Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
- Entries
- 95,912
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- 2,133
Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Lāv'ish-er, n. p. 757One who expends or bestows profusely or excessively; a prodigal.Lāv'ish-ly, adv. p. 757With profuse expense; prodigally; wastefully.Lāv'ish-ment, n. p. 757The state of being lavish; profuse expenditure; prodigality.Lāv'ish-ness, n. p. 757Profusion; prodigality.La-vōlt’ or La-vōl'tā, n. p. 757An old dance, for two persons, being a kind of waltz, in which the man turned the woman round several times, and then assisted her in making a high spring or bound. Halliwell. “And teach lavoltas…La-vōl’ta-teer, n. p. 757One who danced the lavolta; a dancer. [Obs.] “A lavoltateer, a saltatory, a dancer.” Beau. & Fl.Lăv'rock, n. p. 757The lark. See LAVEROCK.Law, n. p. 757A rule of order or conduct established by authority; an edict of a ruler or a government; a fixed regulation; an expressed command; a decree; an order. Law is beneficence acting by rule. Burke. 2.…Law'-bind'ing, n. p. 757A plain style of leather binding, used almost exclusively for law-books;—called also law-calf.Law'-book, n. p. 757A book containing, or treating of, laws.Law'-break'er, n. p. 757One who violates the law.Law'-calf, n. p. 757See LAW-BINDING.Law'-day, n. p. 757A day of open court. 2. A leet, or sheriff's court.Lawe, v. t. p. 757To cut off the claws and balls of; — said of a dog's fore feet. Wright.Lawful, a. p. 757Agreeable to law; conformable to law; allowed by law; legitimate; competent; free from objection. 2. Constituted by law; rightful; as, the lawful owner of lands. Syn. —Legal; constitutional…Law'ful-ly, adv. p. 757In accordance with law; without violating law; legally.Law'ful-ness, n. p. 757The quality of being conformable to law; legality.Law'gīv-er, n. p. 757One who makes or enacts a law; a legislator.Law'gīv-ing, a. p. 757Making or enacting laws; legislative.Law'ing, n. p. 757The act of cutting off the claws and balls of the fore feet of mastiffs, to prevent them from running after deer; expeditation. Blackstone.Law'less, a. p. 757Not subject to, or unrestrained by, the law of morality or of society; as, lawless men or behavior. 2. Contrary to, or unauthorized by, the civil law; as, a lawless claim. He needs no indirect nor…Law'less-ly, adv. p. 757In a lawless manner.Law'less-ness, n. p. 757The quality or state of being lawless; disorder.Law'-lōre, n. p. 757Learning in respect to ancient laws; knowledge of law and legal history.Law'-mak'er, n. p. 757One who enacts or ordains laws; a legislator; a lawgiver.Law'-māk'ing, a. p. 757Enacting laws.Lăw'-mŏng'er, n. p. 757A low dealer in law; a pettifogger.Lawn, n. p. 757An open space between woods; a space of ground covered with grass, generally in front of or around a house or mansion. Betwixt them, lawns, or level downs, and flocks Grazing the tender herbs, were…Lawn, n. p. 757A sort of fine linen or cambric, used especially for certain parts of the official robes of a bishop, and hence, generally, the official dress itself. A saint in crape is twice a saint in lawn. Pope.Lawnd, n. p. 757The same as LAWN, q. v. [Obs.] Shak.Lawn'y, a. p. 757Level, as a plain; like a lawn. 2. Made of lawn.Law'-ōf-fi-cer, n. p. 757An officer who has power to administer or execute laws; one who has legal authority.Law’suit, n. p. 757A suit in law; a process in law instituted for the recovery of a supposed right; an action.Law'yer, n. p. 757One versed in the laws, or a practitioner of law; one whose profession is to institute suits in courts of law, and to prosecute or defend the cause of clients; — a general term, comprehending…Law'yer-like or Law'yer-ly, a. p. 757Like, or becoming, a lawyer; as, lawyer-like sagacity. “The more lawyerly mooting of this point.” Milton.Lăx, a. p. 757Not tense, firm, or rigid; loose; flabby; soft; as, lax flesh; a lax fiber. 2. Slack; not tight or tense; as, a lax cord. 3. Sparse; not crowded; as, lax foliage. 4. Not firmly united; of loose…Lăx, n. p. 757A looseness; diarrhea.Lăx, n. p. 757A species of fish or salmon. [Obs.]Lax-ā′tion, n. p. 757The act of loosening or slackening, or the state of being loose or slackening.Lăx'a-tĭve, a. p. 757(Med.) Having the power or quality of loosening or opening the intestines, and relieving from constipation.Lăx'a-tīve, n. p. 757(Med.) A medicine that relaxes the bowels; a gentle purgative. Coxe.Lăx'a-tīve-ness, n. p. 757The quality of relaxing.Lăx'i-ty, n. p. 757The quality of being lax or loose; as, (a.) Slackness, as of a cord. (b.) Looseness, as of a texture. (c.) Want of exactness or precision; as, laxity of expression. (d.) Defect of exactness; as…Lāx'ly, adv. p. 757In a lax or loose manner; loosely.Lăx'ness, n. p. 757The same as LAXITY. See LAXITY.Lāy, imp. p. 757of lie. See LIE.Lay (lā), v. t. p. 757To cause to lie flat; to place in a low position; to put down; to establish in a firm or fixed manner; to deposit; as, to lay a book on the table; a shower lays the dust; the foundation of a house is…Lāy (lā), v. i. p. 758To bring or produce eggs. Hens will greedily eat the herb that will make them lay the better. Mortimer. 2. To contrive; to form a scheme. [Rare.] 3. (Naut.) To take a position; to come or go; as, to…Lāy, n. p. 758That which lies, or is laid; a row; a stratum; a layer; one rank in a series reckoned upward; as, a lay of wood. A viol should have a lay of wire-strings below. Bacon. 2. A bet; a wager; an…Lāy (lā), n. p. 758A meadow; a plain or plat of grass land. A tuft of daisies on a flowery lay. Dryden.Lāy, n. p. 758A song; as, a soft lay. 2. A species of narrative poetry among the ancient minstrels; as, the Lay of the Last Minstrel. W. Scott.Lāy, n. p. 758(Weaving.) A swinging frame in a loom, called also the batten or lathe, by the movements of which the weft-threads are laid parallel to each other against the cloth previously woven.Lāy, n. p. 758The laity; the common sort. [Obs.] The learned have no more privilege than the lay. B. Jonson.Lāy, a. p. 758Pertaining to the laity or people, as distinct from the clergy; not clerical; as, a lay person; a lay preacher; a lay brother. 2. Not educated or cultivated; ignorant. [Obs.] Lay brother (Eccl.), one…Lāy'er, n. p. 758One who, or that which, lays. 2. That which is laid; as, (a.) A stratum; a bed; a body spread over another; as, a layer of clay or of sand. (b.) A course, as of bricks, stones, and the like. (c.) A…Lāy'er-ing, n. p. 758A propagating by layers. Gardner.Lāy'er-out, n. p. 758One who expends money; a steward.Lāy'er-ūp, n. p. 758One who reposts for future use; a treasurer.Lāy'ing, n. p. 758(Masonry.) The first coat on laths of plasterer's two-coat work. 2. Act or period of laying eggs; the eggs laid.Lāy'land, n. p. 758Land lying untilled; fallow ground. Blount.