Chapter 75

Laze, v. t. To waste in sloth; to spend, as time, in idleness; as, to laze away whole days. [Colloq.]

La"zi*ly (?), adv. In a lazy manner. Locke.

La"zi*ness, n. The state or quality of being lazy.

Laziness travels so slowly, that Poverty soon overtakes him.

Franklin.

Laz"u*li (?), n. [F. & NL. lapis lazuli, LL. lazulus, lazurius, lazur from the same Oriental source as E. azure. See Azure.] (Min.) 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.

Laz"u*lite (?), n. [From lazuli : cf. F. lazulite, G. lazulith.] (Min.) 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.

La"zy (?), a. [Compar. Lazier (?); superl. Laziest.] [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.

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Lazy tongs, a system of jointed bars capable of great extension, originally made for picking up something at a distance, now variously applied in machinery.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.

La"zy*back` (l"z*bk`), n. A support for the back, attached to the seat of a carriage. [Colloq.]

La"zy*bones` (?), n. A lazy person. [Colloq.]

Laz`za*ro"ni (lz`z*r"n; It. lät`s*r"n), n. pl. [It. lazzarone, pl. lazzaroni.] 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, n. [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, n. [OE. ley, lay, As. leáh, leá; akin to Prov. G. lon bog, morass, grove, and perh. to L. lucus grove, E. light, n.] A meadow or sward land; a grassy field. "Plow-torn leas." Shak.

The lowing herd wind slowly o'er the lea.

Gray.

Leach (?), n. (Naut.) See 3d Leech.

Leach, n. [Written also letch.] [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, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Leached (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Leaching.] [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, v. i. To part with soluble constituents by percolation.

Leach, n. See Leech, a physician. [Obs.]

Leach"y (?), a. Permitting liquids to pass by percolation; not capable of retaining water; porous; pervious; -- said of gravelly or sandy soils, and the like.

Lead (ld), n. [OE. led, leed, lead, AS. leád; akin to D. lood, MHG. lt, G. loth plummet, sounding lead, small weight, Sw. & Dan. lod. &radic;123.] 1. (Chem.) 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 [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, 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.) To place leads between the lines of; as, to lead a page; leaded matter.

Lead (ld), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Led (ld); p. pr. & vb. n. Leading.] [OE. leden, AS. ldan (akin to OS. ldian, D. leiden, G. leiten, Icel. leða, Sw. leda, Dan. lede), properly a causative fr. AS. liðan to go; akin to OHG. ldan, Icel. lða, Goth. leiþan (in comp.). Cf. Lode, Loath.] 1. To guide or conduct with the hand, or by means of some physical contact or 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) 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 (?), 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, 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) 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) A lode.

6. (Naut.) The course of a rope from end to end.

7. (Steam Engine) 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.

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) the distance of haul, as from a cutting to an embankment.

9. (Horology) 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.

Lead"ed (?), a. 1. Fitted with lead; set in lead; as, leaded windows.

2. (Print.) Separated by leads, as the lines of a page.

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.

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) 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.

2. The first, or the principal, editorial article in a newspaper; a leading or main editorial article.

3. (Print.) (a) A type having a dot or short row of dots upon its face. (b) pl. a row of dots, periods, or hyphens, used in tables of contents, etc., to lead the eye across a space to the right word or number.

Syn. -- chief; chieftain; commander. See Chief.

Lead"er*ship (?), n. The office of a leader.

Lead"hill*ite (?), n. (Min.) A mineral of a yellowish or greenish white color, consisting of the sulphate and carbonate of lead; -- so called from having been first found at Leadhills, Scotland.

Lead"ing (?), a. Guiding; directing; controlling; foremost; as, a leading motive; a leading man; a leading example. -- Lead"ing*ly, adv.

Leading case (Law), a reported decision which has come to be regarded as settling the law of the question involved. Abbott. -- Leading motive [a translation of G. leitmotif] (Mus.), a guiding theme; in the modern music drama of Wagner, a marked melodic phrase or short passage which always accompanies the reappearance of a certain person, situation, abstract idea, or allusion in the course of the play; a sort of musical label. -- Leading note (Mus.), the seventh note or tone in the ascending major scale; the sensible note. -- Leading question, a question so framed as to guide the person questioned in making his reply. -- Leading strings, strings by which children are supported when beginning to walk. -- To be in leading strings, to be in a state of infancy or dependence, or under the guidance of others. -- Leading wheel, a wheel situated before the driving wheels of a locomotive engine.

Lead"ing, n. 1. The act of guiding, directing, governing, or enticing; guidance. Shak.

