leasues,‘leasowes’, pastures, Udall, tr. Apoph., Diogenes, § 103. OE.lǣs, a pasture (dat.lǣswe). See EDD. (s.v. Leasowe).
leasues,‘leasowes’, pastures, Udall, tr. Apoph., Diogenes, § 103. OE.lǣs, a pasture (dat.lǣswe). See EDD. (s.v. Leasowe).
lease;Lease-parol, a lease by word of mouth, instead of in writing. Greene, Looking Glasse, iii. 3 (1298); p. 134, col. 1.
lease, lese,to lie, tell lies. A Knack to know a Knave (Honesty), in Hazlitt’s Dodsley, vi. 511. ME.lesen, OE.lēasian, to tell lies;lēas, false.
leasing,lying, falsehood, a lie. Twelfth Nt. i. 5. 105; Spenser, F. Q. i. 6. 48;Bible, Ps. iv. 2; v. 6;lesynge, Coverdale, 2 Esdras xiv. 18. ME.leesyng(Wyclif, Ps. v. 7). OE.lēasung.
leathe-weake,having the joints flexible, hence, pliant, soft. Ascham, Toxophilus (ed. Arber, 129). A north-country word, writtenleathwake,lithwake,leathweak(EDD.). ME.lithwayke, ‘flexibilis’ (Cath. Angl.). OE.leoðuwāc,liðewāc(BT.).
leatica,a red muscatel wine made in Tuscany. Dekker, Honest Wh., Pt. II, iv. 3 (1 Vintner). Ital.liatico(Florio);aleatico, an exquisite grape, a wine made therefrom (Fanfani). See NED. (s.v. Liatico).
leave,to levy, raise an army. Spenser, F. Q. ii. 10. 31. F.lever, ‘to raise, to levy’ (Cotgr.).
leavy,leafy, full of foliage. Much Ado, ii. 3. 75; Dryden, Flower and Leaf, 316, 512.
leden, ledden,language. Spenser, F. Q. iv. 11. 19; Colin Clout, 744; Drayton, Pol. xii. 303. ME.leden(Chaucer, C. T.F.435); OE.leden(lyden), language, prop. the Latin language, L.Latinus; cp. O. Prov.latin, ‘langage’ (Levy), OF.latin, language, also, the warbling of birds (Bartsch, 581. 34); Ital.latino, language (Dante).
ledger,resident; esp. in capacity of ambassador; ‘His Ambassadour that was ledger at Rome’, Daus, tr. Sleidane, 113 (NED.);lieger, Webster, White Devil (Francisco), ed. Dyce, 18;legier, resting in a place, Fairfax, Tasso, i. 70. 15;leiger, Shirley, Lady of Pleasure, iv. 2 (Littleworth). Seelieger.
Lee.‘His corps was carried downe along the Lee’, Spenser, F. Q. v. 2. 19; ‘I looked . . . adowne the Lee’, Ruines of Time (Globe ed. 496). Probably the reference is to the name of a river.
leefky,forleefkyn, a bodice.Leefekyes, pl., Lyly, Euphues (ed. Arber, 116). Du.lijfken: ‘een vrouwen Lijfken, A womans Bodies [bodice]’ (Hexham); dimin. oflijf, a body.
leefsom,pleasant. Surrey, Complaint of absence, 23, in Tottel’s Misc., p. 19. Cp. Scottishleesome, pleasant, loveable (EDD.). OE.lēofsum(Juliana, 17).
leek,like. Middleton, The Witch, i. 2 (Hecate); riming withcheek.
leer,complexion. As You Like It, iv. 1. 67; Titus, iv. 2. 119; speltlaire, Drayton, Harmony Church, Song Sol., ch. i, l. 12;lere, Skelton, Phyllyp Sparowe, 1034; El. Rummyng, 12;leyre, Magnyfycence, 1573. For the sense, see EDD. (s.v. Leer, sb.33, and Lire, sb.3). OE.hlēor, face, countenance. Seeleare.
leer,tape. Lyly, Euphues (ed. Arber, 79). In Kentish glossaries, see EDD. (s.v. Leer, sb.2). See NED. (s.v. Lear, sb.2).
