Chapter 64

Ko"ran (k"ran or k*rän"; 277), n. [Ar. qorn. See Alcoran.] The Scriptures of the Mohammedans, containing the professed revelations to Mohammed; -- called also Alcoran. [Written also Kuran or Quran.] [1913 Webster]

Ko"rin (?), n. (Zoöl.) The gazelle.

||Kor"ri*gum (?), n. [Native name.] (Zoöl.) A West African antelope ||(Damalis Senegalensis), allied to the sassaby. It is reddish gray, ||with a black face, and a black stripe on the outside of the legs ||above the knees. || Kos"mos (?), n. See Cosmos. Gladstone.

Ko*tow" (?), n. [Chinese, knock head.] The prostration made by mandarins and others to their superiors, either as homage or worship, by knocking the forehead on the ground. There are degrees in the rite, the highest being expressed by three knockings. [China] S. W. Williams.

Ko*tow", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Kotowed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Kotowing.] To perform the kotow.

||Kou"lan (?), n. [Native name.] (Zoöl.) A wild horse (Equus, or ||Asinus, onager) inhabiting the plains of Central Asia; -- called also ||gour, khur, and onager. [Written also kulan.] || It is sometimes confounded with the dziggetai, to which it is closely related. It is gray in winter, but fulvous in summer. It has a well defined, dark, dorsal stripe, and a short, erect mane. In size, it is intermediate between the horse and ass.

Kou"miss (?), n. [Russ. kumys; of Mongolian origin.] An intoxicating fermented or distilled liquor originally made by the Tartars from mare's or camel's milk. It can be obtained from any kind of milk, and is now largely made in Europe. [Written also koumyss, kumiss, kumish, and kumys.]

Koumiss has from time immemorial served the Tartar instead of wine or spirits.

J. H. Newman.

Kous"so (?), n. (Bot.) An Abyssinian rosaceous tree (Brayera anthelmintica), the flowers of which are used as a vermifuge. [Written also cusso and kosso.]

Kow*tow" (?), n. & v. i. The same as Kotow.

I have salaamed and kowtowed to him.

H. James.

Kra (?), n. (Zoöl.) A long-tailed ape (Macacus cynomolgus) of India and Sumatra. It is reddish olive, spotted with black, and has a black tail.

Kraal (kräl or krl; 277), n. [D., a village, inclosure, park, prob. fr. Pg. curral a cattle pen; the same word as Sp. corral. See Corral.] 1. A collection of huts within a stockade; a village; sometimes, a single hut. [South Africa]

2. An inclosure into which are driven wild elephants which are to be tamed and educated. [Ceylon]

||Krait (?), n. [Native name.] (Zoöl.) A very venomous snake of India ||(Bungarus cœruleus), allied to the cobra. Its upper parts are bluish ||or brownish black, often with narrow white streaks; the belly is ||whitish. || Kra"ken (?), n. [Prob. from OSw. krake, or ODan. krage the trunk of a tree, the branches of which are not entirely cut off, to which it was likened by the Norwegian mariners.] A fabulous Scandinavian sea monster, often represented as resembling an island, but sometimes as resembling an immense octopus.

To believe all that has been said of the sea serpent or kraken, would be credulity; to reject the possibility of their existence, would be presumption.

Goldsmith.

Like a kraken huge and black.

Longfellow.

Kra*ko"wi*ak (?), n. (Mus.) A lively Polish dance. See Cracovienne.

||Kra*me"ri*a (?), n. [NL. So called after the German botanists, J. G. ||H. & W. H. Kramer.] (Bot.) A genus of spreading shrubs with many ||stems, from one species of which (K. triandra), found in Peru, ||rhatany root, used as a medicine, is obtained. || Kra*mer"ic (?), a. (Chem.) Pertaining to, or derived from, Krameria (rhatany); as, krameric acid, usually called ratanhia-tannic acid.

