Webster's Unabridged Dictionary - Letter L - Page 11
Lapse (v. i.) To pass slowly and smoothly downward, backward, or away; to slip downward, backward, or away; to glide; -- mostly restricted to figurative uses.
A tendency to lapse into the barbarity of those northern nations from whom we are descended. -- Swift.
Homer, in his characters of Vulcan and Thersites, has lapsed into the burlesque character. -- Addison.
Lapse (v. i.) To slide or slip in moral conduct; to fail in duty; to fall from virtue; to deviate from rectitude; to commit a fault by inadvertence or mistake.
To lapse in fullness Is sorer than to lie for need. -- Shak.
Lapse (v. i.) (Law) To fall or pass from one proprietor to another, or from the original destination, by the omission, negligence, or failure of some one, as a patron, a legatee, etc.
Lapse (v. i.) (Law) To become ineffectual or void; to fall.
If the archbishop shall not fill it up within six months ensuing, it lapses to the king. -- Ayliffe.
Lapse (v. t.) To let slip; to permit to devolve on another; to allow to pass.
An appeal may be deserted by the appellant's lapsing the term of law. -- Ayliffe.
Lapse (v. t.) To surprise in a fault or error; hence, to surprise or catch, as an offender. [Obs.]
For which, if be lapsed in this place, I shall pay dear. -- Shak.
Lapse (n.) A mistake resulting from inattention [syn: oversight, lapse].
Lapse (n.) A break or intermission in the occurrence of something; "a lapse of three weeks between letters".
Lapse (n.) A failure to maintain a higher state [syn: backsliding, lapse, lapsing, relapse, relapsing, reversion, reverting].
Lapse (v.) Pass into a specified state or condition; "He sank into nirvana" [syn: sink, pass, lapse].
Lapse (v.) End, at least for a long time; "The correspondence lapsed".
Lapse (v.) Drop to a lower level, as in one's morals or standards [syn: lapse, backslide].
Lapse (v.) Go back to bad behavior; "Those who recidivate are often minor criminals" [syn: relapse, lapse, recidivate, regress, retrogress, fall back].
Lapse (v.) Let slip; "He lapsed his membership".
Lapse (v.) Pass by; "three years elapsed" [syn: elapse, lapse, pass, slip by, glide by, slip away, go by, slide by, go along].
LAPSE, () A single assignment language for the Manchester dataflow machine.
["A Single Assignment Language for Data Flow Computing", J.R.W. Glauert, M.Sc Diss, Victoria U Manchester, 1978]. (1994-12-21)
Lapse, () eccl. law. The transfer, by forfeiture, of a right or power to present or collate to a vacant benefice, from, a person vested with such right, to another, in consequence of some act of negligence of the former. Ayl. Parerg. 331.
Lapsed (a.) Having slipped downward, backward, or away; having lost position, privilege, etc., by neglect; -- restricted to figurative uses.
Once more I will renew His lapsed powers, though forfeit. -- Milton.
Lapsed (a.) Ineffectual, void, or forfeited; as, a lapsed policy of insurance; a lapsed legacy.
Lapsed devise, Lapsed legacy (Law), A devise, or legacy, which fails to take effect in consequence of the death of the devisee, or legatee, before that of the testator, or for other cause. -- Wharton (Law Dict.).
Lapsed (a.) No longer active or practicing; "a lapsed Catholic" [syn: lapsed, nonchurchgoing].
Lapsible (a.) Liable to lapse.
Lapsided (a.) See Lopsided.
Lapstone (n.) A stone for the lap, on which shoemakers beat leather. lap-streaked; Lapstrake; Lapstreak
Lapstreak (a.) Alt. of Lapstrake.
Lapstrake (a.) Made with boards whose edges lap one over another; clinker-built; -- said of boats. Contrasted with
carvel-built.
Syn: lap-jointed, overlapping.
