Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
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.
Lēt'ter-ōf'fice, n. p. 766A place where letters are deposited and distributed; a post-office.Lēt'tern, n. p. 766See LECTURN.Lēt'ter-pā'per, n. p. 766Paper for writing letters, especially as distinguished from foolscap.Lĕt'ter-prĕss, n. p. 766Print; letters and words impressed on paper or other material by types;—often used in distinction from engraving.Lēt'ter-wood, n. p. 766(Bot.) The wood of a tree of the genus Piratinera (P. guianensis), found in Guiana;—so called from black spots in it which bear some resemblance to hieroglyphics.Lēt'ter-wrīt'er, n. p. 766One who writes letters. 2. An instrument for copying letters.Lēt'ting, n. p. 766The putting out on lease, as a farm. 2. The putting out of portions of work to be performed by contract, as on a railroad or canal.Lĕt'tuce or Lettuce-opium, n. p. 766[O. Fr. laictue, letue, for laictuce, lectuce, Pr. laytuga, lachuga, Sp. lechuga, It. lattuga, Lat. lactuca, according to Varro, from lac, milk, on account of the milky white juice which flows from…Leū'cine, n. p. 767(Chem.) A peculiar, white, pulverulent substance, obtained from fibrine by the action of dilute sulphuric acid.Leū-cis'cus, n. p. 767(Ichth.) A genus of fishes, including the dace, chub, minnow, and the like.Leū'co-dēn'dron, n. p. 767(Bot.) A genus of evergreen shrubs from the Cape of Good Hope, having a handsome foliage.Leū'cite, n. p. 767(Min.) A mineral having a dull, glassy appearance, occurring in translucent, twenty-four sided (trapezohedral) crystals. It is found in the volcanic rocks of Italy, especially at Vesuvius…Leū-cīt'ic, a. p. 767(Min.) Containing leucite; as, leucitic rocks. Dana.Leū'ci-toid, n. p. 767(Crystallog.) The trapezohedron; — so called as being the form of the mineral leucite. Dana.Leu'co-cy-thæ'mi-ă or Leu'co-cy-thē'mi-ā, n. p. 767(Med.) A disease in which the white corpuscles of the blood are largely increased in number, and the spleen, or lymphatic glands, are enlarged.Leu'-co-ē'thi-ōp'ie, a. p. 767White and black; — designating a white animal of a black species, or the albino of the negro race.Leu-cō'mā, n. p. 767(Med.) A white opacity in the cornea of the eye. It is the result of violent acute ophthalmia, and is also called albugo. Dunglison.Leū'co-phāne, n. p. 767(Min.) A mineral, occurring imperfectly crystallized, of a greenish or wine-yellow color, consisting of silica, fluorine, glucina, lime, and sodium.Leū-cōp'a-thy, n. p. 767The state of an albino, or of a white child of black parents.Leū'/co·phlēg'ma·cy, n. p. 767(Med.) A dropsical habit of body, or the commencement of anasarca; paleness, with viscid juices and cold sweats.Leū'-co-phleg-māt'ic, a. p. 767Having a dropsical habit of body, with a white, bloated skin.Leū-cōp'y-rīte, n. p. 767(Min.) A mineral of a color between white and steel-gray, with a metallic luster, and consisting chiefly of arsenic and iron. Dana.Leu'-cor-rhoë'a, n. p. 767(Med.) A discharge of a white, yellowish, or greenish mucus, resulting from inflammation or irritation of the membrane lining the genital organ of the female. Dunglison.Leū-cō'thi-op, n. p. 767An albino of a black race.Leuĭ'coïs, a. p. 767White; — applied to albinos, from the fairness of their skin and hair.Leū'ke, a. p. 767See LUKE.Leū'ke'ness, n. p. 767See LUKENESS.Lē'vant, a. p. 767Eastern; denoting the part of the hemisphere where the sun rises. Forth rush the levant and the ponent winds. Milton. Levant and couchant. (Law.) See COUCHANT.Le-vānt', n. p. 767A country to the eastward; but especially, the countries of Turkey, Syria, Asia Minor, Greece, Egypt, &c., which are washed by the eastern part of the Mediterranean and its contiguous waters.Le-vānt', v. t. p. 767To run away disgracefully. [Cant. Eng.]Le-vănt’er, n. p. 767A strong easterly wind in the Mediterranean. 