2. Suggestion; hint; example. [Archaic] Bacon.

Lead"man (?), n.; pl. Leadmen (&?;). One who leads a dance.[Obs.] B. Jonson.

Leads"man (?), n.; pl. Leadsmen (&?;). (Naut.) The man who heaves the lead. Totten.

Lead"wort` (?), n. (Bot.) A genus of maritime herbs (Plumbago). P. Europæa has lead-colored spots on the leaves, and nearly lead-colored flowers.

Lead"y (?), a. Resembling lead. Sir T. Elyot.

Leaf (lf), n.; pl. Leaves (lvz). [OE. leef, lef, leaf, AS. leáf; akin to S. lf, OFries. laf, D. loof foliage, G. laub, OHG. loub leaf, foliage, Icel. lauf, Sw. löf, Dan. löv, Goth. laufs; cf. Lith. lapas. Cf. Lodge.] 1. (Bot.) A colored, usually green, expansion growing from the side of a stem or rootstock, in which the sap for the use of the plant is elaborated under the influence of light; one of the parts of a plant which collectively constitute its foliage.

Such leaves usually consist of a blade, or lamina , supported upon a leafstalk or petiole, which, continued through the blade as the midrib, gives off woody ribs and veins that support the cellular texture. The petiole has usually some sort of an appendage on each side of its base, which is called the stipule. The green parenchyma of the leaf is covered with a thin epiderm pierced with closable microscopic openings, known as stomata.

2. (Bot.) A special organ of vegetation in the form of a lateral outgrowth from the stem, whether appearing as a part of the foliage, or as a cotyledon, a scale, a bract, a spine, or a tendril.

In this view every part of a plant, except the root and the stem, is either a leaf, or is composed of leaves more or less modified and transformed.

3. Something which is like a leaf in being wide and thin and having a flat surface, or in being attached to a larger body by one edge or end; as : (a) A part of a book or folded sheet containing two pages upon its opposite sides. (b) A side, division, or part, that slides or is hinged, as of window shutters, folding doors, etc. (c) The movable side of a table. (d) A very thin plate; as, gold leaf. (e) A portion of fat lying in a separate fold or layer. (f) One of the teeth of a pinion, especially when small.

Leaf beetle (Zoöl.), any beetle which feeds upon leaves; esp., any species of the family Chrysomelidæ, as the potato beetle and helmet beetle. -- Leaf bridge, a draw-bridge having a platform or leaf which swings vertically on hinges. -- Leaf bud (Bot.), a bud which develops into leaves or a leafy branch. -- Leaf butterfly (Zoöl.), any butterfly which, in the form and colors of its wings, resembles the leaves of plants upon which it rests; esp., butterflies of the genus Kallima, found in Southern Asia and the East Indies. -- Leaf crumpler (Zoöl.), a small moth (Phycis indigenella), the larva of which feeds upon leaves of the apple tree, and forms its nest by crumpling and fastening leaves together in clusters. -- Leaf cutter (Zoöl.) , any one of various species of wild bees of the genus Megachile, which cut rounded pieces from the edges of leaves, or the petals of flowers, to be used in the construction of their nests, which are made in holes and crevices, or in a leaf rolled up for the purpose. Among the common American species are M. brevis and M. centuncularis. Called also rose- cutting bee. -- Leaf fat, the fat which lies in leaves or layers within the body of an animal. -- Leaf flea (Zoöl.), a jumping plant louse of the family Psyllidæ. -- Leaf frog (Zoöl.), any tree frog of the genus Phyllomedusa. -- Leaf green.(Bot.) See Chlorophyll. -- Leaf hopper (Zoöl.), any small jumping hemipterous insect of the genus Tettigonia, and allied genera. They live upon the leaves and twigs of plants. See Live hopper. -- Leaf insect (Zoöl.), any one of several genera and species of orthopterous insects, esp. of the genus Phyllium, in which the wings, and sometimes the legs, resemble leaves in color and form. They are common in Southern Asia and the East Indies. -- Leaf lard, lard from leaf fat. See under Lard. -- Leaf louse (Zoöl.), an aphid. -- Leaf metal, metal in thin leaves, as gold, silver, or tin. -- Leaf miner (Zoöl.), any one of various small lepidopterous and dipterous insects, which, in the larval stages, burrow in and eat the parenchyma of leaves; as, the pear-tree leaf miner (Lithocolletis geminatella). -- Leaf notcher (Zoöl.), a pale bluish green beetle (Artipus Floridanus), which, in Florida, eats the edges of the leaves of orange trees. -- Leaf roller (Zoöl.), the larva of any tortricid moth which makes a nest by rolling up the leaves of plants. See Tortrix. - - Leaf scar (Bot.), the cicatrix on a stem whence a leaf has fallen. -- Leaf sewer (Zoöl.), a tortricid moth, whose caterpillar makes a nest by rolling up a leaf and fastening the edges together with silk, as if sewn; esp., Phoxopteris nubeculana, which feeds upon the apple tree. -- Leaf sight, a hinged sight on a firearm, which can be raised or folded down. -- Leaf trace (Bot.), one or more fibrovascular bundles, which may be traced down an endogenous stem from the base of a leaf. -- Leaf tier (Zoöl.), a tortricid moth whose larva makes a nest by fastening the edges of a leaf together with silk; esp., Teras cinderella, found on the apple tree. -- Leaf valve, a valve which moves on a hinge. -- Leaf wasp (Zoöl.), a sawfly. - - To turn over a new leaf, to make a radical change for the better in one's way of living or doing. [Colloq.]