Laputan (a.) Of or pertaining to Laputa, an imaginary flying island described in Gulliver's Travels as the home of chimerical philosophers. Hence, fanciful; preposterous; absurd in science or philosophy. "Laputan ideas." -- G. Eliot.
Laputan (a.) Relating to or characteristic of the imaginary country of Laputa or its people.
Laputan (a.) Not practical or realizable; speculative; "airy theories about socioeconomic improvement"; "visionary schemes for getting rich" [syn: airy, impractical, visionary, Laputan, windy].
Lap-welded (a.) Having edges or ends united by a lap weld; as, a lap-welded pipe.
Lapwing (n.) (Zool.) A small
European bird of the Plover family ({Vanellus cristatus, or V. vanellus). It
has long and broad wings, and is noted for its rapid, irregular fight, upwards,
downwards, and in circles. Its back is coppery or greenish bronze. Its eggs are
the "plover's eggs" of the
Lapwing (n.) Large crested Old World plover having wattles and spurs [syn: lapwing, green plover, peewit, pewit].
Lapwing, () The name of an unclean bird, mentioned only in Lev. 11:19 and Deut. 14:18. The Hebrew name of this bird, _dukiphath_, has been generally regarded as denoting the hoope (Upupa epops), an onomatopoetic word derived from the cry of the bird, which resembles the word "hoop;" a bird not uncommon in Palestine.
Others identify it with the English peewit.
Lapwork (n.) Work in which one part laps over another. -- Grew.
Laquay (n.) A lackey. [Obs.] -- Evelyn.
Laquearia (n. pl. ) of Laquear.
Laquear (n.) [L.] (Arch.) A lacunar.
Laqueary (a.) Using a noose, as a gladiator. [Obs. or R.]
Retiary and laqueary combatants. -- Sir T. Browne.
Lares (n. pl. ) of Lar.
Lars (n. pl. ) of Lar.
Lar (n.) [L.] (Rom. Myth.) A tutelary deity; a deceased ancestor regarded as a protector of the family. The domestic Lares were the tutelar deities of a house; household gods. Hence, Eng.: Hearth or dwelling house.
Nor will she her dear Lar forget, Victorious by his benefit. -- Lovelace.
The Lars and Lemures moan with midnight plaint. -- Milton.
Looking backward in vain toward their Lares and lands. -- Longfellow.
Lar (n.) (Zool.) A species of gibbon ({Hylobates lar), found in Burmah. Called also white-handed gibbon.
Laramie group (n.) (Geol.) An extensive series of strata, principally developed in the Rocky Mountain region, as in the Laramie Mountains, and formerly supposed to be of the Tertiary age, but now generally regarded as Cretaceous, or of intermediate and transitional character. It contains beds of lignite, often valuable for coal, and is hence also called the lignitic group. See Chart of Geology.
Larboard (n.) (Naut.) The left-hand side of a ship to one on board facing toward the bow; port; -- opposed to starboard.
Note: Larboard is a nearly obsolete term, having been superseded by port to avoid liability of confusion with starboard, owing to similarity of sound.
Larboard (a.) On or pertaining to the left-hand side of a vessel; port; as, the larboard quarter. Larcener
Larboard (a.) Located on the left side of a ship or aircraft [syn: port, larboard].
Larboard (n.) The left side of a ship or aircraft to someone who is aboard and facing the bow or nose [syn: larboard, port] [ant: starboard].
Larcener (n.) Alt. of Larcenist.
Larcenist (n.) One who commits larceny.
Larcener (n.) A person who commits larceny [syn: larcenist, larcener].
Larcenous (a.) Having the character of larceny; as, a larcenous act; committing larceny. "The larcenous and burglarious world". -- Sydney Smith. -- Lar"ce*nous*ly, adv.
Larcenous (n.) Having a disposition to steal [syn: thievishness, larcenous].
Larcenies (n. pl. ) of Larceny.
Larceny (n.) (Law) The unlawful taking and carrying away of things personal with intent to deprive the right owner of the same; theft. Cf. Embezzlement.
