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An American Dictionary of the English Language

by Noah Webster

Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)

Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865

Entries
95,912
Pages
1,538
Illustrations
2,133

Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.

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  1. Lĕg'er-de-māin'ist, n.p. 763One who uses sleight of hand.
  2. Le-gěr′-i-ty, n.p. 763Lightness; nimbleness. [Obs.] Shak.
  3. Lĕgge, v. t.p. 763To lay. [Obs.] Wycliffe.
  4. Lĕgged, a.p. 763Having legs; — used in composition; as, a two-legged animal.
  5. Lĕg-ji-ä'drop. 763(Mus.) In a brisk and lively style.
  6. Lĕg'gĭn or Lĕg'ging, n.p. 763A cover for the leg, like a long gaiter; a garment that incloses the leg.
  7. Lĕg'hŏrn, n.p. 763A kind of plait for bonnets and hats, prepared from the straw of a variety of bearded wheat, cut when green, and dried. It was originally made at Leghorn, whence the name. Simmonds.
  8. Lĕg'ĭ-bĭl'ĭ-ty, n.p. 763The quality or state of being legible; legibleness.
  9. Lĕg'i-ble, a.p. 763Capable of being read; consisting of letters or figures that may be distinguished by the eye; as, a fair, legible manuscript. 2. Capable of being discovered or understood by apparent marks or…
  10. Lĕg'i-ble-ness, n.p. 763The quality or state of being legible; legibility.
  11. Lĕg'i-bly, adv.p. 763In such a manner as may be read; as, a manuscript legibly written.
  12. Lē′gion, n.p. 763(Rom. antiqu.) A body of infantry, consisting of different numbers of men at different periods, from three to five thousand. Each legion was divided into ten cohorts, each cohort into ten companies…
  13. Lē’gion-a-ry, a.p. 763Relating to, or consisting of, a legion or of legions; as, a legionary force. 2. Containing a great number. “Legionary body of errors.” Browne.
  14. Lē'giọn-a-ry, n.p. 763One of a legion. Milton.
  15. Lē'gis-lāte, v. i.p. 763To make or enact a law or laws.
  16. Lĕg'is-lā'tion, n.p. 763The act of legislating, or enacting laws. Pythagoras joined legislation to his philosophy. Littelton.
  17. Lĕg'is-lā/tive, a.p. 763Giving or enacting laws; as, a legislative body. 2. Pertaining to the enacting of laws; suitable to laws; as, the legislative style. 3. Done by enacting; as, a legislative act. ☞ In this word, and in…
  18. Lĕg'is-lā'tive-ly, adv.p. 763In a legislative manner.
  19. Lēg'is-lā'tor, n.p. 763A lawgiver; one who makes laws for a state or community.
  20. Lĕg'is-la-tō'ri-al, a.p. 763Of, or pertaining to, a legislature.
  21. Lĕg'is-lā'tor-ship, n.p. 763The office of a legislator. [Obs.] Halifax.
  22. Lēg'is-lā'tress or Lēg'is-lā'trix, n.p. 763A female who makes laws.
  23. Lĕg'is-lā-ture, n.p. 763The body of men in a state or kingdom invested with power to make and repeal laws; the supreme power of a state. The legislature of Great Britain consists of the Lords and Commons, with the king or…
  24. Lē'gist, n.p. 763One skilled in the laws.
  25. Le-gĭt'i-ma-cy, n.p. 763Accordance with law. 2. Lawfulness of birth; — opposed to bastardy. 3. Genuineness, or reality; opposed to spuriousness. 4. Regular sequence or deduction; logical sequence or validity; as, the…
  26. Le-git'i-mate, a.p. 763Accordant with law. 2. Lawfully begotten or born; born in wedlock; as, legitimate heirs or children. 3. Genuine; real; not false or spurious. 4. Following by logical or natural sequence; as, a…
  27. Le-ġĭt′i-māte, v. t.p. 763L. Lat. legitimare, legitimatum, from Lat. legitimus, lawful, legitimate, from lex, legis, law; It. legittimare, Sp. legitimar, Fr. légitimer.] 1. To make lawful; to legalize. 2. To render…
  28. Le-ġĭt'i-mate-ly, adv.p. 763In a legitimate manner; lawfully; genuinely.
  29. Le-ġĭt'i-mate-ness, n.p. 763The state of being legitimate; legality; lawfulness; genuineness.
