LAURONELau"rone, n. Etym: [Lauric + -one.] (Chem.)
Defn: The ketone of lauric acid.
LAURUSLau"rus, n. Etym: [L., laurel.] (Bot.)
Defn: A genus of trees including, according to modern authors, only the true laurel (Laurus nobilis), and the larger L. Canariensis of Madeira and the Canary Islands. Formerly the sassafras, the camphor tree, the cinnamon tree, and several other aromatic trees and shrubs, were also referred to the genus Laurus.
LAUSLaus, a.
Defn: Loose. [Obs.] Chaucer.
LAUTVERSCHIEBUNG Laut"ver*schie`bung, n.; pl. -schiebungen. [G.; laut sound + verschiebung shifting.] (Philol.) (a) The regular changes which the primitive Indo-European stops, or mute consonants, underwent in the Teutonic languages, probably as early as the 3d century b. c. , often called the first Lautverschiebung, sound shifting, or consonant shifting. (b) A somewhat similar set of changes taking place in the High German dialects (less fully in modern literary German) from the 6th to the 8th century, known as the second Lautverschiebung, the result of which form the striking differences between High German and The Low German Languages. The statement of these changes is commonly regarded as forming part of Grimm's law, because included in it as originally framed.
LAVA La"va, n. Etym: [It. lava lava, orig. in Naples, a torrent of rain overflowing the streets, fr. It. & L. lavare to wash. See Lave.]
Defn: The melted rock ejected by a volcano from its top or fissured sides. It flows out in streams sometimes miles in length. It also issues from fissures in the earth's surface, and forms beds covering many square miles, as in the Northwestern United States.
Note: Lavas are classed, according to their structure, as scoriaceous or cellular, glassy, stony, etc., and according to the material of which they consist, as doleritic, trachytic, etc. Lava millstone, a hard and coarse basaltic millstone from the neighborhood of the Rhine. — Lava ware, a kind of cheap pottery made of iron slag cast into tiles, urns, table tops, etc., resembling lava in appearance.
LA VALLIERE; LAVALLIERELa val`liere", or La`val`liere", n.
Defn: A neck ornament consisting of a chain and single pendant, or drop.
LAVARETLav"a*ret, n. Etym: [F.] (Zoöl.)
Defn: A European whitefish (Coregonus laveretus), found in the mountain lakes of Sweden, Germany, and Switzerland.
LAVATICLa*vat"ic, a.
Defn: Like lava, or composed of lava; lavic.
LAVATIONLa*va"tion, n. Etym: [L. lavatio: cf. OF. lavation.]
Defn: A washing or cleansing. [Obs. or R.]
LAVATORYLav"a*to*ry, a.
Defn: Washing, or cleansing by washing.
LAVATORYLav"a*to*ry, n.; pl. Lavatories. Etym: [L. lavatorium: cf. lavatoire.See Lave to wash, and cf. Laver.]
1. A place for washing.
2. A basin or other vessel for washing in.
3. A wash or lotion for a diseased part.
4. A place where gold is obtained by washing.
LAVATURELav"a*ture, n.
Defn: A wash or lotion. [Obs.]
LAVELave, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Laved; p. pr. & vb. n. Laving.] Etym: [F.laver, L. lavare, akin to luere to wash, Gr. Ablution, Deluge,Lavender, Lava, Lotion.]
Defn: To wash; to bathe; as, to lave a bruise.His feet the foremost breakers lave. Byron.
LAVELave, v. i.
Defn: To bathe; to wash one's self.In her chaste current oft the goddess laves. Pope.
LAVELave, v. t. Etym: [OE. laven. See Lavish.]
Defn: To lade, dip, or pour out. [Obs.] Dryden.
LAVELave, n. Etym: [AS. laf the remainder, what is left. Leave.]
Defn: The remainder; others. [Scot.] Bp. Hall.
LAVE-EARED Lave"-eared`, a. Etym: [Cf. W. llaf that extends round, llipa flaccid, flapping, G. lapp flabby, lappohr flap ear.]
Defn: Having large, pendent ears. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.
LAVEERLa*veer", v. i. Etym: [D. laveren.] (Naut.)
Defn: To beat against the wind; to tack. [Obs.] Dryden.
LAVEMENTLave"ment, n. Etym: [F. lavement, fr. laver to wash.]
Defn: A washing or bathing; also, a clyster.
LAVENDER Lav"en*der, n. Etym: [OE. lavendre, F. lavande, It. lavanda lavender, a washing, fr. L. lavare to wash; cf. It. lsavendola, LL. lavendula. So called because it was used in bathing and washing. See Lave. to wash, and cf. Lavender.]
1. (Bot.)
Defn: An aromatic plant of the genus Lavandula (L. vera), common in the south of Europe. It yields and oil used in medicine and perfumery. The Spike lavender (L. Spica) yields a coarser oil (oil of spike), used in the arts.
2. The pale, purplish color of lavender flowers, paler and more delicate than lilac. Lavender cotton (Bot.), a low, twiggy, aromatic shrub (Santolina Chamæcyparissus) of the Mediterranean region, formerly used as a vermifuge, etc., and still used to keep moths from wardrobes. Also called ground cypress. — Lavender water, a perfume composed of alcohol, essential oil of lavender, essential oil of bergamot, and essence of ambergris. — Sea lavender. (Bot.) See Marsh rosemary. — To lay in lavender. (a) To lay away, as clothing, with sprigs of lavender. (b) To pawn. [Obs.]