leer,empty.A leer horse, a horse without a rider (see Nares);a leer drunkard, a drunkard void of self-control, B. Jonson, Barth. Fair, Induction; New Inn, iv. 3 (Lovel). ME.lere, empty (Rob. Glouc., p. 81); see Stratmann (s.v. lǣre). OE.lǣre; cp. G.leer. Very common in prov. use, see EDD. (s.v. Lear, adj.1).
leer;Leer side, in B. Jonson, Tale of Tub, i. 2 (Turfe), and ii. 2, ‘Hat turn’d up o’ the leer side.’ Supposed by Nares to be used for the left side. Probably due to the formleereboard(forlar-board), see Hakluyt’s Voyages, i. 4.
leere,lore. Seelere.
leese,to lose.Bible, 1 Kings xviii. 5 (ed. 1611); Shak., Sonnet 5; Fletcher, Faithful Shepherdess, iv. 1. 4. ME.lesen(Chaucer, C. T.A.1290); OE.lēosan.
lefull,permissible. Tyndale, Matt. xii. 12; Ascham, Toxophilus, 45. ME.leveful(Chaucer, C. T.D.37);leve, permission (id., C. T.B.1637). See NED. (s.v. Leeful).
leg:in phr.to make a leg, to make an obeisance by drawing one leg backward. Tempest, ii. 2. 62; Merry Wives, v. 5. 58; ‘Give him a plum, he makes his leg’, Selden, Table Talk (Thanksgiving). See Nares.
legacy,an embassy, message delivered by a legate. Chapman, tr. of Iliad, vii. 349; ix. 220.
Lege de moy,supposed to be the name of a dance; ‘Parys of Troy Daunced a Lege de moy’, Skelton, Colyn Cloute, 953; El. Rummyng, 587.
legem pone,a cant term for ready money; ‘There are so manie Danaes now a dayes . . . Iflegem ponecomes he is receav’d, WhenVix haud habeois of hope bereav’d’, The Affectionate Shepheard (Halliwell); ‘They were all at our service for thelegem pone’, Ozell’s Rabelais, iv. 12; ‘Uselegem poneto pay at thy day, But use notOremusfor often delay’, Tusser, Husbandry, 29. The origin of the use of this Latin phrase for money is doubtless this: The first great pay-day of the year was March 25, on which day of the month theLegem poneis the first portion of the 119th Psalm read at Mattins, so that these words were easily associated with the idea of payment and ready money. See Nares.
leger,light; ‘A hundred leger wafers’, The London Chanticleers, scene 5 (Welcome). F.léger.
legiaunce,faithful service. Bacon, Henry VII, p. 142. OF.ligeance,legiance, deriv. oflige,liege, entitled to feudal service, also, bound to render feudal service, see Didot (s.v. Lige, Ligence). Cp. O. Prov.litge, ‘liege’; of Germanic origin, OHG.ledig, free;legiauncewas the feudal service of a free man. See NED.
legier;seeledger.
legier-booke,a ‘ledger-book’, i.e. a book containing records, a cartulary, register. Peacham, Comp. Gentleman, c. 6, p. 51. See Dict. (s.v. Ledger).
legierte,lightness, agility. Caxton, Hist. Troye, leaf 230. 20; thoughtlessness, id., lf. 311, back, 23. F.légèreté, lightness.
leiger;seeledger.
leke;seeleak.
lelacke,lilac. Bacon, Essay 46. Cp. the Lincoln pronunciationlealock, see EDD. (s.v. Laylock).
lelely;seeleally.
lembic,an ‘alembic’, B. Jonson, Alchem. iii. 2 (Subtle);limbeck, Macbeth, i. 7. 67.
leme,a flame, light, ray, beam. Sir T. Elyot, The Governour, bk. i, c. 1, § 2; Calisto and Melibæa, in Hazlitt’s Dodsley, i. 64;leames, lights, Sackville, Induction to Mirror, st. 9. A north-country word, see EDD. (s.v. Leam, sb.11). ME.leme(Chaucer, C. T.B.4120). OE.lēoma, light.