Krang (?), n. [Cf. D. kreng a carcass.] The carcass of a whale after the blubber has been removed. [Written also crang and kreng.]

Krang"ing hook` (?). (Whaling) A hook for holding the blubber while cutting it away. [Written also cranging hook.]

Kre*at"ic (?), a. See Creatic.

Kre"a*tin (?), n. (Chem.) See Creatin.

Kre*at"i*nin (?), n. (Chem.) See Creatinin.

Kreel (?), n. See Creel.

Krem"lin (?), n. [Russ. kremle.] The citadel of a town or city; especially, the citadel of Moscow, a large inclosure which contains imperial palaces, cathedrals, churches, an arsenal, etc. [Russia]

Krems (?), n. A variety of white lead. See Krems lead, under Lead, n.

Kreng (?), n. See Krang.

Kre"o*sote (?), n. See Creosote.

Kreut"zer (kroit"sr), n. [G. kreuzer.] A small copper coin formerly used in South Germany; also, a small Austrian copper coin. [Written also kreuzer.]

||Kriegs"spiel` (&?;), n. [G., fr. krieg war + spiel play.] A game of ||war, played for practice, on maps. Farrow. || Kris (?), n. A Malay dagger. See Creese.

||Krish"na (&?;), n. [Skr. ksha.] (Hindoo Myth.) The most popular of ||the Hindoo divinities, usually held to be the eighth incarnation of ||the god Vishnu. || <! p. 820 !>

Kri"tarch*y (kr"tärk*), n. [Gr. krith`s judge + 'archh` beginning, government.] The rule of the judges over Israel.

Samson, Jephthah, Gideon, and other heroes of the kritarchy.

Southey.

Kro*kid"o*lite (kr*kd"*lt), n. (Min.) See Crocidolite.

||Kro"ne (kr"n), n. [Dan.] A coin of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, of ||the value of about twenty-eight cents. See Crown, n., 9. || Kroo"man (kr"man), n.; pl. Kroomen (-men). One of a negro tribe of Liberia and the adjacent coast, whose members are much employed on shipboard.

Krul"ler (?), n. See Cruller.

{ Krumm"horn`, Krum"horn` } (krm"hôrn`), n. [G. krummhorn cornet; krumm crooked + horn horn.] (Mus.) (a) A reed instrument of music of the cornet kind, now obsolete (see Cornet, 1, a.). (b) A reed stop in the organ; -- sometimes called cremona.

Krupp" gun" (?). A breech-loading steel cannon manufactured at the works of Friedrich Krupp, at Essen in Prussia. Guns of over eight-inch bore are made up of several concentric cylinders; those of a smaller size are forged solid. Knight.

Kry"o*lite (?), n. (Min.) See Cryolite.

Ksar (zär), n. See Czar.

{ Ksha"tri*ya (?), Ksha"tru*ya (?), } n. [Skr. kshatriya one belonging to the military caste.] The military caste, the second of the four great Hindoo castes; also, a member of that caste. See Caste. [India]

||Ku"da (?), n. (Zoöl.) The East Indian tapir. See Tapir. || ||Ku"dos (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. ky^dos glory.] Glory; fame; renown; ||praise. W. H. Russel. || Ku"dos, v. t. To praise; to extol; to glorify. "Kudos'd egregiously." [R.] Southey.

||Ku"du (?), n. (Zoöl.) See Koodoo. || Ku"fic (?), a. See Cufic.

||Ku*kang" (?), n. (Zoöl.) [Native name.] The slow lemur. See Lemur. || Ku`klux" (?), n. The name adopted in the southern part of the United States by a secret political organization, active for several years after the close of the Civil War, and having for its aim the repression of the political power of the freedmen; -- called also Kuklux Klan.

Ku"lan (?), n. (Zoöl.) See Koulan.

{ Ku"mish (?), Ku"miss (?), } n. See Koumiss.

Kum"mel (?), n. [G. kümmel cumin, caraway seed, L. cuminum. Cf. Cumin.] A Russian and German liqueur, consisting of a sweetened spirit flavored with caraway seeds.