LAVER Lav"er, n. Etym: [OE. lavour, F. lavoir, L. lavatorium a washing place. See Lavatory.]
1. A vessel for washing; a large basin.
2. (Script. Hist.) (a) A large brazen vessel placed in the court of the Jewish tabernacle where the officiating priests washed their hands and feet. (b) One of several vessels in Solomon's Temple in which the offerings for burnt sacrifices were washed.
3. That which washes or cleanses. J. H. Newman.
LAVERLav"er, n. Etym: [From Lave to wash.]
Defn: One who laves; a washer. [Obs.]
LAVERLa"ver, n.
Defn: The fronds of certain marine algæ used as food, and for making a sauce called laver sauce. Green laver is the Ulva latissima; purlpe laver, Porphyra laciniata and P. vulgaris. It is prepared by stewing, either alone or with other vegetables, and with various condiments; - - called also sloke, or sloakan. Mountain laver (Bot.), a reddish gelatinous alga of the genus Palmella, found on the sides of mountains
LAVEROCKLa"ver*ock, n. Etym: [See Lark the bird.]
Defn: The lark. [Old Eng. & Scot.] [Written also lavrock.] Gower.
LAVICLa"vic, a.
Defn: See Lavatic.
LAVISH Lav"ish, a. Etym: [Akin to E. lave to lade out; cf. AS. gelafian to refresh, G. laben.]
1. Expending or bestowing profusely; profuse; prodigal; as, lavish of money; lavish of praise.
2. Superabundant; excessive; as, lavish spirits. Let her have needful, but not lavish, means. Shak.
Syn.— Profuse; prodigal; wasteful; extravagant; exuberant; immoderate.See Profuse.
LAVISHLav"ish, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Lavished; p. pr. & vb. n. Lavishing.]
Defn: To expend or bestow with profusion; to use with prodigality; to squander; as, to lavish money or praise.
LAVISHERLav"ish*er, n.
Defn: One who lavishes.
LAVISHLYLav"ish*ly, adv.
Defn: In a lavish manner.
LAVISHMENTLav"ish*ment, n.
Defn: The act of lavishing.
LAVISHNESSLav"ish*ness, n.
Defn: The quality or state of being lavish.
LAVOESIUM La*voe"si*um, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Lavoisier, the celebrated French chemist.] (Chem.)
Defn: A supposed new metallic element. It is said to have been discovered in pyrites, and some other minerals, and to be of a silver-white color, and malleable.
LAVOLT; LAVOLTALa*volt", La*vol"ta, n. Etym: [It.la volta the turn, turning, whirl.Cf. Volt of a horse, Volta.]
Defn: An old dance, for two persons, being a kind of waltz, in which the woman made a high spring or bound. Shak.
LAVOLTATEERLa*vol`ta*teer", n.
Defn: A dancer of the lavolta.
LAVOURLav"our, n.
Defn: A laver. [Obs.] Chaucer.
LAVROCKLa"vrock, n.
Defn: Same as Laverock.
LAW Law, n. Etym: [OE. lawe, laghe, AS. lagu, from the root of E. lie: akin to OS. lag, Icel. lög, Sw. lag, Dan. lov; cf. L. lex, E. legal. A law is that which is laid, set, or fixed; like statute, fr. L. statuere to make to stand. See Lie to be prostrate.]
1. In general, a rule of being or of conduct, established by an authority able to enforce its will; a controlling regulation; the mode or order according to which an agent or a power acts.
Note: A law may be universal or particular, written or unwritten, published or secret. From the nature of the highest laws a degree of permanency or stability is always implied; but the power which makes a law, or a superior power, may annul or change it. These are the statutes and judgments and law, which the Lord made. Lev. xxvi. 46. The law of thy God, and the law of the King. Ezra vii. 26. As if they would confine the Interminable . . . Who made our laws to bind us, not himself. Milton. His mind his kingdom, and his will his law. Cowper.
2. In morals: The will of God as the rule for the disposition and conduct of all responsible beings toward him and toward each other; a rule of living, conformable to righteousness; the rule of action as obligatory on the conscience or moral nature.
3. The Jewish or Mosaic code, and that part of Scripture where it is written, in distinction from the gospel; hence, also, the Old Testament. What things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law . . . But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets. Rom. iii. 19, 21.
4. In human government: (a) An organic rule, as a constitution or charter, establishing and defining the conditions of the existence of a state or other organized community. (b) Any edict, decree, order, ordinance, statute, resolution, judicial, decision, usage, etc., or recognized, and enforced, by the controlling authority.
5. In philosophy and physics: A rule of being, operation, or change, so certain and constant that it is conceived of as imposed by the will of God or by some controlling authority; as, the law of gravitation; the laws of motion; the law heredity; the laws of thought; the laws of cause and effect; law of self-preservation.
6. In matematics: The rule according to which anything, as the change of value of a variable, or the value of the terms of a series, proceeds; mode or order of sequence.
7. In arts, works, games, etc.: The rules of construction, or of procedure, conforming to the conditions of success; a principle, maxim; or usage; as, the laws of poetry, of architecture, of courtesy, or of whist.
