The Gutenberg Webster's Unabridged Dictionary
Chapter 874
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 court , the court of a lady of the manor. -- Lady crab (Zo\'94l.) , 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 <Xpage=824>
La"dy , a. Belonging or becoming to a lady; ladylike.
"Some lady trifles." Shak.
Ladybird <Xpage=824>
La"dy*bird` (?) , n. [Equiv. to, bird of Our Lady.] (Zo\'94l.) Any one of numerous species of small beetles of the genus Coccinella and allied genera (family Coccinellid\'91 ); -- called also ladybug , ladyclock , lady cow , lady fly , and lady beetle . Coccinella seplempunctata in one of the common European species. See Coccinella .
&hand; 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 larv\'91 and the adult beetles of most species feed on aphids, and for this reason they are very beneficial to agriculture and horticulture.
Ladybug <Xpage=824>
La"dy*bug` (?) , n. (Zo\'94l.) Same as Ladybird .
Ladyclock <Xpage=824>
La"dy*clock` (?) , n. (Zo\'94l.) See Ladyrird .
Lady <Xpage=824>
La"dy` (?) . The day of the annunciation of the Virgin Mary, March 25. See Annunciation .
Ladyfish <Xpage=824>
La"dy*fish` (?) , n. (Zo\'94l.) (a) A large, handsome oceanic fish ( Albula vulpes ), found both in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans; -- called also bonefish , grubber , French mullet , and macab\'82 . (b) A labroid fish ( Harpe rufa ) of Florida and the West Indies.
Ladyhood <Xpage=824>
La"dy*hood (?) , n. The state or quality of being a lady; the personality of a lady.
Lady-killer <Xpage=824>
La"dy-kill`er (?) , n. A gallant who captivates the hearts of women. "A renowned dandy and lady-killer ."
Blackw. Mag.
Lady-killing <Xpage=824>
La"dy-kill`ing , n. 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 <Xpage=824>
La"dy*kin (?) , n. [ Lady + -kin .] A little lady; -- applied by the writers of Queen Elizabeth's time, in the abbreviated form Lakin , to the Virgin Mary.
&hand; The diminutive does not refer to size, but is equivalent to "dear."
Brewer.
Ladylike <Xpage=824>
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 <Xpage=824>
La"dy*like`ness (?) , n. The quality or state of being ladylike.
Ladylove <Xpage=824>
La"dy*love` (?) , n. A sweetheart or mistress.
Lady's bedstraw <Xpage=824>
La"dy's bed"straw` (?) , (Bot.) The common bedstraw ( Galium verum ); also, a slender-leaved East Indian shrub ( Pharnaceum Mollugo ), with white flowers in umbels.
Lady's bower <Xpage=824>
La"dy's bow"er (?) . (Bot.) A climbing plant with fragrant blossoms ( Clematis vitalba ).
&hand; This term is sometimes applied to other plants of the same genus.
Lady's comb <Xpage=824>
La"dy's comb" (?) , (Bot.) An umbelliferous plant ( Scandix Pecten-Veneris ), its clusters of long slender fruits remotely resembling a comb.
Lady's cushion <Xpage=824>
La"dy's cush"ion (?) , (Bot.) An herb growing in dense tufts; the thrift ( Armeria vulgaris ).
Lady's finger <Xpage=824>
La"dy's fin"ger (?) , 1. pl. (Bot.) The kidney vetch.
2. (Cookery) A variety of small cake of about the dimensions of a finger.
3. A long, slender variety of the potato.
4. (Zo\'94l.) One of the branchi\'91 of the lobster.
Lady's garters <Xpage=824>
La"dy's gar"ters (?) . (Bot.) Ribbon grass.
Lady's hair <Xpage=824>
La"dy's hair" (?) . (Bot.) A plant of the genus Briza ( B. media ); a variety of quaking grass.
Ladyship <Xpage=824>
La"dy*ship (?) , n. 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 <Xpage=824>
La"dy's la"ces (?) . (Bot.) A slender climbing plant; dodder.
Lady's looking-glass <Xpage=824>
La"dy's look"ing-glass` (?) . (Bot.) See Venus's looking-glass , under Venus .
Lady's mantle <Xpage=824>
La"dy's man"tle (?) . (Bot.) A genus of rosaceous herbs ( Alchemilla ), esp. the European A. vulgaris , which has leaves with rounded and finely serrated lobes.
