An edict is a command or law issued by a sovereign, and is peculiar to a despotic government. A decree is a permanent order either of a court or of the executive government. See Justice.

LAW
Law, v. t.

Defn: Same as Lawe, v. t. [Obs.]

LAW
Law, interj. Etym: [Cf. La.]

Defn: An exclamation of mild surprise. [Archaic or Low]

LAW-ABIDING
Law"-a*bid`ing, a.

Defn: 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.

LAWBREAKER
Law"break`er, n.

Defn: One who disobeys the law; a criminal.
— Law"break`ing, n. & a.

LAWE
Lawe, v. t. Etym: [See 2d Lawing.]

Defn: To cut off the claws and balls of, as of a dog's fore feet.
Wright.

LAWER
Law"er, n.

Defn: A lawyer. [Obs.] Bale.

LAWFUL
Law"ful, a.

1. Conformable to law; allowed by law; legitimate; competent.

2. Constituted or authorized by law; rightful; as, the lawful owner of lands. Lawful age, the age when the law recognizes one's right of independent action; majority; — generally the age of twenty-one years.

Note: In some of the States, and for some purposes, a woman attains lawful age at eighteen. Abbott.

Syn. — Legal; constitutional; allowable; regular; rightful. — Lawful, Legal. Lawful means conformable to the principle, spirit, or essence of the law, and is applicable to moral as well as juridical law. Legal means conformable to the letter or rules of the law as it is administered in the courts; conformable to juridical law. Legal is often used as antithetical to equitable, but lawful is seldom used in that sense. — Law"ful*ly, adv. — Law"ful*ness, n.

LAWGIVER
Law"giv`er, n.

Defn: One who makes or enacts a law or system of laws; a legislator.

LAWGIVING
Law"giv`ing, a.

Defn: Enacting laws; legislative.

LAWING
Law"ing, n.

Defn: Going to law; litigation. Holinshed.

LAWING
Law"ing, n. Etym: [So called because done in compliance with an
English forest law.]

Defn: Expeditation. Blackstone.

LAWLESS
Law"less, a.

1. Contrary to, or unauthorized by, law; illegal; as, a lawless claim. He needs no indirect nor lawless course. Shak.

2. Not subject to, or restrained by, the law of morality or of society; as, lawless men or behavior.

3. Not subject to the laws of nature; uncontrolled.
Or, meteorlike, flame lawless through the void. Pope.
— Law"less*ly, adv.
— Law"less*ness, n.

LAWMAKER
Law"mak`er, n.

Defn: A legislator; a lawgiver.

LAWMAKING
Law"mak`ing, a.

Defn: Enacting laws; legislative.
— n.

Defn: The enacting of laws; legislation.

LAWMONGER
Law"mon`ger, n.

Defn: A trader in law; one who practices law as if it were a trade.
Milton.

LAWN Lawn, n. Etym: [OE. laund, launde, F. lande heath, moor; of Celtic origin; cf. W. llan an open, clear place, llawnt a smooth rising hill, lawn, Armor. lann or lan territory, country, lann a prickly plant, pl. lannou heath, moor.]

1. An open space between woods. Milton. "Orchard lawns and bowery hollows." Tennyson.

2. Ground (generally in front of or around a house) covered with grass kept closely mown. Lawn mower, a machine for clipping the short grass of lawns. — Lawn tennis, a variety of the game of tennis, played in the open air, sometimes upon a lawn, instead of in a tennis court. See Tennis.

LAWN Lawn, n. Etym: [Earlier laune lynen, i. e., lawn linen; prob. from the town Laon in France.]

Defn: 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. A saint in crape is twice in lawn. Pope.

LAWND
Lawnd, n. [Obs.]

Defn: See Laund.

LAWNY
Lawn"y, a.

Defn: Having a lawn; characterized by a lawn or by lawns; like a
lawn.
Musing through the lawny park. T. Warton.