8. Collectively, the whole body of rules relating to one subject, or emanating from one source; — including usually the writings pertaining to them, and judicial proceedings under them; as, divine law; English law; Roman law; the law of real property; insurance law.
9. Legal science; jurisprudence; the principles of equity; appliedjustice.Reason is the life of the law; nay, the common law itself is nothingelse but reason. Coke.Law is beneficence acting by rule. Burke.And sovereign Law, that state's collected will O'er thrones andglobes elate, Sits empress, crowning good, repressing ill. Sir W.Jones.
10. Trial by the laws of the land; judicial remedy; litigation; as,to go law.When every case in law is right. Shak.He found law dear and left it cheap. Brougham.
11. An oath, as in the presence of a court. [Obs.] See Wager of law, under Wager. Avogadro's law (Chem.), a fundamental conception, according to which, under similar conditions of temperature and pressure, all gases and vapors contain in the same volume the same number of ultimate molecules; — so named after Avogadro, an Italian scientist. Sometimes called Ampère's law. — Bode's law (Astron.), an approximative empirical expression of the distances of the planets from the sun, as follows: — Mer. Ven. Earth. Mars. Aste. Jup. Sat. Uran. Nep. 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 0 3 6 12 24 48 96 192 384 — — — — — — — —- —-4 7 10 16 28 52 100 196 388 5.9 7.3 10 15.2 27.4 52 95.4 192 300 where each distance (line third) is the sum of 4 and a multiple of 3 by the series 0, 1, 2, 4, 8, etc., the true distances being given in the lower line. — Boyle's law (Physics), an expression of the fact, that when an elastic fluid is subjected to compression, and kept at a constant temperature, the product of the pressure and volume is a constant quantity, i. e., the volume is inversely proportioned to the pressure; — known also as Mariotte's law, and the law of Boyle and Mariotte. — Brehon laws. See under Brehon. — Canon law, the body of ecclesiastical law adopted in the Christian Church, certain portions of which (for example, the law of marriage as existing before the Council of Tent) were brought to America by the English colonists as part of the common law of the land. Wharton. — Civil law, a term used by writers to designate Roman law, with modifications thereof which have been made in the different countries into which that law has been introduced. The civil law, instead of the common law, prevails in the State of Louisiana. Wharton. — Commercial law. See Law merchant (below). — Common law. See under Common. — Criminal law, that branch of jurisprudence which relates to crimes. — Ecclesiastical law. See under Ecclesiastical. — Grimm's law (Philol.), a statement (propounded by the German philologist Jacob Grimm) of certain regular changes which the primitive Indo-European mute consonants, so-called (most plainly seen in Sanskrit and, with some changes, in Greek and Latin), have undergone in the Teutonic languages. Examples: Skr. bhatr, L. frater, E. brother, G. bruder; L. tres, E. three, G. drei, Skr. go, E. cow, G. kuh; Skr. dha to put, Gr. ti-qe`-nai, E. do, OHG, tuon, G. thun. — Kepler's laws (Astron.), three important laws or expressions of the order of the planetary motions, discovered by John Kepler. They are these: (1) The orbit of a planet with respect to the sun is an ellipse, the sun being in one of the foci. (2) The areas swept over by a vector drawn from the sun to a planet are proportioned to the times of describing them. (3) The squares of the times of revolution of two planets are in the ratio of the cubes of their mean distances. — Law binding, a plain style of leather binding, used for law books; — called also law calf. — Law book, a book containing, or treating of, laws. — Law calf. See Law binding (above). — Law day. (a) Formerly, a day of holding court, esp. a court-leet. (b) The day named in a mortgage for the payment of the money to secure which it was given. [U. S.] — Law French, the dialect of Norman, which was used in judicial proceedings and law books in England from the days of William the Conqueror to the thirty-sixth year of Edward III. — Law language, the language used in legal writings and forms. — Law Latin. See under Latin. — Law lords, peers in the British Parliament who have held high judicial office, or have been noted in the legal profession. — Law merchant, or Commercial law, a system of rules by which trade and commerce are regulated; — deduced from the custom of merchants, and regulated by judicial decisions, as also by enactments of legislatures. — Law of Charles (Physics), the law that the volume of a given mass of gas increases or decreases, by a definite fraction of its value for a given rise or fall of temperature; — sometimes less correctly styled Gay Lussac's law, or Dalton's law. — Law of nations. See International law, under International. — Law of nature. (a) A broad generalization expressive of the constant action, or effect, of natural conditions; as, death is a law of nature; self-defense is a law of nature. See Law, 4. (b) A term denoting the standard, or system, of morality deducible from a study of the nature and natural relations of human beings independent of supernatural revelation or of municipal and social usages. — Law of the land, due process of law; the general law of the land. — Laws of honor. See under Honor. — Laws of motion (Physics), three laws defined by Sir Isaac Newton: (1) Every body perseveres in its state of rest or of moving uniformly in a straight line, except so far as it is made to change that state by external force. (2) Change of motion is proportional to the impressed force, and takes place in the direction in which the force is impressed. (3) Reaction is always equal and opposite to action, that is to say, the actions of two bodies upon each other are always equal and in opposite directions. — Marine law, or Maritime law, the law of the sea; a branch of the law merchant relating to the affairs of the sea, such as seamen, ships, shipping, navigation, and the like. Bouvier. — Mariotte's law. See Boyle's law (above). — Martial law.See under Martial. — Military law, a branch of the general municipal law, consisting of rules ordained for the government of the military force of a state in peace and war, and administered in courts martial. Kent. Warren's Blackstone. — Moral law,the law of duty as regards what is right and wrong in the sight of God; specifically, the ten commandments given by Moses. See Law, 2. — Mosaic, or Ceremonial, law. (Script.) See Law, 3. — Municipal, or Positive, law, a rule prescribed by the supreme power of a state, declaring some right, enforcing some duty, or prohibiting some act; — distinguished from international and constitutional law. See Law, 1. — Periodic law. (Chem.) See under Periodic. — Roman law, the system of principles and laws found in the codes and treatises of the lawmakers and jurists of ancient Rome, and incorporated more or less into the laws of the several European countries and colonies founded by them. See Civil law (above). — Statute law, the law as stated in statutes or positive enactments of the legislative body. — Sumptuary law. See under Sumptuary. — To go to law, to seek a settlement of any matter by bringing it before the courts of law; to sue or prosecute some one. — To take, or have, the law of, to bring the law to bear upon; as, to take the law of one's neighbor. Addison. — Wager of law. See under Wager.