They were both determined to turn over a new leaf.

Richardson.

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Leaf (lf), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Leafed (lft); p. pr. & vb. n. Leafing.] To shoot out leaves; to produce leaves; to leave; as, the trees leaf in May. Sir T. Browne.

Leaf"age (?), n. Leaves, collectively; foliage.

Leaf"cup` (?), n. (Bot.) A coarse American composite weed (Polymnia Uvedalia).

Leafed (?), a. Having (such) a leaf or (so many) leaves; -- used in composition; as, broad- leafed; four-leafed.

Leaf"et (?), n. (Bot.) A leaflet.

Leaf"-foot`ed (?), a. (Zoöl.) Having leaflike expansions on the legs; -- said of certain insects; as, the leaf-footed bug (Leptoglossus phyllopus).

Leaf"i*ness (?), n. The state of being leafy.

Leaf"less, a. Having no leaves or foliage; bearing no foliage. "Leafless groves." Cowper. -- Leaf"less*ness, n.

Leafless plants, plants having no foliage, though leaves may be present in the form of scales and bracts. See Leaf, n., 1 and 2.

Leaf"let (?), n. 1. A little leaf; also, a little printed leaf or a tract.

2. (Bot.) One of the divisions of a compound leaf; a foliole.

3. (Zoöl.) A leaflike organ or part; as, a leaflet of the gills of fishes.

Leaf"-nosed` (?), n. (Zoöl.) Having a leaflike membrane on the nose; -- said of certain bats, esp. of the genera Phyllostoma and Rhinonycteris. See Vampire.

Leaf"stalk` (?), n. (Bot.) The stalk or petiole which supports a leaf.

Leaf"y (?), a. [Compar. Leafier (?); superl. Leafiest.] 1. Full of leaves; abounding in leaves; as, the leafy forest. "The leafy month of June." Coleridge.

2. Consisting of leaves. "A leafy bed." Byron.

League (?), n. [Cf. OE. legue, lieue, a measure of length, F. lieue, Pr. lega, legua, It. & LL. lega, Sp. legua, Pg. legoa, legua; all fr. LL. leuca, of Celtic origin: cf. Arm. leo, lev (perh. from French), Ir. leige (perh. from English); also Ir. & Gael. leac a flag, a broad, flat stone, W. llech, -- such stones having perh. served as a sort of milestone (cf. Cromlech).] 1. A measure of length or distance, varying in different countries from about 2.4 to 4.6 English statute miles of 5,280 feet each, and used (as a land measure) chiefly on the continent of Europe, and in the Spanish parts of America. The marine league of England and the United States is equal to three marine, or geographical, miles of 6080 feet each.

The English land league is equal to three English statute miles. The Spanish and French leagues vary in each country according to usage and the kind of measurement to which they are applied. The Dutch and German leagues contain about four geographical miles, or about 4.6 English statute miles.

2. A stone erected near a public road to mark the distance of a league. [Obs.]

League (?), n. [F. ligue, LL. liga, fr. L. ligare to bind; cf. Sp. liga. Cf. Ally a confederate, Ligature.] An alliance or combination of two or more nations, parties, or persons, for the accomplishment of a purpose which requires a continued course of action, as for mutual defense, or for furtherance of commercial, religious, or political interests, etc.

And let there be 'Twixt us and them no league, nor amity.

Denham.

A league may be offensive or defensive, or both; offensive, when the parties agree to unite in attacking a common enemy; defensive, when they agree to a mutual defense of each other against an enemy.