Lady's seal <Xpage=824>
La"dy's seal" (?) . (Bot.) (a) The European Solomon's seal ( Polygonatum verticillatum ). (b) The black bryony ( Tamus communis ).
Lady's slipper <Xpage=824>
La"dy's slip"per (?) . (Bot.) 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 <Xpage=824>
La"dy's smock" (?) . (Bot.) A plant of the genus Cardamine ( C. pratensis ); cuckoo flower.
Lady's thimble <Xpage=824>
La"dy's thim"ble (?) . (Bot.) The harebell.
Lady's thumb <Xpage=824>
La"dy's thumb" (?) . (Bot.) An annual weed ( Polygonum Persicaria ), having a lanceolate leaf with a dark spot in the middle.
Lady's traces, Ladies' tresses <Xpage=824>
La"dy's tra"ces (?) , La"dies' tress"es (?) . (Bot.) 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.
L\'91laps <Xpage=824>
L\'91"laps (?) , n. [NL., fr. Gr. (<?/) a dark, furious storm.] (Paleon.) 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 <Xpage=824>
Laem"mer*gey`er (?) , n. (Zo\'94l.) See Lammergeir .
L\'91modipod <Xpage=824>
L\'91*mod"i*pod (?) , n. (Zo\'94l.) One of the L\'91modipoda.
L\'91modipoda <Xpage=824>
L\'91`mo*dip"o*da (?) , n. pl. [NL., from Gr. <?/ throat + <?/ twice + <?/, <?/, foot.] (Zo\'94l.) 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.
L\'91modipodous <Xpage=824>
L\'91`mo*dip"o*dous (?) , a. (Zo\'94l.) Of or pertaining to the L\'91modipoda.
L\'91tere Sunday <Xpage=824>
L\'91*te"re Sun"day (?) . The fourth Sunday of Lent; -- so named from the Latin word L\'91tare (rejoice), the first word in the antiphone of the introit sung that day in the Roman Catholic service.
L\'91vigate <Xpage=824>
L\'91v"i*gate (?) , a. [See Levigate .] (Biol.) Having a smooth surface, as if polished.
L\'91vo- <Xpage=824>
L\'91"vo- (?) . A prefix. See Levo .
L\'91vorotatory <Xpage=824>
L\'91"vo*ro"ta*to*ry (?) , a. Same as Levorotatory . Cf. Dextrorotatory .
L\'91vulose <Xpage=824>
L\'91v"u*lose` (?) , n. (Chem.) See Levulose .
Lafayette <Xpage=824>
La`fa`yette" (?) , n. (Zo\'94l.) (a) The dollar fish. (b) A market fish, the goody, or spot ( Liostomus xanthurus ), of the southern coast of the United States.
Laft <Xpage=824>
Laft (?) , obs. p. p. of Leave .
Chaucer.
Lafte <Xpage=824>
Laf"te (?) , obs. imp. of Leave .
Chaucer.
Lag <Xpage=824>
Lag (?) , a. [Of Celtic origin: cf. Gael. & Ir. lag weak, 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.
<page="825"> Page 825
3. Last made; hence, made of refuse; inferior. [Obs.] " Lag souls."
Dryden.
Lag <Xpage=825>
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. (Zo\'94l.) 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 <Xpage=825>
Lag , v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Lagged (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Lagging (?) .] 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 <Xpage=825>
Lag , v. t. 1. To cause to lag; to slacken. [Obs.] "To lag his flight."
Heywood.
2. (Mach.) To cover, as the cylinder of a steam engine, with lags. See Lag , n. , 4.
Lag <Xpage=825>
Lag , n. One transported for a crime. [Slang, Eng.]
Lag <Xpage=825>
Lag , v. t. To transport for crime. [Slang, Eng.]
She lags us if we poach. De Quincey.
Lagan <Xpage=825>
La"gan (?) , n. & v. See Ligan .
Lagarto <Xpage=825>
La*gar"to (?) , n. [See Alligator .] An alligator. [Obs.]
Sir W. Raleigh.
Lagena <Xpage=825>
La*ge"na (?) , n. ; pl. L. Lagen\'91 (#) , E. Lagenas (#) . [L., a flask; cf. Gr. <?/, <?/.] (Anat.) 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 <Xpage=825>
La*ge"ni*an (?) , a. [See Lagena .] (Zo\'94l.) Like, or pertaining to, Lagena , a genus of Foraminifera having a straight, chambered shell.
Lageniform <Xpage=825>
La*ge"ni*form (?) , a. [See Lagena , and -form .] (Bot.) Shaped like a bottle or flask; flag-shaped.