Syn. — Justice; equity. — Law, Statute, Common law, Regulation, Edict, Decree. Law is generic, and, when used with reference to, or in connection with, the other words here considered, denotes whatever is commanded by one who has a right to require obedience. A statute is a particular law drawn out in form, and distinctly enacted and proclaimed. Common law is a rule of action founded on long usage and the decisions of courts of justice. A regulation is a limited and often, temporary law, intended to secure some particular end or object. An edict is a command or law issued by a sovereign, and is peculiar to a despotic government. A decree is a permanent order either of a court or of the executive government. See Justice.
LAWLaw, v. t.
Defn: Same as Lawe, v. t. [Obs.]
LAWLaw, interj. Etym: [Cf. La.]
Defn: An exclamation of mild surprise. [Archaic or Low]
LAW-ABIDINGLaw"-a*bid`ing, a.
Defn: Abiding the law; waiting for the operation of law for the enforcement of rights; also, abiding by the law; obedient to the law; as, law-abiding people.
LAWBREAKERLaw"break`er, n.
Defn: One who disobeys the law; a criminal.— Law"break`ing, n. & a.
LAWELawe, v. t. Etym: [See 2d Lawing.]
Defn: To cut off the claws and balls of, as of a dog's fore feet.Wright.
LAWERLaw"er, n.
Defn: A lawyer. [Obs.] Bale.
LAWFULLaw"ful, a.
1. Conformable to law; allowed by law; legitimate; competent.
2. Constituted or authorized by law; rightful; as, the lawful owner of lands. Lawful age, the age when the law recognizes one's right of independent action; majority; — generally the age of twenty-one years.
Note: In some of the States, and for some purposes, a woman attains lawful age at eighteen. Abbott.
Syn. — Legal; constitutional; allowable; regular; rightful. — Lawful, Legal. Lawful means conformable to the principle, spirit, or essence of the law, and is applicable to moral as well as juridical law. Legal means conformable to the letter or rules of the law as it is administered in the courts; conformable to juridical law. Legal is often used as antithetical to equitable, but lawful is seldom used in that sense. — Law"ful*ly, adv. — Law"ful*ness, n.
LAWGIVERLaw"giv`er, n.
Defn: One who makes or enacts a law or system of laws; a legislator.
LAWGIVINGLaw"giv`ing, a.
Defn: Enacting laws; legislative.
LAWINGLaw"ing, n.
Defn: Going to law; litigation. Holinshed.
LAWINGLaw"ing, n. Etym: [So called because done in compliance with anEnglish forest law.]
Defn: Expeditation. Blackstone.
LAWLESSLaw"less, a.
1. Contrary to, or unauthorized by, law; illegal; as, a lawless claim. He needs no indirect nor lawless course. Shak.
2. Not subject to, or restrained by, the law of morality or of society; as, lawless men or behavior.
3. Not subject to the laws of nature; uncontrolled.Or, meteorlike, flame lawless through the void. Pope.— Law"less*ly, adv.— Law"less*ness, n.
LAWMAKERLaw"mak`er, n.
Defn: A legislator; a lawgiver.
LAWMAKINGLaw"mak`ing, a.
Defn: Enacting laws; legislative.— n.
Defn: The enacting of laws; legislation.
LAWMONGERLaw"mon`ger, n.
Defn: A trader in law; one who practices law as if it were a trade.Milton.
LAWN Lawn, n. Etym: [OE. laund, launde, F. lande heath, moor; of Celtic origin; cf. W. llan an open, clear place, llawnt a smooth rising hill, lawn, Armor. lann or lan territory, country, lann a prickly plant, pl. lannou heath, moor.]
1. An open space between woods. Milton. "Orchard lawns and bowery hollows." Tennyson.
2. Ground (generally in front of or around a house) covered with grass kept closely mown. Lawn mower, a machine for clipping the short grass of lawns. — Lawn tennis, a variety of the game of tennis, played in the open air, sometimes upon a lawn, instead of in a tennis court. See Tennis.
LAWN Lawn, n. Etym: [Earlier laune lynen, i. e., lawn linen; prob. from the town Laon in France.]