Kum"quat (?), n. [Chin. kin keu.] (Bot.) A small tree of the genus Citrus (C. Japonica) growing in China and Japan; also, its small acid, orange-colored fruit used for preserves.

||Kup"fer*nick"el (?), n. [G. See Copper, and Nickel.] (Min.) ||Copper-nickel; niccolite. See Niccolite. || Kurd (?), n. A native or inhabitant of a mountainous region of Western Asia belonging to the Turkish and Persian monarchies. [Written also Koord.]

Kurd"ish, a. Of or pertaining to the Kurds. [Written also Koordish.]

Ku*ril"i*an (?), a. Of or pertaining to the Kurile Islands, a chain of islands in the Pacific ocean, extending from the southern extremity of Kamschatka to Yesso. -- n. A native or an inhabitant of the Kurile Islands. [Written also Koorilian.]

||Kur"saal` (?), n. [G.] A public hall or room, for the use of visitors ||at watering places and health resorts in Germany. || Ku`si*man"se (?), n. (Zoöl.) A carnivorous animal (Crossarchus obscurus) of tropical Africa. It its allied to the civets. Called also kusimansel, and mangue.

Kus"kus (?), [Per. & Hind. khaskhas.] (Bot.) See Vetiver.

Kus"si*er (?), n. (Mus.) A Turkish instrument of music, with a hollow body covered with skin, over which five strings are stretched. [Written also kussir.]

Ku*tauss" (?), n. (Zoöl.) The India civet (Viverra zibetha).

Kutch (?), n. (Goldbeating) The packet of vellum leaves in which the gold is first beaten into thin sheets.

Kutch, n. See Catechu.

Ky (?), n. pl. Kine. [Scot.] See Kee, Kie, and Kine.

Ky`a*bo"ca wood` (?). (Bot.) (a) Amboyna wood. (b) Sandalwood (Santalum album).

Ky"a*nite (?), n. See Cyanite.

Ky"an*ize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Kyanized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Kyanizing (?).] [From Mr. Kyan, the inventor of the process.] To render (wood) proof against decay by saturating with a solution of corrosive sublimate in open tanks, or under pressure.

Ky"a*nol (?), n. [See Cyanite.] (Chem.) (a) Aniline. [Obs.] (b) A base obtained from coal tar. Ure.

Ky*an"o*phyll (?), n. (Bot.) Same as Cyanophyll.

Kyar (?), n. Cocoanut fiber, or the cordage made from it. See Coir.

Kyaw (?), n. (Zoöl.) A daw. [Scot.]

Kyd (?), p. p. of Kythe.

Kyd"de (&?;), imp. of Kythe, to show. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Spenser erroneously uses kydst to mean "knowest."

Kyke (?), v. i. [See 1st Kike.] To look steadfastly; to gaze. [Obs.] [Written also kike, keke.]

This Nicholas sat ever gaping upright, As he had kyked on the newe moon.

Chaucer.

Ky"ley (?), n. A variety of the boomerang.

Ky"loes (?), n. pl. The cattle of the Hebrides, or of the Highlands. [Scot.] Sir W. Scott.

Kym"nel (?), n. See Kimnel. [Obs.] Chapman.

Ky"mo*graph (?), n. [Gr. &?; wave + -graph.] (Physiol.) An instrument for measuring, and recording graphically, the pressure of the blood in any of the blood vessels of a living animal; -- called also kymographion.

Ky`mo*graph"ic (?), a. (Physiol.) Of or pertaining to a kymograph; as, a kymographic tracing.

Kym"ric (?), a. & n. See Cymric, a. & n.

Kym"ry (?), n. See Cymry.

Kyn"rede (?), n. Kindred. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Ky`nu*ren"ic (?), a. [Gr. &?;, &?;, dog + &?; urine.] (Physiol. Chem.) Pertaining to, or designating, an acid obtained from the urine of dogs. By decomposition the acid yields a nitrogenous base (called kynurin) and carbonic acid. [Written also cynurenic.]

