Webster's Unabridged Dictionary - Letter L - Page 1
L () L is the twelfth letter of the English alphabet, and a vocal consonant. It is usually called a semivowel or liquid. Its form and value are from the Greek, through the Latin, the form of the Greek letter being from the Phoenician, and the ultimate origin prob. Egyptian. Etymologically, it is most closely related to r and u; as in pilgrim, peregrine, couch (fr. collocare), aubura (fr. LL. alburnus).
L () As a numeral, L stands for fifty in the English, as in the Latin language.
L (n.) An extension at right angles to the length of a main building, giving to the ground plan a form resembling the letter L; sometimes less properly applied to a narrower, or lower, extension in the direction of the length of the main building; a wing.
L (n.) A short right-angled pipe fitting, used in connecting two pipes at right angles.
La (n.) A syllable applied to the sixth tone of the scale in music in solmization.
La (n.) The tone A; -- so called among the French and Italians.
La (interj.) Look; see; behold; -- sometimes followed by you.
La (interj.) An exclamation of surprise; -- commonly followed by me; as, La me!
Laas (n.) A lace. See Lace. [Obs.] -- Chaucer.
Lab (v. i.) To prate; to gossip; to babble; to blab. [Obs.] -- Chaucer.
Lab (n.) A telltale; a prater; a blabber. [Obs.] "I am no lab." -- Chaucer.
Lab (n.) [By truncation of laboratory.] Laboratory. [Colloq.]
Lab (a.) Of or pertaining to a laboratory; as, a lab bench. [Colloq.]
Lab (n.) A workplace for the conduct of scientific research [syn: lab, laboratory, research lab, research laboratory, science lab, science laboratory].
Labadist (n.) (Eccl. Hist.) A follower of Jean de Labadie, a religious teacher of the 17th century, who left the Roman Catholic Church and taught a kind of mysticism, and the obligation of community of property among Christians.
Labarraque's solution () (Med.) An aqueous solution of hypochlorite of sodium, extensively used as a disinfectant.
Note: Sodium hypochlorite is the same compound used in the commercial trademarked bleach Clorox(TM). It has both disinfectant and bleaching activity.
Labara (n. pl. ) of Labarum.
Labarum (n.) The standard adopted by the Emperor Constantine after his conversion to Christianity. It is described as a pike bearing a silk banner hanging from a crosspiece, and surmounted by a golden crown. It bore a monogram of the first two letters (CHR) of the name of Christ in its Greek form. Later, the name was given to various modifications of this standard.
Labdanum (n.) See Ladanum.
Labefaction (n.) The act of labefying or making weak; the state of being weakened; decay; ruin.
Labefy (v. t.) To weaken or impair.
Label (n.) A tassel. [Obs.] -- Huloet. -- Fuller.
Label (n.) A slip of silk, paper, parchment, etc., affixed to anything, usually by an inscription, the contents, ownership, destination, etc.; as, the label of a bottle or a package.
Label (n.) A slip of ribbon, parchment, etc., attached to a document to hold the appended seal; also, the seal.
Label (n.) A writing annexed by way of addition, as a codicil added to a will.
Label (n.) (Her.) A barrulet, or, rarely, a bendlet, with pendants, or points, usually three, especially used as a mark of cadency to distinguish an eldest or only son while his father is still living.
Label (n.) A brass rule with sights, formerly used, in connection with a circumferentor, to take altitudes. -- Knight.
Label (n.) (Gothic Arch.) The name now generally given to the projecting molding by the sides, and over the tops, of openings in medi[ae]val architecture. It always has a square form, as in the illustration. -- Arch. Pub. Soc.
Label (n.) In mediaeval art, the representation of a band or scroll containing an inscription. -- Fairholt.
Labeled (imp. & p. p.) of Label.
Labelled () of Label.
Labeling (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Label.
Labelling () of Label.
Label (v. t.) To affix a label to; to mark with a name, etc.; as, to label a bottle or a package.
Label (v. t.) To affix in or on a label. [R.]
Label (n.) A brief description given for purposes of identification; "the label Modern is applied to many different kinds of architecture".
Label (n.) Trade name of a company that produces musical recordings; "the artists and repertoire department of a recording label is responsible for finding new talent" [syn: label, recording label].
Label (n.) A radioactive isotope that is used in a compound in order to trace the mechanism of a chemical reaction.