Lemures,in early Roman religion, the spirits of the departed. Milton, Christ’s Nativity, Hymn, st. 21.
l’envoy,the sending forth a poem, hence, the conclusion of a poetical or prose composition; the author’s parting words;fig.a conclusion, catastrophe, ‘Long since I look’d for this l’envoy’, Massinger, Bashful Lover, iv. 1 (Martino); v. 1 (Alonzo). OF.envoye(F.envoi), a sending.
lere,lore, teaching. Spenser, Shep. Kal., May, 261; Drayton, Pol. xxiv. 803;leare, Spenser, F. Q. iii, 11. 16; iv. 3. 40;leares, lessons, F. Q. iii. 7. 21;leere, Lyly, Mother Bombie, ii. 5 (Sperantus). Also, the meaning, sense (as of a Latin phrase), Heywood, Witches of Lancs. iv (Lawrence). In prov. use in Scotland and north of England, see EDD. (s.v. Lear, sb.15). ME.lere(Sir Gowther, 231); fr.leren, to teach (Chaucer, Tr. and Cr. iv. 441). Seeleyre.
lere;seeleer.
lerrepoop;seeliripoop.
lerrie,something said by rote, a set speech, ‘patter’; ‘Man can teach us our lerrie’, Middleton, Blurt, Mr. Constable, iii. 3 (Third Lady). In Kent ‘lerry’ is the part which has to be learnt by a mummer (EDD.). See NED. (s.v. Lurry).
lesses,the dung of a ‘ravenous’ animal. Turbervile, Hunting, c. 37; p. 97; Maister of Game, c. 25. F.laisses, ‘the lesses (or dung) of a wild Boar, Wolf, or Bear’ (Cotgr.).
lest,to listen. Spenser, F. Q. vi. 1. 17. See EDD. (s.v. List, vb.3).
lest;seelist.
lesynge;seeleasing.
let,hindrance. Spenser, F. Q. i. 8. 13; vi. 2. 17. ME.lett(Cursor M. 7395).
Lethe,a river in Hades, the water of which produced forgetfulness of the past; ‘Lethe the River of Oblivion’, Milton, P. L. ii. 583; ‘Lethe Wharfe’, Hamlet, i. 5. 33. HenceLethean, ‘They ferry over this Lethean Sound’, Milton, P. L. ii. 604 (cp. the ‘Lethaeus amnis’ of Virgil, Aeneid vi. 705). Gk. λήθη, forgetfulness, oblivion; personified in Hesiod; no river is called Λήθη by the ancient Greeks.
Lethe,Death, Jul. Caesar, iii. 1. 206. HenceLethean, deadly, mortal. Blount, Glossogr., 1670. F.Lethe, ‘masc. Death;Lethean, deadly, mortal, death-inflicting’ (Cotgr.). L.letum(on acc. of association with Gk. λήθη, Lethe, sometimes printedlethum, an orthography which is not supported by MSS. or Inscriptions), Death.
lettice,a kind of whitish grey fur; ‘A robe of Scarlet . . . bordered with Lettice’, Hall, Chron., 25 Hen. VIII (ed. 1809, 803);a lettice cap, ‘Bring in the Lettice cap . . . And then how suddenly we’ll make you sleep’, Fletcher, M. Thomas, iii. 1. 9; id., Thierry and Theod. v. 2. 8. F.letice, ‘a beast of a whitish gray colour’ (Cotgr.). OF.letice,lettice,lettiche, ‘fourrure ou pelisse grise’ (Didot), see Ducange (s.v. Lactenus). OHG.illitiso, the polecat (12th cent.), MHG.iltis,iltisse, see Weigand and Kluge (s.v. Iltis). See Nares.
lettuce,in proverbial sayings:Like lips, like lettuce, i.e. things happen to a man according to his deserts, Greene, Orl. Fur. i. 1. 318 (Orgalio, p. 93, col. 1);Like lettuce, like lips, New Custom, in Hazlitt’s Dodsley, iii. 23;Such lips, such lettuce, Heywood’s Proverbs, 80. Cp. the Latin Proverb, ‘Similes habent labra lactucas’, see Ray’s English Proverbs (ed. Bohn, 111). See NED.
