Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913 + 1828)

Page 825

3. Last made; hence, made of refuse; inferior. [Obs.] Lag souls." Dryden.

Lag

Lag (?), n.

1. One who lags; that which comes in last. [Obs.] The lag of all the flock." Pope.

2. The fag-end; the rump; hence, the lowest class.

The common lag of people. Shak.

3. The amount of retardation of anything, as of a valve in a steam engine, in opening or closing.

4. A stave of a cask, drum, etc.; especially (Mach.), one of the narrow boards or staves forming the covering of a cylindrical object, as a boiler, or the cylinder of a carding machine or a steam engine.

5. (Zoöl.) See Graylag. Lag of the tide, the interval by which the time of high water falls behind the mean time, in the first and third quarters of the moon; -- opposed to priming of the tide, or the acceleration of the time of high water, in the second and fourth quarters; depending on the relative positions of the sun and moon. -- Lag screw, an iron bolt with a square head, a sharp-edged thread, and a sharp point, adapted for screwing into wood; a screw for fastening lags.

Lag

Lag, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Lagged (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Lagging (?).] To walk or more slowly; to stay or fall behind; to linger or loiter. I shall not lag behind." Milton. Syn. -- To loiter; linger; saunter; delay; be tardy.

Lag

Lag, v. t.

1. To cause to lag; to slacken. [Obs.] To lag his flight." Heywood.

2. (Mach.) To cover, as the cylinder of a steam engine, with lags. See Lag, n., 4.

Lag

Lag, n. One transported for a crime. [Slang, Eng.]

Lag

Lag, v. t. To transport for crime. [Slang, Eng.]

She lags us if we poach. De Quincey.

Lagan

La"gan (?), n. & v. See Ligan.

Lagarto

La*gar"to (?), n. [See Alligator.] An alligator. [Obs.] Sir W. Raleigh.

Lagena

La*ge"na (?), n.; pl. L. Lagenæ (#), E. Lagenas (#). [L., a flask; cf. Gr. , .] (Anat.) The terminal part of the cochlea in birds and most reptiles; an appendage of the sacculus, corresponding to the cochlea, in fishes and amphibians.

Lagenian

La*ge"ni*an (?), a. [See Lagena.] (Zoöl.) Like, or pertaining to, Lagena, a genus of Foraminifera having a straight, chambered shell.

Lageniform

La*ge"ni*form (?), a. [See Lagena, and -form.] (Bot.) Shaped like a bottle or flask; flag-shaped.

Lager

La"ger (?), n. Lager beer.

Lager beer

La"ger beer` (?). [G. lager bed, storehouse + bier beer. See Lair, and Beer.] Originally a German beer, but now also made in immense quantities in the United States; -- so called from its being laid up or stored for some months before use.

Lager wine

La"ger wine` (?). Wine which has been kept for some time in the cellar. Simmonds.

Laggard

Lag"gard (?), a. [Lag + -ard.] Slow; sluggish; backward.

Laggard

Lag"gard, n. One who lags; a loiterer.

Lagger

Lag"ger (?), n. A laggard.

Lagging

Lag"ging (?), n.

1. (Mach.) The clothing (esp., an outer, wooden covering), as of a steam cylinder, applied to prevent the radiation of heat; a covering of lags; -- called also deading and cleading.

2. Lags, collectively; narrow planks extending from one rib to another in the centering of arches.

Laggingly

Lag"ging*ly, adv. In a lagging manner; loiteringly.

Lagly

Lag"ly (?), adv. Laggingly. [Prov. Eng.]

Lagomorph

Lag"o*morph (?), n. (Zoöl.) One of the Lagomorpha.

Lagemorpha

Lag`e*mor"pha (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. a hare + form.] (Zoöl.) A group of rodents, including the hares. They have four incisors in the upper jaw. Called also Duplicidentata.

Lagoon

La*goon" (?), n. [It. or Sp. laguna, L. lacuna ditch, pool, pond,lacus lake. See Lake, and cf. Lacuna.] [Written also lagune.]

1. A shallow sound, channel, pond, or lake, especially one into which the sea flows; as, the lagoons of Venice.

2. A lake in a coral island, often occupying a large portion of its area, and usually communicating with the sea. See Atoll. Lagoon island, a coral island consisting of a narrow reef encircling a lagoon.