Lager <Xpage=825>
La"ger (?) , n. Lager beer.
Lager beer <Xpage=825>
La"ger beer` (?) . [G. lager bed, storehouse + bier beer. See Lair , and Beer .] Originally a German beer, but now also made in immense quantities in the United States; -- so called from its being laid up or stored for some months before use.
Lager wine <Xpage=825>
La"ger wine` (?) . Wine which has been kept for some time in the cellar.
Simmonds.
Laggard <Xpage=825>
Lag"gard (?) , a. [ Lag + -ard .] Slow; sluggish; backward.
Laggard <Xpage=825>
Lag"gard , n. One who lags; a loiterer.
Lagger <Xpage=825>
Lag"ger (?) , n. A laggard.
Lagging <Xpage=825>
Lag"ging (?) , n. 1. (Mach.) 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 <Xpage=825>
Lag"ging*ly , adv. In a lagging manner; loiteringly.
Lagly <Xpage=825>
Lag"ly (?) , adv. Laggingly. [Prov. Eng.]
Lagomorph <Xpage=825>
Lag"o*morph (?) , n. (Zo\'94l.) One of the Lagomorpha.
Lagemorpha <Xpage=825>
Lag`e*mor"pha (?) , n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. <?/ a hare + <?/ form.] (Zo\'94l.) A group of rodents, including the hares. They have four incisors in the upper jaw. Called also Duplicidentata .
Lagoon <Xpage=825>
La*goon" (?) , n. [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 <Xpage=825>
Lag`oph*thal"mi*a (?) , Lag`oph*thal"mos (?) , n. [NL. lagophtalmia , fr. Gr. lagw`s hare + 'ofqalmo`s eye; -- so called from the notion that a hare sleeps with his eyes open.] (Med.) A morbid condition in which the eye stands wide open, giving a peculiar staring appearance.
Lagopous <Xpage=825>
La*go"pous (?) , a. [Gr. <?/ a hare + <?/, <?/, foot.] (Bot.) Having a dense covering of long hair, like the foot of a hare.
Lagune <Xpage=825>
La*gune" (?) , n. See Lagoon .
Laic, Laical <Xpage=825>
La"ic (?) , La"ic*al (?) , a. [L. laicus : cf. F. la\'8bque . See Lay laic.] Of or pertaining to a layman or the laity. " Laical literature."
Lowell.
An unprincipled, unedified, and laic rabble. Milton.
Laic <Xpage=825>
La"ic , n. A layman.
Bp. Morton.
Laicality <Xpage=825>
La"ic*al"i*ty (?) , n. The state or quality of being laic; the state or condition of a layman.
Laically <Xpage=825>
La"ic*al*ly (?) , adv. As a layman; after the manner of a layman; as, to treat a matter laically .
Laid <Xpage=825>
Laid (?) , imp. & p. p. 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 <Xpage=825>
Laid"ly , a. Ugly; loathsome. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]
This laidly and loathsome worm. W. Howitt.
Lain <Xpage=825>
Lain (?) , p. p. of Lie , v. i.
Lainere <Xpage=825>
Lain"ere (?) , n. See Lanier . [Obs.]
Chaucer.
Lair <Xpage=825>
Lair (?) , n. [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 <Xpage=825>
Laird (?) , n. [See Lord .] A lord; a landholder, esp. one who holds land directly of the crown. [Scot.]
Lairdship <Xpage=825>
Laird"ship , n. The state of being a laird; an estate; landed property. [Scot.]
Ramsay.
Laism <Xpage=825>
La"ism (?) , n. See Lamaism . [R.]
Laissez faire <Xpage=825>
Lais`sez" faire" (?) . [F., let alone.] 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.
Lai-ty <Xpage=825>
La"i-ty (?) , n. [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 <Xpage=825>
La*ka"o (?) , n. Sap green. [China]
Lake <Xpage=825>
Lake (?) , n. [F. laque , fr. Per. See Lac .] 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 <Xpage=825>
Lake , n. [Cf. G. laken .] A kind of fine white linen, formerly in use. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
Lake <Xpage=825>
Lake (?) , v. i. [AS. l\'becan , l\'91can , to spring, jump, l\'bec play, sport, or fr. Icel. leika to play, sport; both akin to Goth. laikan to dance. &root;120. Cf. Knowledge .] To play; to sport. [Prov. Eng.]
Lake <Xpage=825>