level-coil,a rough game, in which each player is in turn driven from his seat and supplanted by another, hence, riotous sport. B. Jonson, Tale of a Tub, iii. 2 (Dame Turfe); ‘Jouër à cul-leve, to play at level-coyl’, (Cotgrave). Also used as adv. for turn and turn about, alternately, ‘The mother’s smile Brought forth the daughter’s blush, and levell coyle, They smil’d and blusht’, Quarles, Argalus (ed. 1629, 18). F.lève-cul, see Littré (s.v. Lever). See Halliwell.
lever,rather, more gladly. Spenser, F. Q. i. 9. 32;me lever were, it would be more agreeable to me, id., iii. 2. 6. In gen. prov. use in the British Isles. ME. ‘me were lever’ (Chaucer, Tr. and Cr. i. 1034). OE.lēofre, comp. oflēof, dear, ‘lief’.
leveret,a mistress, a courtesan. Shirley, Gent. of Venice, i. 1 (Malipiero); Gamester, i. 1; Honoria. i. 1 (Alamode). F.levrette, ‘A Greyhound bitch, also, a most lascivious and incontinent wench’ (Cotgr.).
levet,a trumpet-call, to awaken soldiers, &c., in a morning; ‘Trumpets sound a levet’ (stage-direction), Fletcher, Double Marriage, ii. 1; Butler, Hud. ii. 2. 611. Ital.levata, a march upon a drum and trumpet (Florio); orig. pp. fem. oflevare, to raise.
levigate,lightened, made easier. Sir T. Elyot, Governour, bk. i, c. 3, § 1. Late L.levigare, to lighten;levigatio, a lightening (Rönsch, 81).
leyre,lore. Drayton, Pastorals, Ecl. 4; Ballad of Dowsabel, l. 11. Seelere.
leystall;seelaystall.
liam, lyam,a leash for hounds. Speltliom, Sir Thos. More, i. 4. 143; Sir T. Elyot, Governour, bk. ii, ch. 13, § 5; Drayton, Muses’ Elysium, Nymphal 6, 65. O. Prov.liam(Levy), Béarnais Dial.,liam(Lespy), Norm.-F.lian, ‘lien’ (Moisy), L.ligamen, a band, anything to tie with, fr.ligare, to tie. See NED. (s.v. Lyam), and EDD. (s.v. Leam, sb.2). Seelym.
lib,to sleep. (Cant.) Middleton, Roaring Girl, v. 1 (Song). Hence,libkin, a house to sleep in, a lodging, B. Jonson, Gipsies Metamorphosed (Jackman);lib ken, Middleton, Roaring Girl, v. 1 (Tearcat); ‘Alypken, a house to lye in’, Harman, Caveat, 83.
lib;seeglib.
libbard,leopard. Spenser, F. Q. vii. 7. 29; Milton, P. L. vii. 467. [The form ‘libbard’ occurs in modern poets: ‘The lion, and the libbard, and the bear’, Cowper, Task, vi. 773; ‘On libbard’s paws’, Keats, Lamia, ii. 185.] ME.libarde(Chaucer, Rom. Rose, 894). OF.lebard(Godefroy); see NED.
libbat,a short thick stick, chiefly for throwing at cocks, &c.; a billet of wood. Warner, Alb. England, bk. iv, st. 21, st. 12; id., prose add. to bk. ii, § 22. In prov. use in Kent, Surrey, Sussex, and Dorset, see EDD. (s.v. Libbet, sb.1).
libecchio,a south-west wind. Milton, P. L. x. 706. An erroneous form for Ital.libeccio(Florio), deriv. of L.Libs, S.W. wind; Gk. Λίψ.
libel, libell,a little book, a short treatise. Gascoigne, Works, i. 42; a written statement. North’s Plutarch, Life of Octavius, § 25 (in Shaks. Plut., p. 277, note 1).
liberal,licentious, gross. Much Ado, iv. 1. 93; Merch. Ven. ii. 2. 194; Othello, ii. 1. 165.Liberally, licentiously; City Gallant, in Hazlitt’s Dodsley, xi. 194.
