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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Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Light'-lĕgged, a. p. 773Nimble; swift of foot. Sidney.Light'less, a. p. 773Destitute of light; dark.Light'ly, adv. p. 773With little weight; as, to tread lightly; to press lightly. 2. Without deep impression. The soft ideas of the cheerful note, Lightly received, were easily forgot. Prior. 3. Without dejection…Light'-mīnd'ed, a. p. 773Unsettled; unsteady; volatile; not considerate.Light'ness, n. p. 773Want of weight; levity; —the contrary to heaviness; as, the lightness of air compared with water; lightness of the animal spirits. 2. Inconstancy; unsteadiness; the quality of mind which disposes it…Light’ning, n. p. 773A discharge of atmospheric electricity, accompanied by a vivid flash of light, commonly from one cloud to another, sometimes from a cloud to the earth. The sound produced by the electricity in…Light'ning-bŭg, n. p. 773An insect, a kind of firefly, common in the Northern States of America.Light'ning-glànce, n. p. 773A glance or darting of lightning. 2. A glance or flash of the eye, like lightning.Light'ning-rōd, n. p. 773A metallic rod erected to protect buildings or vessels from lightning.Light'-o'-lōve, n. p. 773An old tune of a dance, the name of which made it a proverbial expression of levity, especially in love matters. “Best sing it to the tune of light-o'-love.” Shak. 2. Hence, a light or wanton woman.…Light'-room, n. p. 773(Naut.) A small apartment, having double glass windows toward the magazine, and containing lights by which the gunner fills cartridges.Lights, n. pl. p. 773The lungs; the organs of breathing in brute animals.Light'sōme, a. p. 773Luminous; not dark; not obscure or gloomy. “The lightsome realms of love.” Dryden. White walls make rooms more lightsome than black. Bacon. 2. Gay; airy; cheering; exhilarating. [Rare, except in…Light'sōme-ness, n. p. 773The quality of being light;—opposed to dark-ness, or darksomeness. 2. Cheerfulness; merriment; levity.Light'y, a. p. 773Illuminated; not dark or obscure; light. [Obs.] Wycliffe.Lign-ăl'ōes, n. p. 773Aloes-wood, or agallochum, a sweet-scented tree allied to sandal-wood.Lĭg'ne-oūs, a. p. 773Made of wood; consisting of wood; resembling wood; woody. Ligneous marble, wood coated or prepared so as to resemble marble.Lig-nĭf'er-oûs, a. p. 774Yielding or producing wood.Lig'ni-fi-cā'tion, n. p. 774The process of becoming or of converting into wood, or the hard substance of a vegetable.Lĭg'ni-fôrm, a. p. 774Like wood; resembling wood.Lĭg'ni-fȳ, v. t. p. 774To convert into wood.Lĭg'ni-fȳ, v. i. p. 774To become wood.Lĭg'nīne, n. p. 774(Chem.) An essential constituent of the ligneous fiber in plants. This fiber consists of lignine and cellulose, with various impurities, and is composed, like starch, of carbon and the constituents…Lĭg'ni-pēr'doŭs, a. p. 774Wood-destroying; — said of certain insects.Lĭg'nîte, n. p. 774(Min.) Mineral coal retaining the texture of the wood from which it was formed, and burning with an empyreumatic odor. It is of more recent origin than the anthracite bituminous coal of the proper…Lig-nĭt'ic, a. p. 774Containing lignite; resembling lignite; as, lignitic clay. Dana.Lĭg'ni-tĭf'er-oŭs, a. p. 774Bearing or producing wood; lignitic. Dana.Lig-nōse' or Lĭg'noŭs, a. p. 774Ligneous. [Rare.] Evelyn.Lĭg'num-vī'tæ, n. p. 774(Bot.) A tree (Guaiacum officinale) found in the warm latitudes of America, from which the guaiacum of medicine is procured. Its wood, from its hardness, is used for various mechanical purposes, as…Lĭg'ū-late or Lĭg'ū-lā-ted, a. p. 774(Bot.) Like a bandage, or strap; also, composed of ligulas. Ligulate flower, a species of compound flower, the florets of which have their corollets flat, spreading out toward the end, with the base…Lĭg'ū-lȧ or Lĭg'ūle p. 774Lĭg'ūle, n. [Lat. ligula, or lingula, little tongue, diminutive of lingua, the tongue; Fr. ligule.] (Bot.) (a.) The flat part of the leaf of a grass, in contradistinction from that part which…Lĭg'ŭre or Lĭg'ūre, n. p. 774A kind of precious stone. “The third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst.” Exod. xxviii. 