Grand larceny & Petit larceny are Distinctions having reference to the nature or value of the property stolen.
They are abolished in England.
Mixed larceny, or Compound larceny, That which, under statute, includes in it the aggravation of a taking from a building or the person.
Simple larceny, That which is not accompanied with any aggravating circumstances.
Larceny (n.) The act of taking something from someone unlawfully; "the thieving is awful at Kennedy International" [syn: larceny, theft, thievery, thieving, stealing].
Larceny, () crim. law. The wrongful and fraudulent taking and carrying away, by one person, of the mere personal goods, of another, from any place, with a felonious intent to convert them to his, the taker's use, and make them his property, without the consent of the owner. 4 Wash. C. C. R. 700.
Larceny, () To constitute larceny, several ingredients are necessary. 1. The intent of the party must be felonious; he must intend to appropriate the property of another to his own use; if, therefore, the accused have taken the goods under a claim of right, however unfounded, he has not committed a larceny.
Larceny, () There must be a taking from the possession, actual or implied, of the owner; hence if a man should find goods, and appropriate them to his own use, he is not a thief on this account. Mart. and Yerg. 226; 14 John. 294; Breese, 227.
Larceny, () There must be a taking against the will of the owner, and this may be in some cases, where he appears to consent; for example, if a man suspects another of an intent to steal his property, and in order to try him leaves it in his way, and he takes it, he is guilty of larceny. The taking must be in the county where the criminal is to be tried. 9 C. & P. 29; S. C. 38 E. C. L. R. 23; Ry. & Mod. 349. But when the taking has been in the county or state, and the thief is caught with the stolen property in another county than that where the theft was committed, he may be tried in the county where arrested with the goods, as by construction of law, there is a fresh taking in every county in which the thief carries the stolen property.
Larceny, () There must be an actual carrying away, but the slightest removal, if the goods are completely in the power of the thief, is sufficient to snatch a diamond from a lady's ear, which is instantly dropped among the curls of her hair, is a sufficient asportation or carrying away.
Larceny, () The property taken must be personal property; a man cannot commit larceny of real estate, or of what is so considered in law. A familiar example will illustrate this; an apple, while hanging on the tree where it grew, is real estate, having never been separated from the freehold; it is not larceny, therefore, at common law, to pluck an apple from the tree, and appropriate it to one's own use, but a mere trespass; if that same apple, however, had been separated from the tree by the owner or otherwise, even by accident, as if shaken by the wind, and while lying on the ground it should be taken with a felonious intent, the taker would commit a larceny, because then it was personal property. In some states there are statutory provisions to punish the felonious taking of emblements or fruits of plants, while the same are hanging by the roots, and there the felony is complete, although the thing stolen is not, at common law, strictly personal property. Animals ferae naturae, while in the enjoyment of their natural liberty, are not the subjects of larceny; as, doves; 9 Pick. 15; Bee. 3 Binn. 546. See Bee; 5 N. H. Rep. 203. At common law, choses in action are not subjects of larceny. 1 Port. 33.
Larceny, () Larceny is divided in some states, into grand and petit larceny this depends upon the value of the property stolen. Vide 1 Hawk, 141 to 250, ch. 19; 4 Bl. Com. 229 to 250; Com. Dig. Justices, O 4, 5, 6, 7, 8; 2 East's P. C. 524 to 791; Burn's Justice, Larceny; Williams' Justice, Felony; 3 Chitty's Cr. Law, 917 to 992; and articles Carrying Away; Invito Domino; Robbery; Taking; Breach, 6.
Larch (n.) (Bot.) A genus of coniferous trees, having deciduous leaves, in fascicles (see Illust. of Fascicle).
Note: The European larch is Larix Europ[ae]a. The American or black larch is Larix Americana, the hackmatack or tamarack. The trees are generally of a drooping, graceful appearance.
Larch (n.) Wood of a larch tree.