  30. Le-ġĭt'i-mā'tion, n.p. 763The act of rendering legitimate. “The coining or legitimation of money.” East. 2. Lawful birth. [Rare.] Shak.
  31. Le-ġĭt'i-ma-tĭst, n.p. 763The same as LEGITIMIST.
  32. Le-ġĭt'i-mĭst, n.p. 763One who supports legitimate authority; an adherent of divine or hereditary rights. 2. Specifically, in France, an adherent of the elder branch of the Bourbon family, which was driven from the throne…
  33. Le-ġĭt'i-mīze, v. t.p. 763To legitimate, or make lawful.
  34. Lĕġ'i-tĭve, a.p. 763Lawful; legitimate. [Obs.] Berners.
  35. Lĕg'less, a.p. 763Having no legs.
  36. Lē'go-lĭt'e-ra-ry, a.p. 763Pertaining to the literature of law. “An essay on this lego-literary subject.” Lord Campbell.
  37. Lē'gu-lē'ian, a.p. 763Lawyer-like; legal. [Rare.] “In the classical English sense, or in the sense of leguleian barbarism.” De Quincey.
  38. Lē'gu-lē'ian, n.p. 763One in the legal profession; a lawyer. [Obs.] Milton.
  39. Lĕg'ūme or Le-gūme', n.p. 763(Bot.) A pod dehiscent into two pieces or valves, and having the seed attached at one suture, as that of the pea. ☞ In the latter circumstance, it differs from a siliqua, in which the seeds are…
  40. Le-gū'men, n.p. 763The same as LEGUME.
  41. Le-gū'mĭne, n.p. 763(Chem.) A principle obtained from the seeds of papilionaceous plants; vegetable caseine.
  42. Le-gū'mi-noŭs, a.p. 763Pertaining to pulse; consisting of pulse. 2. (Bot.) Bearing legumes, as seed-vessels; related to plants bearing legumes, as peas.
  43. Le-hŭnt'ite, n.p. 763(Min.) A variety of zeolite of a flesh-red color, consisting chiefly of the hydrous silicate of alumina and soda.
  44. Leī'o-phy̆l'lum, n.p. 763(Bot.) A genus of low, branching, evergreen shrubs, having smooth, shining leaves, and small white flowers; sand-myrtle. Gray.
  45. Leī-pō'ā, n.p. 763(Ornith.) A genus of birds including but a single species (L. ocellata), found in Australia. They lay their eggs in a mound of sand, to be hatched by the heat of the sun, but in most other respects…
  46. Leī'po-thy̆m'ic, a.p. 763See LIPOTHYMIC.
  47. Lēi'sur-a-ble, a.p. 763Vacant of employment; not occupied; as, leisurable hours. [Obs.] Browne.
  48. Lēi'sur-a-bly, adv.p. 763At leisure; without hurry. [Obs.] Hooker.
  49. Lēi'sure, n.p. 763Freedom from occupation or business; vacant time; time free from employment. The desire of leisure is much more natural than of business and care. Sir Wm. Temple. I shall leave with him that rebuke…
  50. Lēi'sure-ly, a.p. 764Exhibiting, or employing, leisure; not hasty; deliberate; slow; as, a leisurely walk or march; a leisurely survey of life.
  51. Lēʹsure-ly, adv.p. 764In a deliberate manner; slowly; at leisure; deliberately. We descended very leisurely, my friend being careful to count the steps. Addison.
  52. Lēll, v. t.p. 764To loll or thrust out. [Obs.] “Yawning and lelling out his tongue.” Holland.
  53. Lē'man or Lēm'an, n.p. 764A sweetheart, of either sex; a gallant, or a mistress;—usually in a bad sense. Chaucer. Spenser. Shak.
  54. Lēme, n.p. 764A ray or glimmer of light. [Obs.] Chaucer.
  55. Lēme, v. i.p. 764To shine. [Obs.]
  56. Lĕm'ing, n.p. 764See LEMMING.
  57. Lēm'mā, n.p. 764(Math.) An auxiliary proposition demonstrated for immediate use in the demonstration of some other proposition. Whatever is—so much I conceive to have been a fundamental lemma for Hazlitt—is wrong.…
  58. Lēm'ming, n.p. 764(Zoöl.) A burrowing animal of the rat family and the genus Mus; the M. lemmus, or Norvegicus. These animals are found in the north of Europe, and are remarkable for their periodic migrations in great…
  59. Lĕm'nā, n.p. 764(Bot.) Duck-weed. See DUCK-WEED.
  60. Lēm'ni-an, a.p. 764(Geog.) Of, or pertaining to, the isle of Lemnos. Lemnian earth, or sphragide, an aluminous earth of a grayish-yellow color. It was formerly made into cakes, stamped with a seal, and sold as…