LAWNY
Lawn"y, a.

Defn: Made of lawn or fine linen. Bp. Hall.

LAWSONIA
Law*so"ni*a, n. (Bot.)

Defn: An Asiatic and North African shrub (Lawsonia inermis), with smooth oval leaves, and fragrant white flowers. Henna is prepared from the leaves and twigs. In England the shrub is called Egyptian privet, and in the West Indies, Jamaica mignonette.

LAWSUIT
Law"suit`, n.

Defn: An action at law; a suit in equity or admiralty; any legal proceeding before a court for the enforcement of a claim.

LAWYER
Law"yer, n. Etym: [From Law, like bowyer, fr.bow.]

1. One versed in the laws, or a practitioner of law; one whose profession is to conduct lawsuits for clients, or to advise as to prosecution or defence of lawsuits, or as to legal rights and obligations in other matters. It is a general term, comprehending attorneys, counselors, solicitors, barristers, sergeants, and advocates.

2. (Zoöl.) (a) The black-necked stilt. See Stilt. (b) The bowfin (Amia calva). (c) The burbot (Lota maculosa).

LAWYERLIKE; LAWYERLY
Law"yer*like`, Law"yer*ly, a.

Defn: Like, or becoming, a lawyer; as, lawyerlike sagacity. "Lawyerly mooting of this point." Milton.

LAX
Lax, a. [Compar. Laxer; superl. Laxest.] Etym: [L. laxus Cf. Laches,
Languish, Lease, v. t., Leash.]

1. Not tense, firm, or rigid; loose; slack; as, a lax bandage; lax fiber. The flesh of that sort of fish being lax and spongy. Ray.

2. Not strict or stringent; not exact; loose; weak; vague; equivocal.
The discipline was lax. Macaulay.
Society at that epoch was lenient, if not lax, in matters of the
passions. J. A. Symonds.
The word "æternus" itself is sometimes of a lax signification.
Jortin.

3. Having a looseness of the bowels; diarrheal.

Syn. — Loose; slack; vague; unconfined; unrestrained; dissolute; licentious.

LAX
Lax, n.

Defn: A looseness; diarrhea.

LAXATION Lax*a"tion, n. Etym: [L. laxatio, fr. laxare to loosen, fr. laxus loose, slack.]

Defn: The act of loosening or slackening, or the state of being loosened or slackened.

LAXATIVE Lax"a*tive, a. Etym: [L. laxativus mitigating, assuaging: cf. F. laxatif. See Lax, a.]

1. Having a tendency to loosen or relax. Milton.

2. (Med.)

Defn: Having the effect of loosening or opening the intestines, and relieving from constipation; — opposed to astringent. — n. (Med.)

Defn: A laxative medicine. See the Note under Cathartic.

LAXATIVENESS
Lax"a*tive*ness, n.

Defn: The quality of being laxative.

LAXATOR
Lax*a"tor, n. Etym: [NL., fr. L. laxare, laxatum, to loosen.] (Anat.)

Defn: That which loosens; — esp., a muscle which by its contraction loosens some part.

LAXIITY Lax"i*ty, n. Etym: [L. laxitas, fr. laxus loose, slack: cf. F. laxité, See Lax, a.]

Defn: The state or quality of being lax; want of tenseness, strictness, or exactness.

LAXITY Lax"i*ty (laks"i*ty), n. [L. laxitas, fr. laxus loose, slack: cf. F. laxité, See Lax, a.]

Defn: The state or quality of being lax; want of tenseness, strictness, or exactness.

LAXLY
Lax"ly, adv.

Defn: In a lax manner.

LAXNESS
Lax"ness, n.

Defn: The state of being lax; laxity.

LAY
Lay, imp.

Defn: of Lie, to recline.

LAY
Lay, a. Etym: [F. lai, L. laicus, Gr. Laic.]