Larch (n.) Any of numerous conifers of the genus Larix all having deciduous needlelike leaves [syn: larch, larch tree].
Larch, () The Larch Project develops aids for formal specifications. Each Larch specification has two components: an interface containing predicates written in the LIL ({Larch Interface Language) designed for the target language and a 'trait' containing assertions about the predicates written in LSL, the Larch Shared Language common to all.
["The Larch Family of Specification Languages", J. Guttag et al, IEEE Trans Soft Eng 2(5):24-365 (Sep 1985)].
Larchen (a.) Of or pertaining to the larch. -- Keats.
Lard (n.) Bacon; the flesh of swine. [Obs.] -- Dryden.
Lard (n.) The fat of swine, esp. the internal fat of the abdomen; also, this fat melted and strained.
Lard oil, An illuminating and lubricating oil expressed from lard.
Leaf lard, The internal fat of the hog, separated in leaves or masses from the kidneys, etc.; also, the same melted.
Larded (imp. & p. p.) of Lard.
Larding (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Lard.
Lard (v. t.) To stuff with bacon; to dress or enrich with lard; esp., to insert lardons of bacon or pork in the surface of, before roasting; as, to lard poultry.
And larded thighs on loaded altars laid. -- Dryden.
Lard (v. t.) To fatten; to enrich.
[The oak] with his nuts larded many a swine. -- Spenser.
Falstaff sweats to death.
And lards the lean earth as he walks along. -- Shak.
Lard (v. t.) To smear with lard or fat.
In his buff doublet larded o'er with fat Of slaughtered brutes. -- Somerville.
Lard (v. t.) To mix or garnish with something, as by way of improvement; to interlard. -- Shak.
Let no alien Sedley interpose To lard with wit thy hungry Epsom prose. -- Dryden.
Lard (v. i.) To grow fat. [Obs.]
Lard (n.) Soft white semisolid fat obtained by rendering the fatty tissue of the hog.
Lard (v.) Prepare or cook with lard; "lard meat".
Lard (v.) Add details to [syn: embroider, pad, lard, embellish, aggrandize, aggrandise, blow up, dramatize, dramatise].
Lardacein (n.) (Physiol. Chem.) A peculiar amyloid substance, colored blue by iodine and sulphuric acid, occurring mainly as an abnormal infiltration into the spleen, liver, etc.
Lardaceous (a.) Consisting of, or resembling, lard. [1913 Webster] Lardaceous degeneration (Med.), amyloid
degeneration.
Larder (n.) A room or place where meat and other articles of food are kept before they are cooked. -- Shak.
Larder (n.) A supply of food especially for a household.
Larder (n.) A small storeroom for storing foods or wines [syn: pantry, larder, buttery].
Larderer (n.) One in charge of the larder.
Lardery (n.) A larder. [Obs.] Lardon
Lardon (n.) Alt. of Lardoon.
Lardoon (n.) A bit of fat pork or bacon used in larding.
Lardry (n.) A larder. [Obs.]
Lardy (a.) Containing, or resembling, lard; of the character or consistency of lard.
Lare (n.) Lore; learning. [Obs.]
Lare (n.) Pasture; feed. See Lair. [Obs.] -- Spenser.
Lare (v. t.) To feed; to fatten. [Obs.] -- Beau. & Fl.
Lares (n. pl.) See 1st Lar.
Large (a.) Exceeding most other things of like kind in bulk, capacity, quantity, superficial dimensions, or number of constituent units; big; great; capacious; extensive; -- opposed to small; as, a large horse; a large house or room; a large lake or pool; a large jug or spoon; a large vineyard; a large army; a large city.
Note: For linear dimensions, and mere extent, great, and not large, is used as a qualifying word; as, great length, breadth, depth; a great distance; a great height.
Large (a.) Abundant; ample; as, a large supply of provisions.
We have yet large day. -- Milton.
Large (a.) Full in statement; diffuse; full; profuse.
I might be very large upon the importance and advantages of education. -- Felton.