Lagophthalmia, Lagophthalmos

Lag`oph*thal"mi*a (?), Lag`oph*thal"mos (?), n. [NL. lagophtalmia, fr. Gr. lagw`s hare + 'ofqalmo`s eye; -- so called from the notion that a hare sleeps with his eyes open.] (Med.) A morbid condition in which the eye stands wide open, giving a peculiar staring appearance.
Lagopous
La*go"pous (?), a. [Gr. a hare + , , foot.] (Bot.) Having a dense covering of long hair, like the foot of a hare.
Lagune
La*gune" (?), n. See Lagoon.
Laic, Laical
La"ic (?), La"ic*al (?), a. [L. laicus: cf. F. la\'8bque. See Lay laic.] Of or pertaining to a layman or the laity. Laical literature." Lowell.
An unprincipled, unedified, and laic rabble. Milton.

Laic
La"ic, n. A layman. Bp. Morton.
Laicality
La"ic*al"i*ty (?), n. The state or quality of being laic; the state or condition of a layman.
Laically
La"ic*al*ly (?), adv. As a layman; after the manner of a layman; as, to treat a matter laically.
Laid
Laid (?), imp. & p. p. of Lay. Laid paper, paper marked with parallel lines or water marks, as if ribbed, from parallel wires in the mold. It is called blue laid, cream laid, etc., according to its color.
Laidly
Laid"ly, a. Ugly; loathsome. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]
This laidly and loathsome worm. W. Howitt.

Lain
Lain (?), p. p. of Lie, v. i.
Lainere
Lain"ere (?), n. See Lanier. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Lair
Lair (?), n. [OE. leir, AS. leger; akin to D. leger, G. lager couch, lair, OHG. laga, Goth. ligrs, and to E. lie. See Lie to be prostrate, and cf. Layer, Leaguer.]
1. A place in which to lie or rest; especially, the bed or couch of a wild beast.
2. A burying place. [Scot.] Jamieson.
3. A pasture; sometimes, food. [Obs.] Spenser.
Laird
Laird (?), n. [See Lord.] A lord; a landholder, esp. one who holds land directly of the crown. [Scot.]
Lairdship
Laird"ship, n. The state of being a laird; an estate; landed property. [Scot.] Ramsay.
Laism
La"ism (?), n. See Lamaism. [R.]
Laissez faire
Lais`sez" faire" (?). [F., let alone.] Noninterference; -- an axiom of some political economists, deprecating interference of government by attempts to foster or regulate commerce, manufactures, etc., by bounty or by restriction; as, the doctrine of laissez faire; the laissez faire system government.
Lai-ty
La"i-ty (?), n. [See Lay, a.]
1. The people, as distinguished from the clergy; the body of the people not in orders.
A rising up of the laity against the sacerdotal caste. Macaulay.