1. Of or pertaining to the laity, as distinct from the clergy; as, a lay person; a lay preacher; a lay brother.

2. Not educated or cultivated; ignorant.[Obs.]

3. Not belonging to, or emanating from, a particular profession; unprofessional; as, a lay opinion regarding the nature of a disease. Lay baptism (Eccl.), baptism administered by a lay person. F. G. Lee. — Lay brother (R. C. Ch.), one received into a convent of monks under the three vows, but not in holy orders. — Lay clerk (Eccl.), a layman who leads the responses of the congregation, etc., in the church service. Hook. — Lay days (Com.), time allowed in a charter party for taking in and discharging cargo. McElrath. — Lay elder. See 2d Elder, 3, note.

LAY
Lay, n.

Defn: The laity; the common people. [Obs.]
The learned have no more privilege than the lay. B. Jonson.

LAY
Lay, n.

Defn: A meadow. See Lea. [Obs.] Dryden.

LAY
Lay, n. Etym: [OF.lei faith, law, F. loi law. See Legal.]

1. Faith; creed; religious profession. [Obs.] Of the sect to which that he was born He kept his lay, to which that he was sworn. Chaucer.

2. A law. [Obs.] "Many goodly lays." Spenser.

3. An obligation; a vow. [Obs.] They bound themselves by a sacred lay and oath. Holland.

LAY Lay, a. Etym: [OF. lai, lais, prob. of Celtic origin; cf. Ir. laoi, laoidh, song, poem, OIr.laoidh poem, verse; but cf. also AS. lac play, sport, G. leich a sort of poem (cf. Lake to sport).

1. A song; a simple lyrical poem; a ballad. Spenser. Sir W. Scott.

2. A melody; any musical utterance. The throstle cock made eke his lay. Chaucer.

LAY
Lay, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Laid; p. pr. & vb. n. Laying.] Etym: [OE.
leggen, AS. lecgan, causative, fr. licgan to lie; akin to D.leggen,
G. legen, Icel. leggja, Goth. lagjan. See Lie to be prostrate.]

1. 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. A stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den. Dan. vi. 17. Soft on the flowery herb I found me laid. Milton.

2. 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.

3. To prepare; to make ready; to contrive; to provide; as, to lay a snare, an ambush, or a plan.

4. To spread on a surface; as, to lay plaster or paint.

5. To cause to be still; to calm; to allay; to suppress; to exorcise, as an evil spirit. After a tempest when the winds are laid. Waller.

6. To cause to lie dead or dying. Brave Cæneus laid Ortygius on the plain, The victor Cæneus was by Turnus slain. Dryden.

7. To deposit, as a wager; to stake; to risk. I dare lay mine honor He will remain so. Shak.

8. To bring forth and deposit; as, to lay eggs.

9. To apply; to put. She layeth her hands to the spindle. Prov. xxxi. 19.

10. To impose, as a burden, suffering, or punishment; to assess, as a tax; as, to lay a tax on land. The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. Is. Iiii. 6.

11. To impute; to charge; to allege. God layeth not folly to them. Job xxiv. 12. Lay the fault on us. Shak.

12. To impose, as a command or a duty; as, to lay commands on one.

13. To present or offer; as, to lay an indictment in a particular county; to lay a scheme before one.

14. (Law)

Defn: To state; to allege; as, to lay the venue. Bouvier.

15. (Mil.)

Defn: To point; to aim; as, to lay a gun.

16. (Rope Making)

Defn: 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.