Large (a.) Having more than usual power or capacity; having broad sympathies and generous impulses; comprehensive; -- said of the mind and heart.
Large (a.) Free; unembarrassed. [Obs.]
Of burdens all he set the Paynims large. -- Fairfax.
Large (a.) Unrestrained by decorum; -- said of language. [Obs.] "Some large jests he will make." -- Shak.
Large (a.) Prodigal in expending; lavish. [Obs.] -- Chaucer.
Large (a.) (Naut.) Crossing the line of a ship's course in a favorable direction; -- said of the wind when it is abeam, or between the beam and the quarter.
At large. (a) Without restraint or confinement; as, to go at large; to be left at large.
At large. (b) Diffusely; fully; in the full extent; as, to discourse on a subject at large.
Common at large. See under Common, n.
Electors at large, Representative at large, Electors, or a representative, as in Congress, chosen to represent the whole of a State, in distinction from those chosen to represent particular districts in a State. [U. S.]
To give large, To go large, To run large, or To sail large (Naut.), To have the wind crossing the direction of a vessel's course in such a way that the sails feel its full force, and the vessel gains its highest speed. See Large, a., 8.
Syn: Big; bulky; huge; capacious; comprehensive; ample; abundant; plentiful; populous; copious; diffusive; liberal.
Large (adv.) Freely; licentiously. [Obs.] -- Chaucer.
Large (n.) (Mus.) A musical note, formerly in use, equal to two longs, four breves, or eight semibreves.
Large (adv.) At a distance, wide of something (as of a mark).
Large (adv.) With the wind abaft the beam; "a ship sailing large".
Large (adv.) In a boastful manner; "he talked big all evening" [syn: boastfully, vauntingly, big, large].
Large (a.) Above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent; "a large city"; "set out for the big city"; "a large sum"; "a big (or large) barn"; "a large family"; "big businesses"; "a big expenditure"; "a large number of newspapers"; "a big group of scientists"; "large areas of the world" [syn: large, big] [ant: little, small].
Large (a.) Fairly large or important in effect; influential; "played a large role in the negotiations".
Large (a.) Ostentatiously lofty in style; "a man given to large talk"; "tumid political prose" [syn: bombastic, declamatory, large, orotund, tumid, turgid].
Large (a.) Generous and understanding and tolerant; "a heart big enough to hold no grudges"; "that's very big of you to be so forgiving"; "a large and generous spirit"; "a large heart"; "magnanimous toward his enemies" [syn: big, large, magnanimous].
Large (a.) Conspicuous in position or importance; "a big figure in the movement"; "big man on campus"; "he's very large in financial circles"; "a prominent citizen" [syn: big, large, prominent].
Large (a.) Having broad power and range and scope; "taking the large view"; "a large effect"; "a large sympathy".
Large (a.) In an advanced stage of pregnancy; "was big with child"; "was great with child" [syn: big(p), enceinte, expectant, gravid, great(p), large(p), heavy(p), with child(p)].
Large (n.) A garment size for a large person.
Large. () Broad; extensive; unconfined. The opposite of strict, narrow, or confined. At large, at liberty.
Large-acred (a.) Possessing much land.
Large-handed (a.) Having large hands, (Fig.): Taking, or giving, in large quantities; rapacious or bountiful.
Large-hearted (a.) Having a large or generous heart or disposition; noble; liberal. -- {Large"-heart`ed*ness}, n.
Largely (adv.) In a large manner. -- Dryden. -- Milton.
Largeness (n.) The quality or state of being large.
Largess (a.) Alt. of Largesse.
Largesse (a.) Liberality; generosity; bounty. [Obs.]
Fulfilled of largesse and of all grace. -- Chaucer.
Largesse (a.) A present; a gift; a bounty bestowed.
The heralds finished their proclamation with their usual cry of "Largesse, largesse, gallant knights!" and gold and silver pieces were showered on them from the galleries. -- Sir W. Scott.