Label (n.) An identifying or descriptive marker that is attached to an object.
Label (v.) Assign a label to; designate with a label; "These students were labelled `learning disabled'".
Label (v.) Attach a tag or label to; "label these bottles" [syn: tag, label, mark].
Label (v.) Pronounce judgment on; "They labeled him unfit to work here" [syn: pronounce, label, judge].
Label (v.) Distinguish (as a compound or molecule) by introducing a labeled atom.
Label (v.) Distinguish (an element or atom) by using a radioactive isotope or an isotope of unusual mass for tracing through chemical reactions.
Label, () An identifier used to mark a position in a program so that it can be the destination of a goto statement.
Label, () The identifier assigned to a datagram for label switching. (2007-10-17)
Label. () A narrow slip of paper or parchment, affixed to a deed or writing hanging at or out of the same. This name is also given to an appending seal.
Labeler (n.) One who labels.
Labella (n. pl. ) of Labellum.
Labellums (n. pl. ) of Labellum.
Labellum (n.) The lower or apparently anterior petal of an orchidaceous flower, often of a very curious shape.
Labellum (n.) A small appendage beneath the upper lip or labrum of certain insects.
Labent (a.) Slipping; sliding; gliding.
Labia (n. pl.) See Labium.
Labial (a.) 脣的；脣音的 Of or pertaining to the lips or labia; as, labial veins.
Labial (a.) (Mus.) Furnished with lips; as, a labial organ pipe.
Labial (a.) (Phonetics) Articulated, as a consonant, mainly by the lips, as b, p, m, w.
Labial (a.) (Phonetics) Modified, as a vowel, by contraction of the lip opening, as [=oo] (f[=oo]d), [=o] ([=o]ld), etc., and as eu and u in French, and ["o], ["u] in German. See Guide to Pronunciation, [sect][sect] 11, 178.
Labial (a.) (Zool.) Of or pertaining to the labium; as, the labial palpi of insects. See Labium.
Labial (n.) (Phonetics) 脣音A letter or character representing an articulation or sound formed or uttered chiefly with the lips, as b, p, w.
Labial (n.) (Mus.) An organ pipe that is furnished with lips; a flue pipe.
Labial (n.) (Zool.) One of the scales which border the mouth of a fish or reptile.
Labial (a.) Of or relating to the lips of the mouth; "labial stops".
Labial (a.) Relating to or near the female labium.
Labial (n.) A consonant whose articulation involves movement of the lips [syn: labial consonant, labial].
Labialism (n.) (Phonetics) The quality of being labial; as, the labialism of an articulation; conversion into a labial, as of a sound which is different in another language. -- J. Peile.
Labialization (n.) (Phonetics) 脣發音；脣音化 The modification of an articulation by contraction of the lip opening.
Labialize (v. t.) (Phonetics) 【語】用脣發（音）；使脣音化 To modify by contraction of the lip opening.
Labialize (v.) Pronounce with rounded lips [syn: round, labialize, labialise].
Labially (adv.) In a labial manner; with, or by means of, the lips.
Labiate (v. t.) To labialize. -- Brewer.
Labiate (a.) (Bot.) Having the limb of a tubular corolla or calyx divided into two unequal parts, one projecting over the other like the lips of a mouth, as in the snapdragon, sage, and catnip.
Labiate (a.) (Bot.) Belonging to a natural order of plants ({Labiatae), of which the mint, sage, and catnip are examples. They are mostly aromatic herbs.
Labiate (n.) (Bot.) A plant of the order Labiatae.
Labiate (a.) Having lips or parts that resemble lips [syn: labiate, liplike].
Labiated (a.) (Bot.) Same as Labiate, a. (a). Labiatifloral
Labiatifloral (a.) Alt. of Labiatifloral.
Labiatifloral (a.) (Bot.) Having labiate flowers, as the snapdragon.
Labidometer (n.) (Med.) A forceps with a measuring attachment for ascertaining the size of the fetal head.
Labile (a.) 易變的；不穩定的 Liable to slip, err, fall, or apostatize. [Obs.] -- Cheyne.
Compare: Apostatize
Apostatize (v.) [No object] (v. i.) (British Apostatise) 放棄信仰；脫黨；變節 Renounce a religious or political belief or principle.
‘The property of wealthy Christians was liable to confiscation unless they apostatized.’
Labile (a.) Liable or likely to change.