17. (Print.) (a) To place and arrange (pages) for a form upon the imposing stone. (b) To place (new type) properly in the cases. To lay asleep, to put sleep; to make unobservant or careless. Bacon. — To lay bare, to make bare; to strip. And laid those proud roofs bare to summer's rain. Byron. — To lay before, to present to; to submit for consideration; as, the papers are laid before Congress. — To lay by. (a) To save. (b) To discard. Let brave spirits . . . not be laid by. Bacon. — To lay by the heels, to put in the stocks. Shak. — To lay down. (a) To stake as a wager. (b) To yield; to relinquish; to surrender; as, to lay down one's life; to lay down one's arms. (c) To assert or advance, as a proposition or principle. — To lay forth. (a) To extend at length; (reflexively) to exert one's self; to expatiate. [Obs.] (b) To lay out (as a corpse). [Obs.] Shak. — To lay hands on, to seize. — To lay hands on one's self, or To lay violent hands on one's self, to injure one's self; specif., to commit suicide. — To lay heads together, to consult. — To lay hold of, or To lay hold on, to seize; to catch. — To lay in, to store; to provide. — To lay it on, to apply without stint. Shak. — To lay on, to apply with force; to inflict; as, to lay on blows. — To lay on load, to lay on blows; to strike violently. [Obs. or Archaic] — To lay one's self out, to strive earnestly. No selfish man will be concerned to lay out himself for the good of his country. Smalridge. — To lay one's self open to, to expose one's self to, as to an accusation. — To lay open, to open; to uncover; to expose; to reveal. — To lay over, to spread over; to cover. — To lay out. (a) To expend. Macaulay. (b) To display; to discover. (c) To plan in detail; to arrange; as, to lay out a garden. (d) To prepare for burial; as, to lay out a corpse. (e) To exert; as, to lay out all one's strength. — To lay siege to. (a) To besiege; to encompass with an army. (b) To beset pertinaciously. — To lay the course (Naut.), to sail toward the port intended without jibing. — To lay the land (Naut.), to cause it to disappear below the horizon, by sailing away from it. — To lay to (a) To charge upon; to impute. (b) To apply with vigor. (c) To attack or harass. [Obs.] Knolles. (d) (Naut.) To check the motion of (a vessel) and cause it to be stationary. — To lay to heart, to feel deeply; to consider earnestly. — To lay under, to subject to; as, to lay under obligation or restraint. — To lay unto. (a) Same as To lay to (above). (b) To put before. Hos. xi. 4. — To lay up. (a) To store; to reposit for future use. (b) To confine; to disable. (c) To dismantle, and retire from active service, as a ship. — To lay wait for, to lie in ambush for. — To lay waste, to destroy; to make desolate; as, to lay waste the land.

Syn.
— See Put, v. t., and the Note under 4th Lie.

LAY
Lay, v. i.

1. To produce and deposit eggs.

2. (Naut.)

Defn: To take a position; to come or go; as, to lay forward; to lay aloft.

3. To lay a wager; to bet. To lay about, or To lay about one, to
strike vigorously in all directions. J. H. Newman.
— To lay at, to strike or strike at. Spenser.
— To lay for, to prepare to capture or assault; to lay wait for.
[Colloq.] Bp Hall.
— To lay in for, to make overtures for; to engage or secure the
possession of. [Obs.] "I have laid in for these." Dryden.
— To lay on, to strike; to beat; to attack. Shak.
— To lay out, to purpose; to plan; as, he lays out to make a
journey.

LAY
Lay, n.

1. 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. Addison. A viol should have a lay of wire strings below. Bacon.

Note: The lay of a rope is right-handed or left-handed according to the hemp or strands are laid up. See Lay, v. t., 16. The lay of land is its topographical situation, esp. its slope and its surface features.

2. A wager. "My fortunes against any lay worth naming."

3. (a) A job, price, or profit. [Prov. Eng.] Wright. (b) 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. [U. S.]

4. (Textile Manuf.) (a) A measure of yarn; a les. See 1st Lea (a). (b) The lathe of a loom. See Lathe, 8.

5. A plan; a scheme. [Slang] Dickens. Lay figure. (a) A jointed model of the human body that may be put in any attitude; — used for showing the disposition of drapery, etc. (b) A mere puppet; one who serves the will of others without independent volition. — Lay race, that part of a lay on which the shuttle travels in weaving; — called also shuttle race.

