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.
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.Lēv'i-a-ble, a. p. 767Fit to be levied; capable of being assessed and collected; as, sums leviable by course of law. Bacon.Le-vĭ'a-than, n. p. 767An aquatic animal, described in the book of Job, ch. xli., and mentioned in other passages of Scripture. ☞ It is not certainly known what animal is intended, whether the crocodile, the whale, or some…Lēv'i-ga-ble, a. p. 768Capable of being rubbed or ground into fine powder.Lēv′i-gāte, v. t. p. 768To rub or grind to a fine, impalpable powder; to make fine; to comminute. 2. To render smooth, soft, or polished; to polish. “When use hath levigated the organs.” Barrow.Lēv'i-gate, a. p. 768Made smooth, as if polished. 2. Made less harsh or burdensome; lightened; alleviated. [Obs.]Lēv'i-gā'tion, n. p. 768The act or operation of levigating, or rubbing a solid substance to a fine, impalpable powder.Lēv'in or Levin-brand, n. p. 768Lightning. [Obs.] Spenser. Levin-brand, a thunder-bolt. “His burning levin-brand in hand he took.” Spenser.Lēv'i-rate or Lēv'i-rāt'ic-al, a. p. 768Of, pertaining to, or in accordance with, a certain Jewish law, according to which a woman, whose husband died without issue, was to be married to the husband's brother. The first-born son of a…Lēv'i-rā'tion, n. p. 768Among the ancient Jews, the act of marrying the widow of a brother who left no children. Kitto.Lēv/i-tā'tion, n. p. 768Lightness; buoyancy; act of making light.Lē'vite, n. p. 768(Jewish Hist.) One of the tribe or family of Levi; a descendant of Levi; especially, one of those in the tribe employed in various duties connected with the tabernacle first, and afterward the…Le-vĭt'ic-al, a. p. 768Belonging, or relating, to the Levites. 2. Priestly. Milton. Levitical degrees, degrees of relationship named in Leviticus, within which marriage is forbidden.Le-vit'ie-al-ly, adv. p. 768After the manner of the Levites.Le-vit'i-eŭs, n. p. 768The third canonical book of the Old Testament, containing the laws and regulations which relate to the priests and Levites among the Jews, or the body of the ceremonial law.Lēv'i-ty, n. p. 768The want of weight in a body, compared with another that is heavier; lightness; as, the levity of a bubble. Bentley. 2. Ease; buoyancy; spirit; hence, undue elevation of spirits; frivolity; vanity.…Lē'vo-gy'rate, a. p. 768Turning to the left, as in levogyrate circular polarization. Dana.Lēv'y, v. t. p. 768To raise, give up, or desist from, as a siege. [Obs.] 2. To raise; to collect; said of troops, to form into an army by enrollment, conscription, &c. Augustine, being refused of the Christian Britons…Lĕv'y, n. p. 768The act of levying or taking by authority or force for public service, as troops, taxes, &c. 2. That which is levied or taken by authority, as an army, tribute, &c. “The . . . service of organizing…Lēv′yne, n. p. 768(Min.) A whitish, reddish, or yellowish, transparent or translucent variety of chabazite, consisting chiefly of the hydrous silicate of alumina and lime. Dana.Lew, a. p. 768Tepid; lukewarm. 2. Pale; wan.Lewd, a. p. 768Not clerical; pertaining to, or characterizing, the laity; laic; laical; hence, unlearned; ignorant; foolish; simple. [Obs.] Yea, blessed be alway a lewed man That naught but only his believe can.…Lewd'ly, adv. p. 768In an unlearned or foolish manner; ignorantly. [Obs.] 2. Wickedly; wantonly. 3. With the unlawful indulgence of lust; lustfully.Lewd'ness, n. p. 768The state of being unlearned or foolish; ignorance. [Obs.] 2. The unlawful indulgence of lust, fornication, or adultery. 3. Wickedness; shamelessness. Syn. — Lasciviousness; impurity; unchastity…Lewd'ster, n. p. 768One given to lewdness; a lecher. [Obs.] Shak.Lew'is or Lew'is-son, n. p. 768An iron clamp dovetailed into a large stone to lift it by. 2. A kind of shears used in cropping woolen cloth. Ogilvie.Lēx, n. p. 768Law; as, lex talionis, the law of retaliation; lex terræ, the law of the land; lex fori, the law of the forum or court; lex loci, law of the place of the contract; lex mercatoria, the law or custom…Lēx'ic-al, a. p. 768Pertaining to a lexicon, or to lexicography; settled by lexicography; as, the lexical meaning of a word.Lĕx'ic-al-ly, adv. p. 768By means of, or according to, a lexicon. S. Davidson.Lĕx/i-cōg'ra-pher, n. p. 768The author or compiler of a lexicon or dictionary. Every other author may aspire to praise; the lexicographer can only hope to escape reproach, and even this negative recompense has been yet granted…Lēx'i-co-grāph'ic or Lēx'i-co-grāph'ic-al, a. p. 768Pertaining to the writing or compilation of a dictionary, or the proper principles on which a dictionary should be composed.Lēx'ĭ-cŏg'ra-phy, n. p. 768The act of writing a lexicon or dictionary, or the art of composing dictionaries. 2. The principles according to which dictionaries should be constructed.Lēx'i-cōl'o-gy, n. p. 768The science of the derivation and signification of words; that branch of learning which treats of the proper signification and just application of words.Lēx'i-cōn, n. p. 768A vocabulary, or book containing an alphabetical arrangement of the words in a language, with the definition of each; a dictionary. 2. A dictionary of words in a foreign language; as, a Latin, Greek…Lēx'i-con-ist, n. p. 768A writer of a lexicon. [Rare.]