libration,oscillation, swaying to and fro; ‘The bounds of thy libration’, Dryden, Conq. of Granada, ii. 3. 1 (Almanzor). L.librare, to balance.
licket.Meaning doubtful; perhaps a flap of some kind; ‘Wear your coif with a London licket’, Eastward Ho, i. 1 (Gertrude). In the west country ‘licket’ is in use for ‘a shred, rag’ (EDD.).
lidderon,a rascal. Skelton, Against Ven. Tongues, 29; Garl. of Laurell, 188. A Sc. prov. word, see Jamieson, Suppl. ME.lyderonorlydron, ‘lydorus’ (Prompt. EETS. 262), (lydorus= Gk. λοίδορος).
lieger,an ordinary or resident Ambassador; ‘A Lieger (differed) from an extraordinary Ambassador’, Fuller, Ch. Hist. iii. 5. 22; Fletcher, Love’s Cure, ii. 2 (Alvarez); a commissioner, an agent, speltleiger, Meas. for M. iii. 1. 59; Butler, Hud. ii. 3. 140. Seeledger.
lie-pot,a vessel to hold ‘lye’ for use as a hair-wash. Middleton, Five Gallants, i. 1. 12 (or14).
lifter,a thief, cheat. Tr. and Cr. i. 2. 129; Greene, James IV, iii. 1 (near the end).
lig, ligge,to lie, lie down. Spenser, F. Q. vi. 4. 40; Shep. Kal., May, 217; Oct., 12. In common prov. use in the north country and E. Anglia, see EDD. (s.v. Lie, vb.21 (4)). OE.licgean(liggan).
lightly,usually, commonly. Richard III, iii. 1. 91; Massinger, Bondman, iii. 3 (Gracculo); ‘There’s lightning lightly before thunder’, Ray’s English Proverbs (ed. Bohn, 110); given as a Kentish saying (EDD.).
lightmans,a cant term for day. Middleton, Roaring Girl, v. 1 (Song); Harman, Caveat, p. 84. Seedarkmans.
like,to please; ‘The music likes you not’, Two Gent. iv. 2. 56; esp. in the phrase of courtesy,an’t like your Grace, if it please your Grace, Hen. VIII, i. 1. 100 (for exx. see Schmidt). ME.lyke, to please;it lyketh yow, it pleases you (Chaucer); OE.līcian, to please.
†lilburne,heavy stupid fellow; a term of abuse. Udall, Roister Doister, iii. 3 (Merygreek).
lill,to let the tongue loll out, to thrust forth the tongue. Spenser, F. Q. i. 5. 34; ‘I lylle out the tonge’, Palsgrave. In prov. use in Berks. and Wilts., see EDD. (s.v. Lill, vb.2).
limbeck;seelembic.
limiter,a friar licensed to beg within certain limits. Spenser, Mother Hubberd, 85. ME.limitour(Chaucer, C. T.A.209). See Nares.
limmer,a ‘limber’; the shaft of a cart or carriage. North, tr. of Plutarch, Coriolanus, § 14 (in Shak. Plut., p. 26); ‘Timone, the limmer or beam or pole of a wagon’, Torriano, Ital. Dict. (1688). ‘Limmer’ is in prov. use in various parts of England, see EDD. (s.v. Limber).
limmer,a scoundrel, rascal, rogue. B. Jonson, Sad Sheph. ii. 1 (Earine); Dalrymple, tr. Leslie’s Hist. Scot. ix. 219;lymmer, Holinshed Hist. Irel. (Nares). In common prov. use in the north country (EDD.).
limp,a ‘limpet’. Drayton, Pol. xxv. 189. A Cumberland word (EDD.).
lin,a pool. Drayton, Pol. v. 118; vi. 22. In Scotland and the Border countrylinnis used for the pool at the base of a waterfall, see EDD. (s.v. Linn, sb.12). Gaellinne; Irishlinn; Welshllyn, a pool.
lin,to cease. Spenser, F. Q. i. 5. 35; Puritan Widow, iii. 5. 110; B. Jonson, Staple of News, iv. 1 (Tat.); Mirror for Mag. 77 (Nares). In prov. use in the north country (EDD.). ME.linne(King Horn, 1004); OE.linnan.