Larget (n.) A sport piece of bar iron for rolling into a sheet; a small billet.
Larghetto (a. & adv.) (Mus.) Somewhat slow or slowly, but not so slowly as largo, and rather more so than andante.
Largifical (a.) Generous; ample; liberal. [Obs.]
Largifluous (a.) Flowing copiously. [Obs.]
Largiloquent (a.) Grandiloquent. [Obs.]
Largish (a.) Somewhat large. [Colloq.]
Largition () The bestowment of a largess or gift. [Obs.]
Largo (a. & adv.) (Mus.) Slow or slowly; -- more so than adagio; next in slowness to grave, which is also weighty and solemn.
Largo (n.) A movement or piece in largo time.
Lariat (n.) A long, slender rope made of hemp or strips of hide, esp. one with a noose; -- used as a lasso for catching cattle, horses, etc., and for picketing a horse so that he can graze without wandering. [Mexico & Western U.S.]
Lariated (imp. & p. p.) of Lariat.
Lariating (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Lariat.
Lariat (v. t.) To secure with a lariat fastened to a stake, as a horse or mule for grazing; also, to lasso or catch with a lariat. [Western U.S.]
Lariat (n.) A long noosed rope used to catch animals [syn: lasso, lariat, riata, reata].
Larine (a.) (Zool.) Of or pertaining to the Gull family ({Laridae).
Larixinic (a.) (Chem.) Of, or derived from, the larch ({Larix); as, larixinic acid.
Lark (v. i.) A frolic; a jolly time. [Colloq.] -- Dickens.
Larked (imp. & p. p.) of Lark.
Larking (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Lark.
Lark (v. i.) To sport; to frolic. [Colloq.]
Lark (n.) Any one numerous species of singing birds of the genus Alauda and allied genera (family Alaudidae). They mostly belong to Europe, Asia, and Northern Africa. In America they are represented by the shore larks, or horned by the shore larks, or horned larks, of the genus Otocoris. The true larks have holaspidean tarsi, very long hind claws, and usually, dull, sandy brown colors.
Note: The European skylark, or lark of the poets ({Alauda arvensis), is of a brown mottled color, and is noted for its clear and sweet song, uttered as it rises and descends almost perpendicularly in the air. It is considered a table delicacy, and immense numbers are killed for the markets. Other well-known European species are the crested, or tufted, lark ({Alauda cristata), and the wood lark ({Alauda arborea}). The pipits, or titlarks, of the genus Anthus (family Motacillid[ae]) are often called larks. See Pipit. The American meadow larks, of the genus Sturnella, are allied to the starlings. See Meadow Lark. The Australian bush lark is Mirafra Horsfieldii. See Shore lark.
Lark bunting (Zool.), A fringilline bird ({Calamospiza melanocorys) found on the plains of the Western United States.
Lark sparrow (Zool.), A sparrow ({Chondestes grammacus"> Lark sparrow (Zool.), a sparrow ({Chondestes grammacus), found in the Mississippi Valley and the Western United States.
Lark (v. i.) To catch larks; as, to go larking.
Lark (n.) North American songbirds having a yellow breast [syn: meadowlark, lark].
Lark (n.) A songbird that lives mainly on the ground in open country; has streaky brown plumage [syn: pipit, titlark, lark].
Lark (n.) Any of numerous predominantly Old World birds noted for their singing.
Lark (n.) Any carefree episode [syn: escapade, lark].
Lark (v.) Play boisterously; "The children frolicked in the garden"; "the gamboling lambs in the meadows"; "The toddlers romped in the playroom" [syn: frolic, lark, rollick, skylark, disport, sport, cavort, gambol, frisk, romp, run around, lark about].
Lark-colored (a.) Having the sandy brown color of the European larks.
Larker (n.) A catcher of larks.
Larker (n.) One who indulges in a lark or frolic. [Colloq.]
Lark's-heel (n.) (Bot.) Indian cress.