LAYER
Lay"er, n. Etym: [See Lay to cause to lie flat.]

1. One who, or that which, lays.

2. Etym: [Prob. a corruption of lair.]

Defn: 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.

3. A shoot or twig of a plant, not detached from the stock, laid under ground for growth or propagation.

4. An artificial oyster bed.

LAYERING
Lay"er*ing, n.

Defn: A propagating by layers. Gardner.

LAYETTE
Lay*ette", n. [F.] (Med.)

Defn: The outfit of clothing, blankets, etc., prepared for a newborn infant, and placed ready for used.

LAYING
Lay"ing, n.

1. The act of one who, or that which, lays.

2. The act or period of laying eggs; the eggs laid for one incubation; a clutch.

3. The first coat on laths of plasterer's two-coat work.

LAYLAND
Lay"land`, n. Etym: [Lay a meadow + land.]

Defn: Land lying untilled; fallow ground. [Obs.] Blount.

LAYMAN
Lay"man n.; pl. Laymen (. Etym: [Lay, adj. + man.]

1. 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. Being a layman, I ought not to have concerned myself with speculations which belong to the profession. Dryden.

2. A lay figure. See under Lay, n. (above). Dryden

LAYNER
Lay"ner, n.Etym: [See Lanier.]

Defn: A whiplash. [Obs.]

LAY READER
Lay" read"er. (Eccl.)

Defn: A layman authorized to read parts of the public service of the church.

LAY SHAFT; LAYSHAFT
Lay shaft, or Lay"shaft`, n. (Mach.)

Defn: A secondary shaft, as in a sliding change gear for an automobile; a cam shaft operated by a two-to-one gear in an internal- combustion engine. It is generally a shaft moving more or less independently of the other parts of a machine, as, in some marine engines, a shaft, driven by a small auxiliary engine, for independently operating the valves of the main engine to insure uniform motion.

LAYSHIP
Lay"ship, n.

Defn: The condition of being a layman. [Obs.] Milton.

LAYSTALL
Lay"stall`, n.

1. A place where rubbish, dung, etc., are laid or deposited.[Obs.] B. Jonson. Smithfield was a laystall of all ordure and filth. Bacon.

2. A place where milch cows are kept, or cattle on the way to market are lodged. [Obs.]

LAZAR
La"zar, n. Etym: [OF. lazare, fr. Lazarus the beggar. Luke xvi. 20.]

Defn: A person infected with a filthy or pestilential disease; a
leper. Chaucer.
Like loathsome lazars, by the hedges lay. Spenser.
Lazar house a lazaretto; also, a hospital for quarantine.

LAZARET; LAZARETTO Laz`a*ret", Laz`a*ret"to, n. Etym: [F. lazaret, or It. lazzeretto, fr. Lazarus. See Lazar.]

Defn: A public building, hospital, or pesthouse for the reception of diseased persons, particularly those affected with contagious diseases.

LAZARET FEVER
Lazaret fever. (Med.)

Defn: Typhus fever.

LAZARIST; LAZARITE
Laz"a*rist, Laz"a*rite, n. (R. C. Ch.)

Defn: 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.

LAZARLIKE; LAZARLY
La"zar*like`, La"zar*ly, a.

Defn: Full of sores; leprous. Shak. Bp. Hall.

LAZARONI
Laz`a*ro"ni, n. pl.

Defn: See Lazzaroni.

LAZARWORT
La"zar*wort`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: Laserwort.

LAZE
Laze, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Lazed; p. pr. & vb. n. Lazing.] Etym: [See
Lazy.]

Defn: To be lazy or idle. [Colloq.] Middleton.

LAZE
Laze, v. t.

Defn: To waste in sloth; to spend, as time, in idleness; as, to laze away whole days. [Colloq.]

LAZILY
La"zi*ly, adv.

Defn: In a lazy manner. Locke.

LAZINESS
La"zi*ness, n.