line,the lime or linden. Holland, Pliny, i. 541;line-grove, grove of lime-trees, Tempest, v. 1. 10. OE.lindandlinde. See NED. (s.v. Lind).
lingel,a shoemaker’s waxed thread. Beaumont and Fl., Knt. of the B. Pestle, v.3 (Ralph); Fitzherbert, Husbandry, § 142; ‘Lyngell that souters sowe with,chefgros’, Palsgrave. ‘Lingel’ (or ‘lingle’) is the ordinary word for shoemaker’s thread in Scotland (EDD.). F.ligneul(Cotgr.).
linsel, lynsel,a sheet, a winding-sheet. Kyd, Cornelia, iii. 1. 83. F.linceul, a sheet; L.linteolum, dimin. oflinteum, a linen cloth.
lint,flax, flaxen cloth; ‘Robes that brooke no lint’, admit of no flax; being of costly material, Warner, Albion’s England, bk. ii, ch. 9, st. 68. In prov. use in Scotland and north of Ireland (EDD.).
lint-staff,a lint-stock or linstock, a staff with a forked head to hold a lighted match. Heywood, Challenge for Beauty, iii. 1 (Valladaura); vol. v, p. 35. See Dict. (s.v. Linstock).
lion-drunk,drunk as a lion. Massinger, Bondman, iii. 3 (Gracculo). The four degrees of drunkenness were to be drunk as a sheep (good-humoured); as a lion (noisy); as an ape (foolish); and as a swine (bestial). See note to Chaucer (C. T.H.44), in Complete Works.
liquor,to lubricate; to anoint with grease. Bacon, Nat. History, § 117; Butler, Hud. i. 3. 106.
liripoop,chiefly in phrasesto knoworhave(one’s)liripoop,to teach(a person)his liripoop. It means something to be learned and acted or spoken;lyrypoope, Newton, Lemnie’s Complex. vii. 58 (NED.); ‘I will teach thee thy lyrripups’, Stanyhurst, Desc. Irel. in Holinshed, ii. 35;lerripoope, Lyly, Mother Bombie, i. 3 (Prisius);leerypoope, Sapho, i. 3 (Cryticus). Used in the sense of a trick,lerrepoop, Beaumont and Fl., Wit at Several Weapons, i. 1 (Sir Gregory); London Prodigal, iv. 1. 2. Cp. ‘lerry’, Linc. word for a trick (EDD.). Seelerry.
lirrypoope,a silly person, Fletcher, Pilgrim, ii. 1. See Nares (s.v. Liripoop). A Devon word, see EDD. (s.v. Lirripoop).
list,a stripe of colour. Butler, Hud. ii. 3. 306; Sir T. Browne, Vulgar Errors, bk. vi, c. 11. Hencelisted, striped, Milton, P. L. xi. 866. In prov. use, see EDD. (s.v. List, sb.13). F.liste, a list or selvedge (Cotgr.).
listeth, list,impers.it is pleasing to; ‘Ys yt not lawfull for me to do as me listeth with myne awne’, Tyndale, Matt. xx. 15; ‘Me list . . . This idle task to undertake’, Peele, Arraignm. Paris, i. 2; ‘When me lest’, World and Child, in Hazlitt’s Dodsley, i. 247.
litch-owl,the ‘lich-owl’, screech-owl, whose cry portended death; ‘The shrieking Litch-owl that doth never cry But boding death’, Drayton, The Owl, 302;like-owle, Holland, tr. of Pliny, bk. x, c. 23 (i. 283c). See EDD. (s.v. Lich). ME.liche, a body, a dead body (Chaucer). OE.līc.
lithe, lythe,a joint;out of lythe, out of joint, Morte Arthur, leaf 58, back, 10; bk. iii, c. 13. ME.lyth, a limb (Prompt.). OE.lið.
lither,pliant, supple, yielding; ‘The lither skie’, 1 Hen. VI, iv. 7. 21; see NED. ‘Lither’ is used in this sense in Kent and Sussex, see EDD. (s.v. Lither, adj.2). Probably the same word as ‘lither’, lazy, sluggish. OE.lȳðre, bad (morally and physically).
