Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
- Entries
- 95,912
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- 2,133
Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
L p. 745L, the twelfth letter of the English alphabet, is usually denominated a semi-vowel, or a liquid. Its shape is evidently borrowed from that of the Oriental lamed, or lomad, nearly coinciding with the…Lā p. 745A syllable applied to the sixth tone of the scale in music for the purpose of solmization. (b.) The tone A; — so called among the French and Italians.La, interj. p. 745Look; see; behold.Lāb, n. p. 745A great talker; a blabber. [Obs.] Chaucer.Lăb, v. i. p. 745To talk excessively or thoughtlessly; to babble; to blab. [Obs.] Chaucer.Lāb'a-dist, n. p. 745(Eccl. Hist.) A follower of Jean de Labadie, a reformer of the seventeenth century. He held that the church should be a community of sanctified persons striving after perfection in holiness, but…Lāb'a-rūm, n. p. 745The standard borne before the Emperor Constantine after his conversion to Christianity. It was a long pike, having a transverse beam, to which was attached a silken vail, wrought with images of the…Lāb'da-nūm, n. p. 745See LADANUM.Lāb'/e-fāc'tion, n. p. 745The act of labefying, or making weak; the state of being weakened; decay; ruin. Then collecting himself, as it were to give a heavy stroke: “There is in it such a labefaction of all principles as may…Lāb'e-fy, v. t. p. 745To weaken or impair. [Obs.]Lā'bel, n. p. 745A tassel. [Obs.] Huloet. Fuller. 2. A narrow slip of silk, paper, parchment, &c., affixed to any thing, denoting its contents, ownership, and the like; as, the label of a bottle, or a package. 3. A…Lā'bel, v. t. p. 745To affix a label to.La-bĕl'lum, n. p. 745(Bot.) The front segment of a flower, especially of those of the Orchis family.Lā'bent, a. p. 745Sliding; gliding. [Rare.]Lā'be-o, n. p. 745(Ichth.) A genus of fishes having very thick and fleshy lips, found in Egypt and India.Lā'bi-al, a. p. 745Pertaining or belonging to the lips; as, labial veins. 2. (Pron.) Formed by the lips; uttered principally with the lips;—said of certain letters, as b, m, and p.Lā'bi-al, n. p. 745(Pron.) A letter or character representing an articulation or sound formed or uttered chiefly with the lips, as b, p, w.Lā'bi-al-ly, adv. p. 745In a labial manner; by the lips.Lā'bi-ate or Lā'bi-ā'ted, a. p. 745(Bot.) 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 mints. Gray.Lā′bile, a. p. 745Liable to err, fall, or apostatize. [Obs.] Cheyne.Lā'bi-o-dĕnt'al, a. p. 745(Pron.) Formed or pronounced by the co-operation of the lips and teeth, as f and v.Lā'bĭ-ŭm, n. p. 745A lip; especially, (a.) (Entom.) The organ of insects which covers the mouth from beneath, and represents the under lip. (b.) (Conch.) The inner lip of a shell, or that one nearest the axis. Brande.Lāb'lab, n. p. 745(Bot.) A genus of twining leguminous plants found in the tropics.Lā'bor, n. p. 745Physical 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…Lā'bor, v. i. p. 745To exert muscular strength; to act or move 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…Lā'bor, v. t. p. 745To work at; to till; hence, to attain by labor; to foster or cultivate by toil. The most excellent lands are lying fallow, or only labored by children. Tooke. Labor that first palm of noble minds, A…Lăb'o-rant, n. p. 745A chemist. [Obs.] Boyle.Lăb'o-ra-to-ry, n. p. 745A place where operations and experiments in chemistry, pharmacy, pyrotechny, &c., are performed; the work-room of a chemist. 