19.Līke, a. p. 774Equal in quantity, quality, or degree; exactly corresponding; as, a territory of like extent with another; men of like excellence. More clergymen were impoverished by the late war than ever in the…Like, n. p. 774That which is equal or similar to another; the counterpart; an exact resemblance; a copy. He was a man, take him for all in all, I shall not look upon his like again. Shak.Like, n. p. 774A liking; fancy, or inclination. Likes and dislikes, feelings of attachment and aversion.Like, adv. p. 774In a like manner. Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Matt. vi. 29. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. Ps. ciii. 13. 2. In a manner…Like, v. t. p. 774To be pleased with in a moderate degree; to approve; to take satisfaction in; to enjoy. He proceeded from looking to liking, and from liking to loving. Sidney. 2. To please; to be agreeable to; —…Like, v. i. p. 774To be pleased; to choose. “He may go or stay, as he likes.” Locke. 2. To come near; to avoid with difficulty; to escape narrowly; as, he liked to have been too late; he liked to have lost his hat.…Like'hōōd, n. p. 774Likelihood. [Rare.]Like'li-hōōd, n. p. 774Appearance of truth or reality; probability; verisimilitude. 2. Appearance; show; resemblance. [Obs.] “A fellow of no mark or likelihood.” Shak.Like'li-ness, n. p. 774Probability. 2. The qualities that please. See LIKELY.Likely, a. p. 774Worthy of belief; probable; credible; as, a likely story. 2. Having probability; having or giving reason to expect; — followed by an infinitive; as, I am likely to preach to-morrow; it might be…Like'ly, adv. p. 774Probably. While man was innocent, he was likely ignorant of nothing important for him to know. Glanville.Like'-mīnd'ed, a. p. 774Having a like disposition or purpose.Lik'en, v. t. p. 774To represent as resembling or similar; to compare. Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man who built his house upon a rock. Matt. vii. 24.Like'ness, n. p. 774The state of being like; similitude; resemblance. 2. That which resembles or copies; especially, a portrait of a person, or a picture of an animal or thing. I took you for your likeness, Chloe.…Lik'en-ing, n. p. 774The forming of resemblance.Like'-owl, n. p. 774See LICK-OWL.Lik'er-oŭs, a. p. 774See LICKERISH. [Obs.]Like'-wāke, n. p. 774See LICH-WAKE.Like'wise, conj. p. 774In like manner; also; moreover; too. For he seeth that wise men die; likewise the fool and the brutish person perish. Ps. xlix. 10. Syn.—Also; too. See ALSO.Lik'ing, a. p. 774Of a good appearance; likely; pleasing. [Obs.] Dan. i. 10.Lik'ing, n. p. 774A good state of body; healthful appearance; plumpness. [Obs.] Their young ones are in good liking. Job xxxix. 4. 2. State of trial. [Rare.] Would he be the degenerate scion of that royal line . . .…Li'lae, n. p. 774(Bot.) A shrub of the genus Syringa (S. vulgaris), a native of Persia. The common lilac is cultivated for its fragrant flowers, which are purple or white.Līl'a-çïne, n. p. 774(Chem.) The bitter principle of the lilac.Lĭl'i-ā'ceous, a. p. 774(Bot.) Pertaining to lilies; lily-like.Līl'ied, a. p. 774Embellished with lilies. “By sandy Ladon's lilied banks.” Milton.Lĭl'i-pŭ'tian, n. p. 774One belonging to a diminutive race described in Swift’s “Voyage to Liliput.” 2. Hence, a person of very small size.Lil'i-pū'tian, a. p. 774Of, or pertaining to, the imaginary island of Liliput described by Swift, or to its inhabitants. 2. Hence, of very small size; diminutive; dwarfed.Lill, v. t. p. 774To loll. See LOLL. [Obs., or local.] “And lilled forth his bloody flaming tongue.” Spencer.