little-ease,pillory, stocks; a very small compartment in a prison. Middleton, Family of Love, iii. 1. 9. Also calledsmall-ease. See Nares.
little-son,a grandson. North, tr. of Plutarch, Octavius, § 22 (in Shak. Plut., p. 271).
liver.Supposed to be the seat of love; to which idea allusions are common. Temp. iv. 56; Merry Wives, ii. 1. 121. Also, the seat of courage; Twelfth Nt. iii. 2. 22. To belily-livered, ormilk-livered, orpigeon-livered, orwhite-livered, is to lack courage, to be cowardly.
livery,a suit of clothes bestowed on retainers or servants, 2 Hen. IV, v. 5. 11;instance of livery, badge of service; Ford, Broken Heart, iv. 1 (Nearchus). Henceliveried, ‘A thousand liveried angels lackey her’, Milton, Comus, 455. F.livrée, ‘a delivery of a thing that’s given, the thing so given, hence, a livery; ones cloth, colours, or device worn by servants or others’ (Cotgr.); Med. L.liberata(Ducange). See Dict.
loave ears,drooping ears. Lady Alimony, ii. 6 (Morisco).
lob,a lubber, a clown. Mids. Night’s D. ii. 1. 10; Westward Ho, ii. 3 (Birdlime). Cp. Du.lobben, ‘a lubbard, a clowne’ (Hexham). A Lancashire word, see EDD. (s.v. Lob, sb.2).
lobcock,a lubber; a term of abuse. Udall, Roister Doister, iii. 3 (Merygreek); Gascoigne, Supposes, ii. 3 (end). In prov. use in the north country and in E. Anglia (EDD.).
Lob’s pound,prison; alsofig.a state of great difficulty or entanglement; a fix. Massinger, Duke of Milan, iii. 2 (Officer); Digby, Elvira, ii. 1 (Chichon); Butler, Hud. i. 3. 910. AlsoHob’s pound. See Nares.
lodam,the name of a game of cards; ‘Carica l’asino, the play at cards that we call, Load him’ (Florio); in one form, calledlosing loadum, the loser won the game, ‘Coquimbert qui gaigne pert, a game at cards, like our losing Lodam’, Cotgrave; Shirley, The Wedding, ii. 3 (Lodam).
lodesman,a pilot, guide; ‘Lodesman of a shippe, Pilotte’, Palsgrave; ‘A lodes-man’, Song in Tottel’s Misc., p. 184. ME.lodesman, pilot (Chaucer, Leg. G. W. 1488). OE.lādmann.
lodesmate,(?) a travelling companion. Only in Gascoigne, Glasse Govt. v. 3 (Phylocalus), in Poems (ed. 1870, ii. 77).
loffe,to laugh. Mids. Night’s D. ii. 1. 55. In EDD.loff(lough) is given as the infin. of ‘laugh’ in many parts of England (western from Lanc. to Cornwall). In Lanc. they say ‘he lough’ for ‘he laughed’. ME.lough, pret. oflaughe(Chaucer, Rom. Rose, 248); OE.hlōh, laughed.
loft,uplifted, elated; ‘In neyther fortune loft, nor yet represt’, Surrey, Of the death of Sir T. W., ii. 27, in Tottel’s Misc., p. 29; and see the same Misc., p. 235, l. 11.
loggats,a game in which thick sticks are thrown to lie as near as possible to a stake fixed in the ground or a block of wood on a floor. Hamlet, v. 1. 99. See EDD.
lol,that which lolls; the tongue. Stanyhurst, tr. of Aeneid, iii. 442. See EDD. (s.v. Loll, vb.2: Loller, ‘the tongue’).
lollard,lazy, idle, sluggish; ‘The lolearde Asse’, Turbervile, That all things have release, st. 3. The word ‘lollard’ for a lazy person is used in Cumberland (EDD.).