2. A place where any thing is prepared for use; as, the stomach is called…Lā'bored, a. p. 745Bearing marks of constraint in execution; — opposed to easy or free; as, a labored style.Lāʹbor-er, n. p. 745One who labors in a toilsome occupation; a man who does work that requires little skill, as distinguished from an artisan; — sometimes called a laboring man. [Written also labourer.]La-bō'ri-oüs, a. p. 745Requiring or employing labor, perseverance, or sacrifices; toilsome; tiresome. Dost thou love watchings, abstinence, or toil, Laborious virtues all? Learn these from Cato. Addison. 2. Devoted to…La-bō'ri-oüs-ly, adv. p. 745With labor, toil, or difficulty.La-bō'ri-oŭs-ness, n. p. 745The quality of being laborious, or attended with toil; toilsomeness; difficulty. 2. Diligence; assiduity.Lā'bor-less, a. p. 745Not laborious; easily done.Lā'bor-sāv'ing, a. p. 745Saving labor; adapted to supersede or diminish the labor of men.Lā'bor-sôme, a. p. 745Made with great labor and diligence. [Obs.] “Laborsome petition.” Shak. 2. (Naut.) Likely or inclined to roll or pitch, as a ship in a heavy sea.Lā'brā, n. p. 745A lip. [Obs.] Shak.Lāb'ra-dōr-ite, n. p. 745(Min.) Labrador spar, a beautiful variety of opalescent feldspar, from Labrador.Lāb'ra-dōr Tēa p. 745A plant of two species of the genus Ledum (L. palustre and L. latifolia), possessing narcotic properties, used for a drink, and to render beer heady.Lā'brar, n. p. 745(Ichth.) A genus of fishes allied to the perch; the bass. See BASS.La-brōse', a. p. 745Having thick lips.Lā'brum, n. p. 745A lip or edge, as of a basin or dish. 2. (Entom.) An organ in insects covering the upper part of the mouth, and corresponding to the upper lip. 3. (Conch.) The outer lip of a shell, or that one…Lā'brus, n. p. 745(Ichth.) A genus of fishes, several species of which are characterized by an elegant and regular oval form and beautiful colors; the wrasse.La-bûr'num, n. p. 745(Bot.) A tree of the genus Cytisus, a native of the Alps, and much cultivated as an ornamental tree.Lăb'y-rinth, n. p. 745An edifice or place full of intricacies, or formed with winding passages, which render it difficult to find the way from the interior to the entrance; as, the Egyptian and the Cretan labyrinths. 2.…Lāb'y-rinth'al, a. p. 746Pertaining to, or resembling, a labyrinth.Lāb'y-rĭnth'i-an, a. p. 746Winding; intricate; perplexed.Lāb'y-rinth'ic or Lāb'y-rinth'ic-al, a. p. 746Like a labyrinth.Lāb'y-rinth'i-fōrm, a. p. 746Having the form of a labyrinth; intricate.Lāb'y-rinth'ine, a. p. 746Pertaining to, or like, a labyrinth.Lāb'y-rĭnth'o-dŏn, n. p. 746(Palæon.) A genus of extinct reptiles of a large size, so named from the labyrinthine texture of its tooth. They unite the form, and many of the characteristics, of the batrachians or frogs, with the…Lāb'y-rinth'o-dōnt, n. p. 746One of the family of reptiles to which the labyrinthodon belongs.Lăc, n. p. 746A resinous substance produced mainly upon the banyan tree, by the Coccus lacca, a scale-shaped insect, the female of which fixes itself on the bark, and exudes from the margin of the body this…Lăc, n. p. 746One hundred thousand; as, a lac of rupees. [Written also lack.] [East Indies.]Lāc'cic, a. p. 746(Chem.) Pertaining to lac, or produced from it; as, laccic acid.Lāe'cine, n. p. 746(Chem.) A substance obtained from shell-lac. It is brittle, yellow, translucent, and soluble in caustic potash and in sulphuric acid.Lāçe, n. p. 746That which binds or holds, especially by being interwoven; a string or cord, often plaited or otherwise ornamented. 2. A snare or gin, especially one made of interwoven cords; a net. [Obs.] Fairfax.…Lāce, v. t. p. 746To fasten with a lace or string. “When Jenny’s stays are newly laced.” Prior. 2. To adorn or deck with lace; as, cloth laced with silver. Shak. 3. To interweave or embellish with variegations or…Lāçe, v. i. p. 746To have a lace; to be fastened or tied with a lace or string.Lāçe'-bärk, n. p. 746(Bot.) A shrub in the West Indies (the Lagetto lintearia);—so called from the lace-like texture of its inner bark.