Defn: A very fine linen (or sometimes cotton) fabric with a rather open texture. Lawn is used for the sleeves of a bishop's official dress in the English Church, and, figuratively, stands for the office itself. A saint in crape is twice in lawn. Pope.
LAWNDLawnd, n. [Obs.]
Defn: See Laund.
LAWNYLawn"y, a.
Defn: Having a lawn; characterized by a lawn or by lawns; like alawn.Musing through the lawny park. T. Warton.
LAWNYLawn"y, a.
Defn: Made of lawn or fine linen. Bp. Hall.
LAWSONIALaw*so"ni*a, n. (Bot.)
Defn: An Asiatic and North African shrub (Lawsonia inermis), with smooth oval leaves, and fragrant white flowers. Henna is prepared from the leaves and twigs. In England the shrub is called Egyptian privet, and in the West Indies, Jamaica mignonette.
LAWSUITLaw"suit`, n.
Defn: An action at law; a suit in equity or admiralty; any legal proceeding before a court for the enforcement of a claim.
LAWYERLaw"yer, n. Etym: [From Law, like bowyer, fr.bow.]
1. One versed in the laws, or a practitioner of law; one whose profession is to conduct lawsuits for clients, or to advise as to prosecution or defence of lawsuits, or as to legal rights and obligations in other matters. It is a general term, comprehending attorneys, counselors, solicitors, barristers, sergeants, and advocates.
2. (Zoöl.) (a) The black-necked stilt. See Stilt. (b) The bowfin (Amia calva). (c) The burbot (Lota maculosa).
LAWYERLIKE; LAWYERLYLaw"yer*like`, Law"yer*ly, a.
Defn: Like, or becoming, a lawyer; as, lawyerlike sagacity. "Lawyerly mooting of this point." Milton.
LAXLax, a. [Compar. Laxer; superl. Laxest.] Etym: [L. laxus Cf. Laches,Languish, Lease, v. t., Leash.]
1. Not tense, firm, or rigid; loose; slack; as, a lax bandage; lax fiber. The flesh of that sort of fish being lax and spongy. Ray.
2. Not strict or stringent; not exact; loose; weak; vague; equivocal.The discipline was lax. Macaulay.Society at that epoch was lenient, if not lax, in matters of thepassions. J. A. Symonds.The word "æternus" itself is sometimes of a lax signification.Jortin.
3. Having a looseness of the bowels; diarrheal.
Syn. — Loose; slack; vague; unconfined; unrestrained; dissolute; licentious.
LAXLax, n.
Defn: A looseness; diarrhea.
LAXATION Lax*a"tion, n. Etym: [L. laxatio, fr. laxare to loosen, fr. laxus loose, slack.]
Defn: The act of loosening or slackening, or the state of being loosened or slackened.
LAXATIVE Lax"a*tive, a. Etym: [L. laxativus mitigating, assuaging: cf. F. laxatif. See Lax, a.]
1. Having a tendency to loosen or relax. Milton.
2. (Med.)
Defn: Having the effect of loosening or opening the intestines, and relieving from constipation; — opposed to astringent. — n. (Med.)
Defn: A laxative medicine. See the Note under Cathartic.
LAXATIVENESSLax"a*tive*ness, n.
Defn: The quality of being laxative.
LAXATORLax*a"tor, n. Etym: [NL., fr. L. laxare, laxatum, to loosen.] (Anat.)
Defn: That which loosens; — esp., a muscle which by its contraction loosens some part.
LAXIITY Lax"i*ty, n. Etym: [L. laxitas, fr. laxus loose, slack: cf. F. laxité, See Lax, a.]
Defn: The state or quality of being lax; want of tenseness, strictness, or exactness.
LAXITY Lax"i*ty (laks"i*ty), n. [L. laxitas, fr. laxus loose, slack: cf. F. laxité, See Lax, a.]
Defn: The state or quality of being lax; want of tenseness, strictness, or exactness.
LAXLYLax"ly, adv.
Defn: In a lax manner.
LAXNESSLax"ness, n.
Defn: The state of being lax; laxity.
LAYLay, imp.
Defn: of Lie, to recline.
LAYLay, a. Etym: [F. lai, L. laicus, Gr. Laic.]
1. Of or pertaining to the laity, as distinct from the clergy; as, a lay person; a lay preacher; a lay brother.
2. Not educated or cultivated; ignorant.[Obs.]
3. Not belonging to, or emanating from, a particular profession; unprofessional; as, a lay opinion regarding the nature of a disease. Lay baptism (Eccl.), baptism administered by a lay person. F. G. Lee. — Lay brother (R. C. Ch.), one received into a convent of monks under the three vows, but not in holy orders. — Lay clerk (Eccl.), a layman who leads the responses of the congregation, etc., in the church service. Hook. — Lay days (Com.), time allowed in a charter party for taking in and discharging cargo. McElrath. — Lay elder. See 2d Elder, 3, note.
LAYLay, n.
Defn: The laity; the common people. [Obs.]The learned have no more privilege than the lay. B. Jonson.
LAYLay, n.
Defn: A meadow. See Lea. [Obs.] Dryden.
LAYLay, n. Etym: [OF.lei faith, law, F. loi law. See Legal.]
1. Faith; creed; religious profession. [Obs.] Of the sect to which that he was born He kept his lay, to which that he was sworn. Chaucer.