2. One who bets at a horse-race, and runs away without paying the wager lost; hence, one who runs away disgracefully. [Cant. Eng.] No prelusive murmurs…Le-vănt'ine or Lēv'ant-īne, a. p. 767Pertaining or belonging to the Levant.Le-vānt'ine or Lē'v'ant-īne, n. p. 767(Geog.) A native or inhabitant of the Levant. 2. A particular kind of silk cloth.Le-vā'rī-fā'ci-as, n. p. 767A writ of execution at common law. Wharton.Le-vā'tor, n. p. 767(Anat.) A muscle that serves to raise some part, as the lip or the eyelid. 2. A surgical instrument used to raise a depressed part of the skull.Lēve, a. p. 767Dear; beloved. [Obs.] See LIEF.Lēve, v. t. p. 767To believe. [Obs.] Gower.Lēv'ee, n. p. 767The act or time of rising. [Obs.] 2. A morning assembly of visitors;—in distinction from a soirée, or evening assembly; a matinée; hence, also, any general or somewhat miscellaneous gathering of…Lēv'ee, v. t. p. 767To attend the levee of; to pursue at levees. “He levees all the great.” Young. 2. To keep within a channel by means of levees; as, to levee a river.Lĕv'el, a. p. 767Not having one part higher than another; not ascending or descending; even; flat; smooth; as, a level plain or field; level ground. 2. Coinciding with the plane of the horizon; horizontal. 3. Even…Lēv'el, v. t. p. 767To make smooth or even; to reduce or remove inequalities of surface in; as, to level a road or walk. 2. To make horizontal. 3. To reduce or bring to the same height with something else; to lay flat…Lēv'el, v. i. p. 767To accord; to agree; to suit. [Obs.] Shak. 2. To aim; to point a gun or an arrow to the mark. 3. To direct the view or purpose; to aim;—usually with at. The glory of God and the good of his church…Lĕv'el, n. p. 767A line or plane, to which, at every point, a vertical or plumb line is at right angles, or which is every where parallel to the surface of still water;—this is the true level, and is a curve, the…Lĕv'el-er, n. p. 767One who levels, or makes even. 2. One who destroys, or attempts to destroy, distinctions, and reduce to equality.Lēv'el-ing, n. p. 767The reduction of uneven surfaces to a level or plane. 2. (Surveying.) The art or operation of finding an horizontal line, or of ascertaining the differences of level between different points of the…Leveling-staff p. 767a graduated rod or staff for measuring differences of level between points where it is set up, by means of the different positions of the slide or target upon it when set to the line of sight of the…Lēv'el-ism, n. p. 767The disposition or endeavor to level all distinctions of rank in society.Lēv'el-i-zā'tion, n. p. 767The act of making level; equalization.Lēv'el-ly, adv. p. 767In an even or level manner.Lēv'el-ness, n. p. 767The condition of being level; equality.Lēv'en, n. p. 767See LEAVEN.Lēv'en, n. p. 767The same as LEVIN, which see.Lēv'en, n. p. 767An open space, as between woods. [Scot.]Lē'ver or Lēv'er, n. p. 767(Mech.) A bar of metal, wood, or other substance, used to exert a pressure, or sustain a weight, at one point of its length, by receiving a force or power at a second, and turning at a third on a…Lē'ver, a. p. 767More agreeable; more pleasing. [Obs.]Lē'ver, adv. p. 767Rather. [Obs.] For lever had I die than see his deadly face. Spenser.Lēv'er-age, n. p. 767The action of a lever. If the illustrious Individual Mind be the moving power, it is the non-illustrious individual minds that become the fulcrum of the leverage. I. Taylor. 2. Mechanical advantage…Lēv'er-et, n. p. 767A hare in the first year of its age.Lēv'er-ock, n. p. 767A bird; a lark. [Scot.]Lēv'et, n. p. 767A blast of a trumpet;—probably that by which soldiers are called in the morning. [Obs.] Hudibras.