Labile (a.) (Chem.) Easily decomposed or inactivated when subjected to heat, radiation, or mildly acidic or alkaline conditions; -- of chemical compounds; as, enzymes from thermophilic organisms are not as labile as those from mesophiles.
Labile (a.) (Chemistry, physics, biology) Readily undergoing change or breakdown
Labile (a.) Liable to change; "an emotionally labile person".
Lability (n.) Liability to lapse, err, or apostatize. [Archaic] -- Coleridge.
Lability (n.) The property of changing readily.
Lability (n.) (Chem.) The property of being labile[3]; -- of chemical compounds; as, the lability of some natural products makes them difficult to isolate and identify.
Labimeter (n.) See Labidometer.
Labiodental (a.) (Phonetics) Formed or pronounced by the cooperation of the lips and teeth, as f and v.
Labiodental (n.) A labiodental sound or letter.
Labiodental (n.) A consonant whose articulation involves the lips and teeth [syn: labiodental consonant, labiodental].
Labionasal (a.) (Phonetics) Formed by the lips and the nose.
Labionasal (n.) A labionasal sound or letter.
Labiose (a.) (Bot.) Having the appearance of being labiate; -- said of certain polypetalous corollas.
Labipalpi (n. pl. ) of Labipalpus.
Labipalpus (n.) (Zool.) One of the labial palpi of an insect. See Illust. under Labium.
Labia (n. pl. ) See Labium.
Labiums (n. pl. ) of Labium.
Labium (n.) [L.] 【解】陰脣 A lip, or liplike organ.
Labium (n.) The lip of an organ pipe.
Labium (n.) pl. (Anat.) The folds of integument at the opening of the vulva.
Labium (n.) (Zool.) The organ of insects which covers the mouth beneath, and serves as an under lip. It consists of the second pair of maxillae, usually closely united in the middle line, but bearing a pair of palpi in most insects. It often consists of a thin anterior part (ligula or palpiger) and a firmer posterior plate (mentum).
Labium (n.) (Zool.) Inner margin of the aperture of a shell.
Labium (n.) A liplike structure that bounds a bodily orifice (especially any of the four labiate folds of a woman's vulva).
Lablab (n.) (Bot.) An East Indian name for several twining leguminous plants related to the bean, but commonly applied to the hyacinth bean ({Dolichos Lablab).
Lablab (n.) One species: hyacinth bean [syn: Lablab, genus Lablab].
Labor (n.) Physical toil or bodily exertion, especially when fatiguing, irksome, or unavoidable, in distinction from sportive exercise; hard, muscular effort directed to some useful end, as agriculture, manufactures, and like; servile toil; exertion; work.
God hath set Labor and rest, as day and night, to men Successive. -- Milton.
Labor (n.) Intellectual exertion; mental effort; as, the labor of compiling a history.
Labor (n.) That which requires hard work for its accomplishment; that which demands effort.
Being a labor of so great a difficulty, the exact performance thereof we may rather wish than look for. -- Hooker.
Labor (n.) Travail; the pangs and efforts of childbirth.
The queen's in labor, They say, in great extremity; and feared She'll with the labor end. -- Shak.
Labor (n.) Any pang or distress. -- Shak.
Labor (n.) (Naut.) The pitching or tossing of a vessel which results in the straining of timbers and rigging.
Labor (n.) [Sp.] A measure of land in Mexico and Texas, equivalent to an area of 1771/7 acres. -- Bartlett.
Labor (n.) (Mining.) A stope or set of stopes. [Sp. Amer.]
Syn: Work; toil; drudgery; task; exertion; effort; industry; painstaking. See Toll.
Labored (imp. & p. p.) of Labor.
Laboring (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Labor.
Labor (v. i.) To exert muscular strength; to exert one's strength with painful effort, particularly in servile occupations; to work; to toil.
Adam, well may we labor still to dress This garden. -- Milton.
Labor (v. i.) To exert one's powers of mind in the prosecution of any design; to strive; to take pains.
Labor (v. i.) To be oppressed with difficulties or disease; to do one's work under conditions which make it especially hard, wearisome; to move slowly, as against opposition, or under a burden; to be burdened; -- often with under, and formerly with of.
The stone that labors up the hill. -- Granville.
The line too labors, and the words move slow. -- Pope.
To cure the disorder under which he labored. -- Sir W. Scott.
Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. -- Matt. xi. 28
Labor (v. i.) To be in travail; to suffer the pangs of childbirth ; to be in labor.
Labor (v. i.) (Naut.) To pitch or roll heavily, as a ship in a turbulent sea. -- Totten.
Labor (v. t.) To work at; to work; to till; to cultivate by toil.
The most excellent lands are lying fallow, or only labored by children. -- W. Tooke.
Labor (v. t.) To form or fabricate with toil, exertion, or care. "To labor arms for Troy." -- Dryden.
Labor (v. t.) To prosecute, or perfect, with effort; to urge strenuously; as, to labor a point or argument.
Labor (v. t.) To belabor; to beat. [Obs.] --Dryden.
Labor (n.) A social class comprising those who do manual labor or work for wages; "there is a shortage of skilled labor in this field" [syn: labor, labour, working class, proletariat].
Labor (n.) Productive work (especially physical work done for wages); "his labor did not require a great deal of skill" [syn: labor, labour, toil].
Labor (n.) Concluding state of pregnancy; from the onset of contractions to the birth of a child; "she was in labor for six hours" [syn: parturiency, labor, labour, confinement, lying-in, travail, childbed].
Labor (n.) An organized attempt by workers to improve their status by united action (particularly via labor unions) or the leaders of this movement [syn: labor movement, trade union movement, labor].
Labor (n.) A political party formed in Great Britain in 1900; characterized by the promotion of labor's interests and formerly the socialization of key industries [syn: British Labour Party, Labour Party, Labour, Labor].
Labor (n.) The federal department responsible for promoting the working conditions of wage earners in the United States; created in 1913 [syn: Department of Labor, Labor Department, Labor, DoL].
Labor (n.) Any piece of work that is undertaken or attempted; "he prepared for great undertakings" [syn: undertaking, project, task, labor].
Labor (v.) Strive and make an effort to reach a goal; "She tugged for years to make a decent living"; "We have to push a little to make the deadline!"; "She is driving away at her doctoral thesis" [syn: tug, labor, labour, push, drive].
Labor (v.) Work hard; "She was digging away at her math homework"; "Lexicographers drudge all day long" [syn: labor, labour, toil, fag, travail, grind, drudge, dig, moil].
Labor (v.) Undergo the efforts of childbirth [syn: labor, labour].
Labor. () Continued operation; work.
Labor. () The labor and skill of one man is frequently used in a partnership, and valued as equal to the capital of another.
Labor. () When business has been done for another, and suit is brought to recover a just reward, there is generally contained in the declaration, a count for work and labor.
Labor. () Where penitentiaries exist, persons who have committed crimes are condemned to be imprisoned therein at labor.
Labor (n.) One of the processes by which A acquires property for B.
Laborant (n.) A chemist. [Obs.] -- Boyle.
Laboratories (n. pl. ) of Laboratory.
Laboratory (n.) [C] 實驗室，研究室；化學工廠，藥廠 The workroom of a chemist; also, a place devoted to experiments in any branch of natural science; as, a chemical, physical, or biological laboratory. Hence, by extension, a place where something is prepared, or some operation is performed; as, the liver is the laboratory of the bile.
Laboratory (n.) Hence: Any place, activity or situation suggestive of a scientific laboratory [1], especially in being conducive to learning new facts by experimentation or by systematic observation; as, the states serve as laboratories where different new policies may be tested prior to adoption throughout the country.
Laboratory (n.) A workplace for the conduct of scientific research [syn: {lab}, {laboratory}, {research lab}, {research laboratory}, {science lab}, {science laboratory}].
Laboratory (n.) A region resembling a laboratory inasmuch as it offers opportunities for observation and practice and experimentation; "the new nation is a testing ground for socioeconomic theories"; "Pakistan is a laboratory for studying the use of American troops to combat terrorism" [syn: {testing ground}, {laboratory}].
Labored (a.) Bearing marks of labor and effort; elaborately wrought; not easy or natural; as, labored poetry; a labored style.
Labored (a.) Appearing to require strong effort; as, labored breathing.
Syn: heavy, laboured.
Labored (a.) Lacking natural ease; "a labored style of debating" [syn: labored, laboured, strained].
Labored (a.) Requiring or showing effort; "heavy breathing"; "the subject made for labored reading" [syn: heavy, labored, laboured].
Laboredly (adv.) In a labored manner; with labor.