Lombard,a native of Lombardy; ‘A Lumbarde,longobardus’, Levins, Manip. 30; a Lombard engaged as a money-changer or pawnbroker, Greene, Mourn. Garm. 44 (NED.); also, a money-lender’s office, a pawnshop, Northward Ho, v. 1 (Kate). Norm. F.lombard,lumbart, ‘usurier, prêteur sur gages’ (Moisy). Seelumber.
lome,a bucket. Mirror for Mag., Godwin, st. 55. ‘Loom’ is in use in many parts of Scotland for a vessel of any kind, see EDD. (s.v. 4).
long,to belong. World and Child, in Hazlitt’s Dodsley, i. 254. ME.longen, to belong (Chaucer, C. T.A.2278); OE.langian.
longee,a ‘lunge’, a complimental bow to a lady. Butler, Hud. iii. 1. 159. See Dict. (s.v. Lunge).
longtails;seeKentish long-tails.
loos,praise, fame. Spenser, F. Q. vi. 12. 12. ME.los, praise (Chaucer, Leg. G. W. 1514); OF.los,loos; O. Prov.laus, praise; L.laudes, pl. oflaus, praise.
loose,the act of discharging an arrow. Middleton, Family of Love, iii. 2. 5; Ascham, Toxophilus (ed. Arber, 146).
lope,to run. Middleton, Span. Gipsy, iv. 1 (Sancho’s Song); Greene, James IV, Induction (Bohan); Gascoigne, Fruites Warre, lii (NED.). They say in Essex, ‘He went lopin’ along’, see EDD. (s.v. Loup, vb.18). Du.loopen, ‘to runne or to trot’ (Hexham).
lopeman,a runner. Fletcher, Noble Gentleman, iii. 4. 8.
lopeman,a runner. Fletcher, Noble Gentleman, iii. 4. 8.
lorel,a worthless person, rogue, blackguard; ‘I am laureate, I am no lorelle’, Skelton, Against Garnesche. See NED. ME.lorel, ‘Lewede lorel!’ (P. Plowman, A. viii. 123). SeeCock Lorel.
loring,instruction. Spenser, F. Q. v. 7. 42. (A rime-word; formed fr.lore.)
lote,in Chapman, tr. of Odyssey, iv. 802, represents Gk. λωτός, some kind of clover or trefoil, see NED. (s.v. Lote, sb.12).
lought,loath. Heywood, Fortune by Land and Sea, i. 1 (Old Forrest); vol. vi, p. 364. ‘Loft’ is in prov. use in Oxfordsh. and Kent as a pronunc. of ‘loath’ (EDD.).
loup-garou,a werwolf, a man changed into the form of a wolf. North, tr. of Plutarch, Alcibiades (Story of Timon). F.loup-garou; F.loup, wolf +garou, a werwolf, cp. MHG.werwolf, man-wolf; OE.werewulf, so that inloup-garouthere is a tautological repetition of two words for ‘wolf’—one of Latin and the other of Teutonic origin. See Hatzfeld.
lour, lowre,money (Cant); ‘Lour to bouze with’, Fletcher, Beggar’s Bush, ii. 1 (Prigg); Harman, Caveat, p. 85.
lourdain,a general term of opprobrium, a sluggard, vagabond. Puttenham, English Poesie, bk. i, ch. 13; Drayton, Sheph. Garl. (ed. 1593, K 2), see Nares; ‘Let alone makes mony lurdon’, Ray’s English Proverbs (ed. 1678, p. 383). See EDD. (s.v. Lurdane). ME.lordayne(lurdayn), ‘lurco’ (Prompt. EETS. 269 and 272); OF.lourdein, ‘sot, stupide’ (Roquefort), deriv. oflourd, heavy, dull.
loute,to bend, bow, make obeisance. Spenser, F. Q. i. 1. 30; v. 8. 50. In prov. use in Scotland and in various parts of England, see EDD. (s.v. Lout, vb.21). ME.loute(Chaucer, Tr. and Cr. iii. 683); OE.lūtan, to stoop.
louver,an aperture with a shutter or flap; ‘He put abrode the louvres of the tente’, Udall, tr. of Apoph., Antigonus, § 10; speltlover, Spenser, F. Q. vi. 10. 42. A north-country word still in use (EDD.). ME.lovere, ‘lodium’ (Prompt. EETS. 271, see note, no. 1294); OF.lover,lovier(Godefroy).