Defn: The state or quality of being lazy.
Laziness travels so slowly, that Poverty soon overtakes him.
Franklin.

LAZULI Laz"u*li, n.Etym: [F. & NL. lapis lazuli, LL. lazulus, lazurius, lazur from the same Oriental source as E. azure. See Azure.] (Min.)

Defn: A mineral of a fine azure-blue color, usually in small rounded masses. It is essentially a silicate of alumina, lime, and soda, with some sodium sulphide, is often marked by yellow spots or veins of sulphide of iron, and is much valued for ornamental work. Called also lapis lazuli, and Armenian stone.

LAZULITE
Laz"u*lite, n. Etym: [From lazuli : cf. F. lazulite, G. lazulith.]
(Min.)

Defn: 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.

LAZY La"zy, a. [Compar. Lazier; superl. Laziest.] Etym: [OE. lasie, laesic, of uncertain origin; cf. F. las tired, L. lassus, akin to E. late; or cf. LG. losig, lesig.]

1. Disinclined to action or exertion; averse to labor; idle; shirking work. Bacon.

2. Inactive; slothful; slow; sluggish; as, a lazy stream. "The night owl's lazy flight." Shak.

3. Wicked; vicious. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.] B. Jonson.

Lazy tongs, a system of jointed bars capable of great extension, originally made for picking up something at a distance, now variously applied in machinery.

Syn.
— Idle; indolent; sluggish; slothful. See Idle.

LAZYBACK
La"zy*back`, n.

Defn: A support for the back, attached to the seat of a carriage.
[Colloq.]

LAZYBONES
La"zy*bones`, n.

Defn: A lazy person. [Colloq.]

LAZZARONI
Laz`za*ro"ni (; It. , n. pl. Etym: [It. lazzarone, pl. lazzaroni.]

Defn: 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. [Written also, but improperly, lazaroni.]

LEA Lea, n. Etym: [Cf. Lay, n. (that which is laid), 4.] (Textile Manuf.) (a) A measure of yarn; for linen, 300 yards; for cotton, 120 yards; a lay. (b) A set of warp threads carried by a loop of the heddle.

LEA Lea, n. Etym: [OE. ley, lay, As. leáh, leá; akin to Prov. G. lon bog, morass, grove, and perh. to L. lucus grove, E. light, n.]

Defn: A meadow or sward land; a grassy field. "Plow-torn leas." Shak.
The lowing herd wind slowly o'er the lea. Gray.

LEACH
Leach, n. (Naut.)

Defn: See 3d Leech.

LEACH
Leach, n. [Written also letch.] Etym: [Cf. As. leáh lye, G. lauge.
See Lye.]

1. A quantity of wood ashes, through which water passes, and thus imbibes the alkali.

2. A tub or vat for leaching ashes, bark, etc. Leach tub, a wooden tub in which ashes are leached.

LEACH
Leach, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Leached; p. pr. & vb. n. Leaching.] Etym:
[Written also leech and letch.]

1. To remove the soluble constituents from by subjecting to the action of percolating water or other liquid; as, to leach ashes or coffee.

2. To dissolve out; — often used with out; as, to leach out alkali from ashes.

LEACH
Leach, v. i.

Defn: To part with soluble constituents by percolation.

LEACH
Leach, n.

Defn: See Leech, a physician. [Obs.]

LEACHY
Leach"y, a.

Defn: Permitting liquids to pass by percolation; not capable of retaining water; porous; pervious; — said of gravelly or sandy soils, and the like.

LEAD
Lead (lêd), n. Etym: [OE. led, leed, lead, AS. leád; akin to D. lood,
MHG. lot, G. loth plummet, sounding lead, small weight, Sw. & Dan.
lod. sq. root123]

1. (Chem.)