2. A law. [Obs.] "Many goodly lays." Spenser.
3. An obligation; a vow. [Obs.] They bound themselves by a sacred lay and oath. Holland.
LAY Lay, a. Etym: [OF. lai, lais, prob. of Celtic origin; cf. Ir. laoi, laoidh, song, poem, OIr.laoidh poem, verse; but cf. also AS. lac play, sport, G. leich a sort of poem (cf. Lake to sport).
1. A song; a simple lyrical poem; a ballad. Spenser. Sir W. Scott.
2. A melody; any musical utterance. The throstle cock made eke his lay. Chaucer.
LAYLay, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Laid; p. pr. & vb. n. Laying.] Etym: [OE.leggen, AS. lecgan, causative, fr. licgan to lie; akin to D.leggen,G. legen, Icel. leggja, Goth. lagjan. See Lie to be prostrate.]
1. To cause to lie down, to be prostrate, or to lie against something; to put or set down; to deposit; as, to lay a book on the table; to lay a body in the grave; a shower lays the dust. A stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den. Dan. vi. 17. Soft on the flowery herb I found me laid. Milton.
2. To place in position; to establish firmly; to arrange with regularity; to dispose in ranks or tiers; as, to lay a corner stone; to lay bricks in a wall; to lay the covers on a table.
3. To prepare; to make ready; to contrive; to provide; as, to lay a snare, an ambush, or a plan.
4. To spread on a surface; as, to lay plaster or paint.
5. To cause to be still; to calm; to allay; to suppress; to exorcise, as an evil spirit. After a tempest when the winds are laid. Waller.
6. To cause to lie dead or dying. Brave Cæneus laid Ortygius on the plain, The victor Cæneus was by Turnus slain. Dryden.
7. To deposit, as a wager; to stake; to risk. I dare lay mine honor He will remain so. Shak.
8. To bring forth and deposit; as, to lay eggs.
9. To apply; to put. She layeth her hands to the spindle. Prov. xxxi. 19.
10. To impose, as a burden, suffering, or punishment; to assess, as a tax; as, to lay a tax on land. The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. Is. Iiii. 6.
11. To impute; to charge; to allege. God layeth not folly to them. Job xxiv. 12. Lay the fault on us. Shak.
12. To impose, as a command or a duty; as, to lay commands on one.
13. To present or offer; as, to lay an indictment in a particular county; to lay a scheme before one.
14. (Law)
Defn: To state; to allege; as, to lay the venue. Bouvier.
15. (Mil.)
Defn: To point; to aim; as, to lay a gun.
16. (Rope Making)
Defn: To put the strands of (a rope, a cable, etc.) in their proper places and twist or unite them; as, to lay a cable or rope.
17. (Print.) (a) To place and arrange (pages) for a form upon the imposing stone. (b) To place (new type) properly in the cases. To lay asleep, to put sleep; to make unobservant or careless. Bacon. — To lay bare, to make bare; to strip. And laid those proud roofs bare to summer's rain. Byron. — To lay before, to present to; to submit for consideration; as, the papers are laid before Congress. — To lay by. (a) To save. (b) To discard. Let brave spirits . . . not be laid by. Bacon. — To lay by the heels, to put in the stocks. Shak. — To lay down. (a) To stake as a wager. (b) To yield; to relinquish; to surrender; as, to lay down one's life; to lay down one's arms. (c) To assert or advance, as a proposition or principle. — To lay forth. (a) To extend at length; (reflexively) to exert one's self; to expatiate. [Obs.] (b) To lay out (as a corpse). [Obs.] Shak. — To lay hands on, to seize. — To lay hands on one's self, or To lay violent hands on one's self, to injure one's self; specif., to commit suicide. — To lay heads together, to consult. — To lay hold of, or To lay hold on, to seize; to catch. — To lay in, to store; to provide. — To lay it on, to apply without stint. Shak. — To lay on, to apply with force; to inflict; as, to lay on blows. — To lay on load, to lay on blows; to strike violently. [Obs. or Archaic] — To lay one's self out, to strive earnestly. No selfish man will be concerned to lay out himself for the good of his country. Smalridge. — To lay one's self open to, to expose one's self to, as to an accusation. — To lay open, to open; to uncover; to expose; to reveal. — To lay over, to spread over; to cover. — To lay out. (a) To expend. Macaulay. (b) To display; to discover. (c) To plan in detail; to arrange; as, to lay out a garden. (d) To prepare for burial; as, to lay out a corpse. (e) To exert; as, to lay out all one's strength. — To lay siege to. (a) To besiege; to encompass with an army. (b) To beset pertinaciously. — To lay the course (Naut.), to sail toward the port intended without jibing. — To lay the land (Naut.), to cause it to disappear below the horizon, by sailing away from it. — To lay to (a) To charge upon; to impute. (b) To apply with vigor. (c) To attack or harass. [Obs.] Knolles. (d) (Naut.) To check the motion of (a vessel) and cause it to be stationary. — To lay to heart, to feel deeply; to consider earnestly. — To lay under, to subject to; as, to lay under obligation or restraint. — To lay unto. (a) Same as To lay to (above). (b) To put before. Hos. xi. 4. — To lay up. (a) To store; to reposit for future use. (b) To confine; to disable. (c) To dismantle, and retire from active service, as a ship. — To lay wait for, to lie in ambush for. — To lay waste, to destroy; to make desolate; as, to lay waste the land.
