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.
Lĭsp, v. i. p. 778To pronounce the sibilant letter s imperfectly; to give s the sound of th;—a defect common among children. 2. To speak imperfectly; to utter in a modest, hesitating way; hence, to make feeble…Lisp, v. t. p. 778To pronounce with a lisp; as, she lisped a few words.Lisp, n. p. 778The habit or act of lisping, as in uttering an aspirated th for s.Lisp'er, n. p. 778One who lisps.Lisp'ing-ly, adv. p. 778With a lisp.Liss, v. t. p. 778To free, as from care or pain; to relieve; to alleviate. [Obs.] “Lissed of his care.” Chaucer.Liss, n. p. 778The state of being released, as from care, grief, or pain; relief. [Obs.] “Of penance had a lisse.” Chaucer.Lis'sōm, a. p. 778Lis'sōme or lithesome p. 778Limber; supple; flexible; lithe; “Straight, but as lissome as a hazel wand.” Tennyson. 2. Light; nimble; active. Halliwell.Lis'sōme-ness, n. p. 778State of being lissom; flexibility; suppleness. 2. Lightness; agility.List, n. p. 778The outer edge or selvedge of cloth; a strip of cloth forming the border, particularly of broad-cloth, and serving to strengthen it; a strip of cloth; a fillet. “Gartered with a red and blue list.”…List, n. p. 778A line inclosing or forming the extremity of a piece of ground, or field of combat; hence, in the plural (lists), the ground or field inclosed for a race or combat. To enter the lists, to accept a…List, v. t. p. 778To sew together, as strips of cloth, so as to make a party-colored show, or to form a border. 2. To cover with a list, or with strips of cloth; as, to list a door; hence, to mark as if with list.…Lĭst, v. t. p. 778To listen or hearken to. Then weigh what loss your honor may sustain, If with too credent ear you list his songs. Shak.Lĭst, v. i. p. 778To engage in public service by enrolling one's name; to enlist.Līst, v. i. p. 778To lean or incline; to be propense; hence, to desire or choose; to please. “Them that add to the Word of God what them listeth.” Hooker. Let other men think of your devices as they list. Whitgift. 2.…List, n. p. 779Inclination; tendency; desire. [Obs.] “Liberty, list, and leisure to begin . . . this violent schism.” Fuller. 2. (Naut.) An inclination to one side; as, the ship has a list to port. Mar. Dict.List'el, n. p. 779(Arch.) A list or fillet. See LIST.List’en, v. i. p. 779To attend closely with a view to hear; to give ear; to hearken. On the green bank I sat, and listened long. Dryden. 2. To yield to advice; to follow admonition; to obey. 3. To be inclined; to have…List’en, v. t. p. 779To hear; to attend. [Obs.] Shak.List'en-er, n. p. 779One who listens; a hearkener.List’er, n. p. 779One who makes a list or roll.List'ful, a. p. 779Attentive. [Obs.] Spenser.List'ing, n. p. 779The act or process of making a list, or of putting list on a door, &c. 2. (Carp.) The cutting away the sap wood from the edge of a board; also, the edge thus cut away.List'less, a. p. 779Not listening; not attending; indifferent to what is passing; heedless; inattentive. His listless length at noontide would he stretch. Gray. Syn. — Heedless; careless; thoughtless; inattentive…List'less-ly, adv. p. 779Without attention; heedlessly.List'less-ness, n. p. 779The state of being listless; indifference to what is passing; indifference.Lit'a-ny, n. p. 779A solemn form of supplication, used in public worship. Supplications for the appeasing of God's wrath were by the Greek church termed litanies, by the Latin “rogations.” Hooker. 2. Especially, a…Li'tchi, n. p. 779See LICHI.Lite, a. & n. p. 779Little. [Obs.]Li'ter, n. p. 779A French measure of capacity, being a cubic decimeter, equal to 61.016 cubic inches, or 2.113 American pints, or 61.027 cubic inches, or 1.76 English pints.Lit'er-al, a. p. 779According to the letter; primitive; real; not figurative or metaphorical; as, the literal meaning of a phrase. 