Defn: One of the elements, a heavy, pliable, inelastic metal, having a bright, bluish color, but easily tarnished. It is both malleable and ductile, though with little tenacity, and is used for tubes, sheets, bullets, etc. Its specific gravity is 11.37. It is easily fusible, forms alloys with other metals, and is an ingredient of solder and type metal. Atomic weight, 206.4. Symbol Pb (L. Plumbum). It is chiefly obtained from the mineral galena, lead sulphide.

2. An article made of lead or an alloy of lead; as: (a) A plummet or mass of lead, used in sounding at sea. (b) (Print.) A thin strip of type metal, used to separate lines of type in printing. (c) Sheets or plates of lead used as a covering for roofs; hence, pl., a roof covered with lead sheets or terne plates. I would have the tower two stories, and goodly leads upon the top. Bacon

3. A small cylinder of black lead or plumbago, used in pencils. Black lead, graphite or plumbago, ; — so called from its leadlike appearance and streak. [Colloq.] — Coasting lead, a sounding lead intermediate in weight between a hand lead and deep-sea lead. — Deep-sea lead, the heaviest of sounding leads, used in water exceeding a hundred fathoms in depth. Ham. Nav. Encyc. — Hand lead, a small lead use for sounding in shallow water. — Krems lead, Kremnitz lead Etym: [so called from Krems or Kremnitz, in Austria], a pure variety of white lead, formed into tablets, and called also Krems, or Kremnitz, white, and Vienna white. — Lead arming, tallow put in the hollow of a sounding lead. See To arm the lead (below). — Lead colic. See under Colic. — Lead color, a deep bluish gray color, like tarnished lead. — Lead glance. (Min.) Same as Galena. — Lead line (a) (Med.) A dark line along the gums produced by a deposit of metallic lead, due to lead poisoning. (b) (Naut.) A sounding line. — Lead mill, a leaden polishing wheel, used by lapidaries. — Lead ocher (Min.), a massive sulphur-yellow oxide of lead. Same as Massicot. — Lead pencil, a pencil of which the marking material is graphite (black lead). — Lead plant (Bot.), a low leguminous plant, genus Amorpha (A. canescens), found in the Northwestern United States, where its presence is supposed to indicate lead ore. Gray. — Lead tree. (a) (Bot.) A West Indian name for the tropical, leguminous tree, Leucæna glauca; — probably so called from the glaucous color of the foliage. (b) (Chem.) Lead crystallized in arborescent forms from a solution of some lead salt, as by suspending a strip of zinc in lead acetate. — Mock lead, a miner's term for blende. — Red lead, a scarlet, crystalline, granular powder, consisting of minium when pure, but commonly containing several of the oxides of lead. It is used as a paint or cement and also as an ingredient of flint glass. — Red lead ore (Min.), crocoite. — Sugar of lead, acetate of lead. — To arm the lead, to fill the hollow in the bottom of a sounding lead with tallow in order to discover the nature of the bottom by the substances adhering. Ham. Nav. Encyc. — To cast, or heave, the lead, to cast the sounding lead for ascertaining the depth of water. — White lead, hydrated carbonate of lead, obtained as a white, amorphous powder, and much used as an ingredient of white paint.

LEAD
Lead, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Leaded; p. pr. & vb. n. Leading.]

1. To cover, fill, or affect with lead; as, continuous firing leads the grooves of a rifle.

2. (Print.)

Defn: To place leads between the lines of; as, to lead a page; leaded matter.

LEAD Lead (led), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Led; p. pr. & vb. n. Leading.] Etym: [OE. leden, AS. l (akin to OS. l, D. leiden, G. leiten,Icel. le, Sw. leda, Dan.lede), properly a causative fr. AS. li to go; akin to OHG. l, Icel. l,Goth. leipan (in comp.). Cf. Lode, Loath.]

1. 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. If a blind man lead a blind man, both fall down in the ditch. Wyclif (Matt. xv. 14.) They thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill. Luke iv. 29. In thy right hand lead with thee The mountain nymph, sweet Liberty. Milton.