Syn.— See Put, v. t., and the Note under 4th Lie.
LAYLay, v. i.
1. To produce and deposit eggs.
2. (Naut.)
Defn: To take a position; to come or go; as, to lay forward; to lay aloft.
3. To lay a wager; to bet. To lay about, or To lay about one, tostrike vigorously in all directions. J. H. Newman.— To lay at, to strike or strike at. Spenser.— To lay for, to prepare to capture or assault; to lay wait for.[Colloq.] Bp Hall.— To lay in for, to make overtures for; to engage or secure thepossession of. [Obs.] "I have laid in for these." Dryden.— To lay on, to strike; to beat; to attack. Shak.— To lay out, to purpose; to plan; as, he lays out to make ajourney.
LAYLay, n.
1. That which lies or is laid or is conceived of as having been laid or placed in its position; a row; a stratum; a layer; as, a lay of stone or wood. Addison. A viol should have a lay of wire strings below. Bacon.
Note: The lay of a rope is right-handed or left-handed according to the hemp or strands are laid up. See Lay, v. t., 16. The lay of land is its topographical situation, esp. its slope and its surface features.
2. A wager. "My fortunes against any lay worth naming."
3. (a) A job, price, or profit. [Prov. Eng.] Wright. (b) A share of the proceeds or profits of an enterprise; as, when a man ships for a whaling voyage, he agrees for a certain lay. [U. S.]
4. (Textile Manuf.) (a) A measure of yarn; a les. See 1st Lea (a). (b) The lathe of a loom. See Lathe, 8.
5. A plan; a scheme. [Slang] Dickens. Lay figure. (a) A jointed model of the human body that may be put in any attitude; — used for showing the disposition of drapery, etc. (b) A mere puppet; one who serves the will of others without independent volition. — Lay race, that part of a lay on which the shuttle travels in weaving; — called also shuttle race.
LAYERLay"er, n. Etym: [See Lay to cause to lie flat.]
1. One who, or that which, lays.
2. Etym: [Prob. a corruption of lair.]
Defn: That which is laid; a stratum; a bed; one thickness, course, or fold laid over another; as, a layer of clay or of sand in the earth; a layer of bricks, or of plaster; the layers of an onion.
3. A shoot or twig of a plant, not detached from the stock, laid under ground for growth or propagation.
4. An artificial oyster bed.
LAYERINGLay"er*ing, n.
Defn: A propagating by layers. Gardner.
LAYETTELay*ette", n. [F.] (Med.)
Defn: The outfit of clothing, blankets, etc., prepared for a newborn infant, and placed ready for used.
LAYINGLay"ing, n.
1. The act of one who, or that which, lays.
2. The act or period of laying eggs; the eggs laid for one incubation; a clutch.
3. The first coat on laths of plasterer's two-coat work.
LAYLANDLay"land`, n. Etym: [Lay a meadow + land.]
Defn: Land lying untilled; fallow ground. [Obs.] Blount.
LAYMANLay"man n.; pl. Laymen (. Etym: [Lay, adj. + man.]
1. One of the people, in distinction from the clergy; one of the laity; sometimes, a man not belonging to some particular profession, in distinction from those who do. Being a layman, I ought not to have concerned myself with speculations which belong to the profession. Dryden.
2. A lay figure. See under Lay, n. (above). Dryden
LAYNERLay"ner, n.Etym: [See Lanier.]
Defn: A whiplash. [Obs.]
LAY READERLay" read"er. (Eccl.)
Defn: A layman authorized to read parts of the public service of the church.
LAY SHAFT; LAYSHAFTLay shaft, or Lay"shaft`, n. (Mach.)
Defn: A secondary shaft, as in a sliding change gear for an automobile; a cam shaft operated by a two-to-one gear in an internal- combustion engine. It is generally a shaft moving more or less independently of the other parts of a machine, as, in some marine engines, a shaft, driven by a small auxiliary engine, for independently operating the valves of the main engine to insure uniform motion.
LAYSHIPLay"ship, n.
Defn: The condition of being a layman. [Obs.] Milton.
LAYSTALLLay"stall`, n.
1. A place where rubbish, dung, etc., are laid or deposited.[Obs.] B. Jonson. Smithfield was a laystall of all ordure and filth. Bacon.
2. A place where milch cows are kept, or cattle on the way to market are lodged. [Obs.]
LAZARLa"zar, n. Etym: [OF. lazare, fr. Lazarus the beggar. Luke xvi. 20.]
Defn: A person infected with a filthy or pestilential disease; aleper. Chaucer.Like loathsome lazars, by the hedges lay. Spenser.Lazar house a lazaretto; also, a hospital for quarantine.
LAZARET; LAZARETTO Laz`a*ret", Laz`a*ret"to, n. Etym: [F. lazaret, or It. lazzeretto, fr. Lazarus. See Lazar.]
Defn: A public building, hospital, or pesthouse for the reception of diseased persons, particularly those affected with contagious diseases.
LAZARET FEVERLazaret fever. (Med.)
Defn: Typhus fever.
LAZARIST; LAZARITELaz"a*rist, Laz"a*rite, n. (R. C. Ch.)
Defn: One of the Congregation of the Priests of the Mission, a religious institute founded by Vincent de Paul in 1624, and popularly called Lazarists or Lazarites from the College of St. Lazare in Paris, which was occupied by them until 1792.