Kyr"i*e (?), n. See Kyrie eleison.

Kyr"i*e e*lei"son (?). [Gr. ky`rie 'elei^son .]

1. (R. C. Ch.) Greek words, meaning "Lord, have mercy upon us," used in the Mass, the breviary offices, the litany of the saints, etc. Addis & Arnold.

2. The name given to the response to the Commandments, in the service of the Church of England and of the Protestant Episcopal Church.

Kyr`i*elle (?), n. [Cf. F. kyrielle.] A litany beginning with the words, "Kyrie eleison." Shipley.

{ Kyr"i*o*lex`y (?), Kyr`i*ol"o*gy (?), } n. [Gr. &?;, &?;. See Curiologic.] The use of literal or simple expressions, as distinguished from the use of figurative or obscure ones. Krauth-Fleming.

Kyr`i*o*log"ic*al (?), a. [See Curiologic.] Serving to denote objects by conventional signs or alphabetical characters; as, the original Greek alphabet of sixteen letters was called kyriologic, because it represented the pure elementary sounds. See Curiologic. [Written also curiologic and kuriologic.]

The term is also applied, as by Warburton, to those Egyptian hieroglyphics, in which a part is put conventionally for the whole, as in depicting a battle by two hands, one holding a shield and the other a bow.

{ Kythe, Kithe (k) }, v. t. [imp. Kydde, Kidde (kd"de); p. p. Kythed (?), Kid; p. pr. & vb. n. Kything.] [OE. kythen, kithen, cuðen, to make known, AS. cðan, fr. cð known. &radic;45. See Uncouth, Can to be able, and cf. Kith.] To make known; to manifest; to show; to declare. [Obs. or Scot.]

For gentle hearte kytheth gentilesse.

Chaucer.

Kythe, v. t. To come into view; to appear. [Scot.]

It kythes bright . . . because all is dark around it.

Sir W. Scott.

||Ky*tom"i*ton (k*tm"*tn), n. [NL., from Gr. ky`tos a hollow vessel + ||mi`tos a thread.] (Biol.) See Karyomiton. || ||Ky`to*plas"ma (k`t*plz"m), n. [NL., fr. Gr. ky`tos a hollow vessel + ||pla`sma thing molded.] (Biol.) See Karyoplasma. || <! p. 821 !>

L.

L (l). 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 Phœnician, 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).

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 "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, &?;, which assumed the less difficult lapidary type, &?;, and was then easily assimilated to L.

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

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 (?), interj. [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]

Laas (?), n. A lace. See Lace. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Lab (?), v. i. [Cf. OD. labben to babble.] To prate; to gossip; to babble; to blab. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Lab, n. A telltale; a prater; a blabber. [Obs.] "I am no lab." Chaucer.

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

La`bar`raque's" so*lu"tion (?). [From Labarraque, a Parisian apothecary.] (Med.) An aqueous solution of hypochlorite of sodium, extensively used as a disinfectant.

||Lab"a*rum (&?;), n.; pl. Labara (#). [L.] 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. || Lab"da*num (?), n. (Bot.) See Ladanum.

Lab`e*fac"tion (?), n. [See Labefy.] 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.

Lab"e*fy (?), v. t. [L. labefacere; labare to totter + facere to make.] To weaken or impair. [R.]

La"bel (l"bl), n. [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, and indicating, 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.) 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.) 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 square form, as in the illustration. Arch. Pub. Soc.

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

La"bel, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Labeled (-bld) 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.]

La"bel*er (?), n. One who labels. [Written also labeller.]

||La*bel"lum (l*bl"lm), n.; pl. L. Labella (- l), E. Labellums (-lmz). ||[L., dim. of labrum lip.] 1. (Bot.) The lower or apparently anterior ||petal of an orchidaceous flower, often of a very curious shape. || 2. (Zoöl.) A small appendage beneath the upper lip or labrum of certain insects.