2. To guide or conduct in a certain course, or to a certain place or end, by making the way known; to show the way, esp. by going with or going in advance of. Hence, figuratively: To direct; to counsel; to instruct; as, to lead a traveler; to lead a pupil. The Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way. Ex. xiii. 21. He leadeth me beside the still waters. Ps. xxiii. 2. This thought might lead me through the world's vain mask. Content, though blind, had I no better guide. Milton.

3. 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. Christ took not upon him flesh and blood that he might conquer and rule nations, lead armies, or possess places. South.

4. 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. As Hesperus, that leads the sun his way. Fairfax. And lo ! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest. Leigh Hunt.

5. 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. He was driven by the necessities of the times, more than led by his own disposition, to any rigor of actions. Eikon Basilike. Silly women, laden with sins,led away by divers lusts. 2 Tim. iii. 6 (Rev. Ver.).

6. 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). That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life. 1 Tim. ii. 2. Nor thou with shadowed hint confuse A life that leads melodious days. Tennyson. You remember . . . the life he used to lead his wife and daughter. Dickens.

7. (Cards & Dominoes)

Defn: To begin a game, round, or trick, with; as, to lead trumps; the double five was led. To lead astray, to guide in a wrong way, or into error; to seduce from truth or rectitude. — To lead captive, to carry or bring into captivity. — To lead the way, to show the way by going in front; to act as guide. Goldsmith.

LEAD
Lead, v. i.

1. To guide or conduct, as by accompanying, going before, showing, influencing, directing with authority, etc.; to have precedence or preëminence; to be first or chief; — used in most of the senses of lead, v. t.

2. 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. The mountain foot that leads towards Mantua. Shak. To lead off or out, to go first; to begin.

LEAD
Lead, n.

1. The act of leading or conducting; guidance; direction; as, to take the lead; to be under the lead of another. At the time I speak of, and having a momentary lead, . . . I am sure I did my country important service. Burke.

2. 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.

3. (Cards & Dominoes)

Defn: 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.

4. An open way in an ice field. Kane.

5. (Mining)

Defn: A lode.

6. (Naut.)

Defn: The course of a rope from end to end.

7. (Steam Engine)

Defn: 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.

Note: When used alone it means outside lead, or lead for the admission of steam. Inside lead refers to the release or exhaust.

8. (Civil Engineering)

Defn: the distance of haul, as from a cutting to an embankment.

9. (Horology)

Defn: The action of a tooth, as a tooth of a wheel, in impelling another tooth or a pallet. Saunier. Lead angle (Steam Engine), the angle which the crank maker with the line of centers, in approaching it, at the instant when the valve opens to admit steam. — Lead screw (Mach.), the main longitudinal screw of a lathe, which gives the feed motion to the carriage.

LEADED
Lead"ed, a.

1. Fitted with lead; set in lead; as, leaded windows.

2. (Print.)

Defn: Separated by leads, as the lines of a page.

LEADEN
Lead"en, a.

1. Made of lead; of the nature of lead; as, a leaden ball.

2. Like lead in color, etc. ; as, a leaden sky.

3. Heavy; dull; sluggish. "Leaden slumber." Shak.

LEADER
Lead"er, n.

1. One who, or that which, leads or conducts; a guide; a conductor. Especially: (a) One who goes first. (b) One having authority to direct; a chief; a commander. (c) (Mus.) 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. (d) (Naut.) A block of hard wood pierced with suitable holes for leading ropes in their proper places. (e) (Mach.) The principal wheel in any kind of machinery. [Obs. or R.] G. Francis. (f) A horse placed in advance of others; one of the forward pair of horses. He forgot to pull in his leaders, and they gallop away with him at times. Hare.

(g) A pipe for conducting rain water from a roof to a cistern or to the ground; a conductor. (h) (Fishing)

Defn: 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. (i) (Mining) A branch or small vein, not important in itself, but indicating the proximity of a better one.