LAZARLIKE; LAZARLYLa"zar*like`, La"zar*ly, a.
Defn: Full of sores; leprous. Shak. Bp. Hall.
LAZARONILaz`a*ro"ni, n. pl.
Defn: See Lazzaroni.
LAZARWORTLa"zar*wort`, n. (Bot.)
Defn: Laserwort.
LAZELaze, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Lazed; p. pr. & vb. n. Lazing.] Etym: [SeeLazy.]
Defn: To be lazy or idle. [Colloq.] Middleton.
LAZELaze, v. t.
Defn: To waste in sloth; to spend, as time, in idleness; as, to laze away whole days. [Colloq.]
LAZILYLa"zi*ly, adv.
Defn: In a lazy manner. Locke.
LAZINESSLa"zi*ness, n.
Defn: The state or quality of being lazy.Laziness travels so slowly, that Poverty soon overtakes him.Franklin.
LAZULI Laz"u*li, n.Etym: [F. & NL. lapis lazuli, LL. lazulus, lazurius, lazur from the same Oriental source as E. azure. See Azure.] (Min.)
Defn: 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.
LAZULITELaz"u*lite, n. Etym: [From lazuli : cf. F. lazulite, G. lazulith.](Min.)
Defn: 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.
LAZY La"zy, a. [Compar. Lazier; superl. Laziest.] Etym: [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.
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.
LAZYBACKLa"zy*back`, n.
Defn: A support for the back, attached to the seat of a carriage.[Colloq.]
LAZYBONESLa"zy*bones`, n.
Defn: A lazy person. [Colloq.]
LAZZARONILaz`za*ro"ni (; It. , n. pl. Etym: [It. lazzarone, pl. lazzaroni.]
Defn: 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 Lea, n. Etym: [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 Lea, n. Etym: [OE. ley, lay, As. leáh, leá; akin to Prov. G. lon bog, morass, grove, and perh. to L. lucus grove, E. light, n.]
Defn: A meadow or sward land; a grassy field. "Plow-torn leas." Shak.The lowing herd wind slowly o'er the lea. Gray.
LEACHLeach, n. (Naut.)
Defn: See 3d Leech.
LEACHLeach, n. [Written also letch.] Etym: [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.
LEACHLeach, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Leached; p. pr. & vb. n. Leaching.] Etym:[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.
LEACHLeach, v. i.
Defn: To part with soluble constituents by percolation.
LEACHLeach, n.
Defn: See Leech, a physician. [Obs.]
LEACHYLeach"y, a.
Defn: Permitting liquids to pass by percolation; not capable of retaining water; porous; pervious; — said of gravelly or sandy soils, and the like.
LEADLead (lêd), n. Etym: [OE. led, leed, lead, AS. leád; akin to D. lood,MHG. lot, G. loth plummet, sounding lead, small weight, Sw. & Dan.lod. sq. root123]
1. (Chem.)
Defn: 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 Etym: [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.
LEADLead, 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.)
Defn: To place leads between the lines of; as, to lead a page; leaded matter.
LEAD Lead (led), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Led; p. pr. & vb. n. Leading.] Etym: [OE. leden, AS. l (akin to OS. l, D. leiden, G. leiten,Icel. le, Sw. leda, Dan.lede), properly a causative fr. AS. li to go; akin to OHG. l, Icel. l,Goth. leipan (in comp.). Cf. Lode, Loath.]
1. To guide or conduct with the hand, or by means of some physical contact 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)
Defn: 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.
LEADLead, 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.
LEADLead, 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)
Defn: 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)
Defn: A lode.
6. (Naut.)
Defn: The course of a rope from end to end.
7. (Steam Engine)
Defn: 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.
Note: 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)
Defn: the distance of haul, as from a cutting to an embankment.
9. (Horology)
Defn: 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.
LEADEDLead"ed, a.
1. Fitted with lead; set in lead; as, leaded windows.
2. (Print.)
Defn: Separated by leads, as the lines of a page.
LEADENLead"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.
LEADERLead"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)
Defn: 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.
Defn: 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.
LEADERSHIPLead"er*ship, n.
Defn: The office of a leader.
LEADHILLITELead"hill*ite, n. (Min.)
Defn: 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.
LEADINGLead"ing, a.
Defn: 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 Etym: [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.
LEADINGLead"ing, n.
1. The act of guiding, directing, governing, or enticing; guidance. Shak.
2. Suggestion; hint; example. [Archaic] Bacon.
LEADING EDGELead"ing edge. (Aëronautics)
Defn: same as Advancing edge, above.
LEADMANLead"man, n.; pl. Leadmen (.
Defn: One who leads a dance.[Obs.] B. Jonson.
LEADSMANLeads"man, n.; pl. Leadsmen (. (Naut.)
Defn: The man who heaves the lead. Totten.
LEADWORTLead"wort`, n. (Bot.)
Defn: A genus of maritime herbs (Plumbago). P. Europæa has lead- colored spots on the leaves, and nearly lead-colored flowers.
LEADYLead"y, a.
Defn: Resembling lead. Sir T. Elyot.
LEAFLeaf, n.; pl. Leaves. Etym: [OE. leef, lef, leaf, AS. leáf; akin toS. l, 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.)
Defn: 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.
Note: 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.)
Defn: 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.
Note: 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 hinges 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 sawfiy. — 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.