2. Following the letter or exact words; not free; as, a literal translation. 3.…Lit'er-al, n. p. 779Literal meaning. [Obs.] Browne.Lit'er-al-ism, n. p. 779That which accords with the letter; a mode of interpreting literally.Lit'er-al-ist, n. p. 779One who adheres to the letter or exact word; an interpreter according to the letter.Lit'er-ăl'i-ty, n. p. 779The quality of being literal. Browne.Lit'er-al-i-zā'tion, n. p. 779The act of literalizing; reduction to a literal meaning.Lit'er-al-ize, v. t. p. 779To adhere to the letter of a thing; to interpret or put in practice according to the strict meaning of the words; — opposed to spiritualize.Lit'er-al-ly, adv. p. 779According to the primary and natural import of words; not figuratively; as, a man and his wife can not be literally one flesh. 2. With close adherence to words; word by word. So wild and ungovernable…Lit'er-al-ness, n. p. 779The state of being literal; literal import.Lit'er-a-ry, a. p. 779Pertaining to letters or literature; respecting learning or learned men; as, literary fame; a literary history; literary conversation. 2. Versed in, or acquainted with, literature; as, a literary…Lit'er-ate, a. p. 779Instructed in learning and science; learned; lettered. The literate now chose their emperor, as the military chose theirs. Landor.Lit'er-ate, n. p. 779One educated, but not having taken a university degree. [Eng.] 2. A literary man.Lĭt′er-ā′tim, adv. p. 779Letter for letter.Lit'er-ā'tor, n. p. 779One who teaches the letters or elements of knowledge; a petty schoolmaster. Burke. 2. A person of literary tastes and culture; one of the literati; a learned or literary man. That class of subjects…Lit’er-a-tūre, n. p. 779Learning; acquaintance with letters or books. 2. The collective body of literary productions, embracing the entire results of knowledge and fancy preserved in writing; also, the whole body of…Lĭt'er-ā'tus, n. p. 779A learned man; a man of erudition;—chiefly used in the plural. Now we are to consider that our bright ideal of a literatus may chance to be maimed. De Quincey.Lith, n. p. 779A joint or limb; a division; a member; a part formed by growth, and articulated to, or symmetrical with, other parts. The reader will at once comprehend the reason by cutting an orange through its…Lith'arge, n. p. 779(Chem.) Protoxide of lead, produced by exposing melted lead to a current of air. It fuses readily, and, on cooling, forms a mass consisting of glistering, semitransparent, yellow or reddish-yellow…Lith'ate, n. p. 779(Chem.) A salt, or compound formed by the union of lithic acid with a base. [Written also lithiate.]Lithe, a. p. 779Capable of being easily bent; pliant; flexible; limber; as, the elephant’s lithe proboscis. Milton.Lithe, v. t. p. 779To smooth; to soften; to palliate. [Obs.] 2. [Scot. lith.] To listen. [Obs.] See LISTEN.Lithe'ness, n. p. 779The state of being lithe; flexibility; limberness.Lith'er, a. p. 779(Obs.) 1. Soft; pliant; yielding. “The lither sky.” Shak. 2. Bad; corrupt. Woolton.Lith'er-ly, adv. p. 779In a lither manner. [Obs.]Lith'er-ness, n. p. 779The quality of being lither. [Obs.]Lithe'sōme, a. p. 779Pliant; limber; nimble; lissom.Lith'i-a, n. p. 779(Chem.) The oxide of lithium, an alkali discovered by Arfvedsan, in 1818, in the mineral petalite. In general properties, it resembles potash and soda. It occurs in various minerals and mineral…Lī-thī'a-sīs, n. p. 779(Med.) The formation of stony concretions in any part of the body, especially in the bladder and urinary passages. Dunglison.Lith'i-ate, n. p. 779(Chem.) See LITHIATE.