La"bent (?), a. [L. labens, p. pr. of labi to slide, glide.] Slipping; sliding; gliding. [R.]

||La"bi*a (?), n. pl. See Labium. || La"bi*al (?), a. [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.) 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 (fd), (ld), etc., and as eu and u in French, and ö, ü in German. See Guide to Pronunciation, §§ 11, 178.

4. (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to the labium; as, the labial palpi of insects. See Labium.

La"bi*al, n. 1. (Phonetics) A letter or character representing an articulation or sound formed or uttered chiefly with the lips, as b, p, w.

2. (Mus.) An organ pipe that is furnished with lips; a flue pipe.

3. (Zoöl.) One of the scales which border the mouth of a fish or reptile.

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

La`bi*al*i*za"tion (?), n. (Phonetics) The modification of an articulation by contraction of the lip opening.

La"bi*al*ize (?), v. t. (Phonetics) To modify by contraction of the lip opening.

La"bi*al*ly, adv. In a labial manner; with, or by means of, the lips.

La"bi*ate (?), v. t. To labialize. Brewer.

La"bi*ate (?), a. [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.

La"bi*ate, n. (Bot.) A plant of the order Labiatæ.

La"bi*a`ted (?), a. (Bot.) Same as Labiate, a. (a).

{ La`bi*a`ti*flo"ral (?), La`bi*a`ti*flo"ral (?), } a. [Labiate + L. flos, floris, flower.] (Bot.) Having labiate flowers, as the snapdragon.

Lab`i*dom"e*ter (?), n. [Gr. labi`s, -i`dos, a forceps + meter: cf. F. labidometre.] (Med.) A forceps with a measuring attachment for ascertaining the size of the fetal head.

La"bile (?), a. [L. labilis apt to slip, fr. labi to slip.] Liable to slip, err, fall, or apostatize. [Obs.] Cheyne.

La*bil"i*ty (?), n. Liability to lapse, err, or apostatize. [Archaic] Coleridge.

La*bim"e*ter (?), n. [Cf. F. labimetre.] (Med.) See Labidometer.

La`bi*o*den"tal (?), a. [Labium + dental.] (Phonetics) Formed or pronounced by the cooperation of the lips and teeth, as f and v. -- n. A labiodental sound or letter.

La`bi*o*na"sal (?), a. [Labium + nasal.] (Phonetics) Formed by the lips and the nose. -- n. A labionasal sound or letter.

La"bi*ose` (?), a. [From Labium.] (Bot.) Having the appearance of being labiate; -- said of certain polypetalous corollas.

||La`bi*pal"pus (?), n.; pl. Labipalpi (&?;). [NL. See Labium, and ||Palpus.] (Zoöl.) One of the labial palpi of an insect. See Illust. ||under Labium. || ||La"bi*um (?), n.; pl. L. Labia (#), E. Labiums (#). [L.] 1. A lip, or ||liplike organ. || 2. The lip of an organ pipe.

3. pl. (Anat.) 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.

Lab"lab (lb"lb), n. (Bot.) an East Indian name for several twining leguminous plants related to the bean, but commonly applied to the hyacinth bean (Dolichos Lablab).

La"bor (l"br), n. [OE. labour, OF. labour, laber, labur, F. labeur, L. labor; cf. Gr. lamba`nein to take, Skr. 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.) The pitching or tossing of a vessel which results in the straining of timbers and rigging.

7. [Sp.] A measure of land in Mexico and Texas, equivalent to an area of 177 acres. Bartlett.

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

La"bor, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Labored (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Laboring.] [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.) To pitch or roll heavily, as a ship in a turbulent sea. Totten.

La"bor, v. t. [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 strenuously; as, to labor a point or argument.

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

Lab"o*rant (?), n. [L. laborans, p. pr. of laborare to labor.] A chemist. [Obs.] Boyle.