2. The state of a layman. [Obs.] Ayliffe.
3. Those who are not of a certain profession, as law or medicine, in distinction from those belonging to it.
Lakao
La*ka"o (?), n. Sap green. [China]
Lake
Lake (?), n. [F. laque, fr. Per. See Lac.] A pigment formed by combining some coloring matter, usually by precipitation, with a metallic oxide or earth, esp. with aluminium hydrate; as, madder lake; Florentine lake; yellow lake, etc.
Lake
Lake, n. [Cf. G. laken.] A kind of fine white linen, formerly in use. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Lake
Lake (?), v. i. [AS. lācan, læcan, to spring, jump, lāc play, sport, or fr. Icel. leika to play, sport; both akin to Goth. laikan to dance. &root;120. Cf. Knowledge.] To play; to sport. [Prov. Eng.]
Lake
Lake, n. [AS. lac, L. lacus; akin to AS. lagu lake, sea, Icel. lögr; OIr. loch; cf. Gr. pond, tank. Cf. Loch, Lough.] A large body of water contained in a depression of the earth's surface, and supplied from the drainage of a more or less extended area. &hand; Lakes are for the most part of fresh water; the salt lakes, like the Great Salt Lake of Utah, have usually no outlet to the ocean. Lake dwellers (Ethnol.), people of a prehistoric race, or races, which inhabited different parts of Europe. Their dwellings were built on piles in lakes, a short distance from the shore. Their relics are common in the lakes of Switzerland. -- Lake dwellings (Archæol.), dwellings built over a lake, sometimes on piles, and sometimes on rude foundations kept in place by piles; specifically, such dwellings of prehistoric times. Lake dwellings are still used by many savage tribes. Called also lacustrine dwellings. See Crannog. -- Lake fly (Zoöl.), any one of numerous species of dipterous flies of the genus Chironomus. In form they resemble mosquitoes, but they do not bite. The larvæ live in lakes. -- Lake herring (Zoöl.), the cisco (Coregonus Artedii). -- Lake poets, Lake school, a collective name originally applied in contempt, but now in honor, to Southey, Coleridge, and Wordsworth, who lived in the lake country of Cumberland, England, Lamb and a few others were classed with these by hostile critics. Called also lakers and lakists. -- Lake sturgeon (Zoöl.), a sturgeon (Acipenser rubicundus), of moderate size, found in the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River. It is used as food. -- Lake trout (Zoöl.), any one of several species of trout and salmon; in Europe, esp. Salmo fario; in the United States, esp. Salvelinus namaycush of the Great Lakes, and of various lakes in New York, Eastern Maine, and Canada. A large variety of brook trout (S. fontinalis), inhabiting many lakes in New England, is also called lake trout. See Namaycush. -- Lake whitefish. (Zoöl.) See Whitefish. -- Lake whiting (Zoöl.), an American whitefish (Coregonus Labradoricus), found in many lakes in the Northern United States and Canada. It is more slender than the common whitefish.
Lake-dweller
Lake"-dwell`er (?), n. See Lake dwellers, under Lake.
Lakelet
Lake"let (?), n. A little lake. Southey.
Lakeweed
Lake"weed` (?), n. (Bot.) The water pepper (Polygonum Hydropiper), an aquatic plant of Europe and North America.
Lakh
Lakh (?), n. Same as Lac, one hundred thousand.
Lakin
La"kin (?), n. See Ladykin.
Lakke
Lak"ke (?), n. & v. See Lack. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Laky
Lak"y (?), a. Pertaining to a lake. Sir W. Scott.
Laky
Lak"y, a. [From Lake the pigment.] Transparent; -- said of blood rendered transparent by the action of some solvent agent on the red blood corpuscles.
Lallation
Lal*la"tion (?), n. [L. lallare to sing lalla, or lullaby: cf. F. lallation.] An imperfect enunciation of the letter r, in which it sounds like l.
Lalo
La"lo (?), n. The powdered leaves of the baobab tree, used by the Africans to mix in their soup, as the southern negroes use powdered sassafras. Cf. Couscous.
Lam
Lam (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Lammed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Lamming.] [Icel. lemja to beat, or lama to bruise, both fr. lami, lama, lame. See Lame.] To beat soundly; to thrash. [Obs. or Low] Beau. & Fl.
Lama
La"ma (?; 277), n. (Zoöl.) See Llama.
Lama
La"ma, n. [Thibet. blama (pronounced lä\'b6ma) a chief, a high priest.] In Thibet, Mongolia, etc., a priest or monk of the belief called Lamaism. The Grand Lama, ∨ Dalai Lama [lit., Ocean Lama], the supreme pontiff in the lamaistic hierarchy. See Lamaism.
Lamaic
La"ma*ic (?), a. Of or pertaining to Lamaism.
Lamaism
La"ma*ism (?), n. A modified form of Buddhism which prevails in Thibet, Mongolia, and some adjacent parts of Asia; -- so called from the name of its priests. See 2d Lama.
Lamaist, Lamaite
La"ma*ist (?), La"ma*ite (?) n. One who believes in Lamaism.
Lamaistic
La`ma*is"tic (?), a. Of or pertaining to Lamaism.
Lamantin
La*man"tin (?), n. [F. lamantin, lamentin, prob. from the name of the animal in the Antilles. Cf. Manater.] (Zoöl.) The manatee. [Written also lamentin, and lamantine.]
Lamarckian
La*marck"i*an (?), a. Pertaining to, or involved in, the doctrines of Lamarckianism.
Lamarckianism
La*marck"i*an*ism (?), n. (Biol.) Lamarckism.
Lamarckism
La"marck"ism (?), n. [From Lamarck, a distinguished French naturalist.] (Biol.) The theory that structural variations, characteristic of species and genera, are produced in animals and plants by the direct influence of physical environments, and esp., in the case of animals, by effort, or by use or disuse of certain organs.
Lamasery
La"ma*ser*y (?), n. [See 2d Lama.] A moastery or convent of lamas, in Thibet, Mongolia, etc.
Lamb
Lamb (?), n. [AS. lamb; akin to D. & Dan. lam, G. & Sw. lamm, OS., Goth., & Icel. lamb.]
1. (Zoöl.) The young of the sheep.
2. Any person who is as innocent or gentle as a lamb.
3. A simple, unsophisticated person; in the cant of the Stock Exchange, one who ignorantly speculates and is victimized. Lamb of God, The Lamb (Script.), the Jesus Christ, in allusion to the paschal lamb.
The twelve apostles of the Lamb. Rev. xxi. 14.

Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. John i. 29.
-- Lamb's lettuce (Bot.), an annual plant with small obovate leaves (Valerianella olitoria), often used as a salad; corn salad. [Written also lamb lettuce.] -- Lamb's tongue, a carpenter's plane with a deep narrow bit, for making curved grooves. Knight. -- Lamb's wool. (a) The wool of a lamb. (b) Ale mixed with the pulp of roasted apples; -- probably from the resemblance of the pulp of roasted apples to lamb's wool. [Obs.] Goldsmith.
Lamb
Lamb (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Lambed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Lambing.] To bring forth a lamb or lambs, as sheep.
Lambale
Lamb"ale` (?), n. A feast at the time of shearing lambs.
Lambaste
Lam*baste" (?), v. t. [Lam + baste to beat.] To beat severely. [Low] Nares.
Lambative
Lam"ba*tive (?), a. [L. lambere to lick. See Lambent.] Taken by licking with the tongue. Sirups and lambative medicines. Sir T. Browne.
Lambative
Lam"ba*tive, n. A medicine taken by licking with the tongue; a lincture. Wiseman.
Lambda
Lamb"da (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. .]
1. The name of the Greek letter
2. (Anat.) The point of junction of the sagittal and lambdoid sutures of the skull. Lambda moth (Zoöl.), a moth so called from a mark on its wings, resembling the Greek letter lambda (Lambdacism Lamb"da*cism (?), n. [L. lambdacismus, Gr. , fr. la`mbda the letter lambda (
1. A fault in speaking or in composition, which consists in too frequent use of the letter l, or in doubling it erroneously.
2. A defect in pronunciation of the letter l when doubled, which consists in giving it a sound as if followed by y, similar to that of the letters lli in billion.
3. The use of the sound of l for that of r in pronunciation; lallation; as, Amelican for American.
Lambdoid
Lamb"doid (?), a. [Gr. , la`mbda the letter lambda (e"i^dos shape.] Shaped like the Greek letter lambda (as, the lambdoid suture between the occipital and parietal bones of the skull.
Lambdoidal
Lamb*doid"al (?), a. Same as Lambdoid.
Lambent
Lam"bent (?), a. [L. lambens, -enlis, p. pr. of lambere to lick; akin to lap. See Lap to drink by licking.]
1. Playing on the surface; touching lightly; gliding over. A lambent flame." Dryden. A lambent style." Beaconsfield.
2. Twinkling or gleaming; fickering. The lambent purity of the stars." W. Irving.
Lambert pine
Lam"bert pine` (?). [So called from Lambert, an English botanist.] (Bot.) The gigantic sugar pine of California and Oregon (Pinus Lambertiana). It has the leaves in fives, and cones a foot long. The timber is soft, and like that of the white pine of the Eastern States.
Lambkin
Lamb"kin (?), n. A small lamb.
Lamblike
Lamb"like (?), a. Like a lamb; gentle; meek; inoffensive.
Lamboys
Lam"boys (?), n. pl. [Cf. F. lambeau. Cf. Label.] (Anc. Armor) Same as Base, n., 19.
Lambrequin
Lam"bre*quin (?), n. [F. Cf. Lamboys, Label.]
1. A kind of pendent scarf or covering attached to the helmet, to protect it from wet or heat.
2. A leather flap hanging from a cuirass. Wilhelm.
3. A piece of ornament drapery or short decorative hanging, pendent from a shelf or from the casing above a window, hiding the curtain fixtures, or the like.
Lambskin
Lamb"skin` (?), n.
1. The skin of a lamb; especially, a skin dressed with the wool on, and used as a mat. Also used adjectively.
2. A kind of woolen.
Lambskinnet
Lamb"skin`net" (?), n. See Lansquenet.
Lamb's-quarters
Lamb's-quar"ters (?), n. (Bot.) A name given to several plants of the Goosefoot family, sometimes used as pot herbs, as Chenopodium album and Atriplex patulsa.
Lamdoidal
Lam*doid"al (?), a. Lambdoid. [R.]
Lame
Lame (?), a. [Compar. Lamer (?); superl. Lamest.] [OE. lame, AS. lama; akin to D. lam, G. lahm,OHG., Dan., & Sw. lam, Icel. lami, Russ. lomate to break, lomota rheumatism.]
1. (a) Moving with pain or difficulty on account of injury, defect, or temporary obstruction of a function; as, a lame leg, arm, or muscle. (b) To some degree disabled by reason of the imperfect action of a limb; crippled; as, a lame man. Lame of one leg." Arbuthnot. Lame in both his feet." 2 Sam. ix. 13. He fell, and became lame." 2 Sam. iv. 4.
2. Hence, hobbling; limping; inefficient; imperfect. A lame endeavor." Barrow.
O, most lame and impotent conclusion! Shak.
Lame duck (stock Exchange), a person who can not fulfill his contracts. [Cant]