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.
Lĭ-thŏx'yl, n. p. 780Petrified wood. [Obs.]Lĭth'y, a. p. 780Easily bent; pliable.Lĭt'i-ga-ble, a. p. 780Capable of being litigated.Lit′i-gant, a. p. 780Disposed to litigate; contending in law; engaged in a lawsuit; as, the parties litigant. Ayliffe.Lĭt'i-gant, n. p. 780A person engaged in a lawsuit.Lĭt'i-gāte, v. t. p. 780To contest in law; to prosecute or defend by pleadings, exhibition of evidence, and judicial debate; as, to litigate a cause or a question.Lit'i-gāte, v. i. p. 780To carry on a suit by judicial process.Lĭt'i-gā'tion, n. p. 780The act or process of litigating; a suit at law; a judicial contest.Lĭ-tĭg'ĭōŭs, a. p. 780Inclined to judicial contest; given to the practice of contending in law; quarrelsome; contentious; fond of litigation. “A pettifogging attorney or a litigious client.” Macaulay. 2. Subject to…Lĭ-tĭg'ĭōus-ly, adv. p. 780In a litigious manner.Lĭ-tĭg'ious-ness, n. p. 780The state of being litigious; disposition to engage in or carry on lawsuits.Lĭt'mus, n. p. 780A purple dye obtained from a lichen, the archil, and from a euphorbious plant, Cryophora (Croton) tinctoria, common in the south of Europe. It turns blue with alkalies and red with acids. See ARCHIL.…Līt'orn, n. p. 780(Ornith.) A bird; a species of thrush.Lĭ-tō-tēs, n. p. 780(Rhet.) A diminution or softening of statement for the sake of avoiding censure, or of expressing more strongly what is intended; as, “a citizen of no mean city,” that is, an illustrious one.Lī-trăm'e-ter, n. p. 780An instrument for ascertaining the specific gravity of liquids.Lītre, n. p. 780The same as LITER.Lĭt'ter, n. p. 780A bed so furnished with supports that it may be easily carried about with a person in it. Here's a litter ready; lay him in it. Shak. 2. A coarse bed of straw or hay for animals to rest upon; also, a…Lĭt'ter, v. t. p. 780To supply with litter, as cattle; to furnish with litter, as a barn or stall. For his ease well littered was the floor. Dryden. 2. To put into a confused or disordered condition; as, to litter a…Lĭt'ter, v. i. p. 780To produce a litter. “A horrible desert . . . where the she-wolf still littered.” Macauley.Littérateur, n. p. 780One versed in literature; a literary man; a literatus. “Befriended by one and another kind-hearted littérateur after another.” C. Kingsley.Lĭt'ter-ing, n. p. 780One of several sticks used in a loom to keep the web stretched. [Prov. Eng.]Lĭt'ter-y, a. p. 780Covered or encumbered with litter; consisting of or constituting litter.Lĭt'tle, a. p. 780Small in size or extent; not big; diminutive; as, a little body; a little animal; a little piece of ground; a little table; a little hill; a little distance; a little child. 2. Short in duration; not…Lĭt'tle, n. p. 780That which is little; a small quantity, amount, space, and the like. “Much was in little writ.” Dryden. I view with anger and disdain How little gives thee joy and pain. Prior. 2. Small degree or…Lĭt'tle, adv. p. 780In a small quantity or degree; not much; slightly;—often with a preceding it. “The poor sleep little.” Otway.Lít'tle-gō, n. p. 780(Eng. Universities.) A public examination about the middle of the course, which, being less strict and less important in its consequences than the final one, has received this appellation. [Cant.]Lit'tle-ness, n. p. 780The state or quality of being little; smallness of size or bulk; meanness; want of grandeur; as, littleness of size, of conceptions, of manners, of duration, of power, and the like. Syn. — Smallness…Lĭt'to-ral, a. p. 780Belonging to a shore, as of the sea; on the sea-shore. 2. (Zoological & Vegetable Geog.) Pertaining to the interval or zone on a sea-coast, between high and low water mark.Lī-tŭr′gĭe or Lī-tŭr′gĭe-al, a. p. 780Pertaining to a liturgy, or to public prayer and worship.Li-tŭr'gĭes, n. sing. p. 780The doctrine or theory of lit- urgies. [See Note under MATHEMATICS.]Lĭt'ur-gĭst, n. p. 780One who favors or adheres strictly to a liturgy. Manuals and handmaids of devotion, the lip-work of every prelatic liturgist, clapped together and quilted out of Scripture phrase. Milton.Lit'ur-gy, n. p. 780The established formulas for public worship, or the entire ritual for public worship in those churches which use prescribed forms. 2. (Rom. Cath. Church.) The mass.Lĭt'ŭ-ŭs, n. p. 780(Rom. Antiq.) (a.) A curved staff used by the augurs in quartering the heavens. (b.) An instrument of martial music; a kind of trumpet of a somewhat curved form and shrill note. 2. (Math.) A kind of…Live, v. i. p. 780To have life; to be animated; to possess capacity for the vital functions; — said of animals and plants. I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? Gen. xlv. 3. 2. To pass one's time; to pass life or time…Līve, v. t. p. 781To spend, as one's life; to continue in, constantly or habitually; as, to live a life of ease. 2. To act habitually in conformity to. It is not enough to say prayers, unless they live them too.…Live, a. p. 781Having life; having the organic functions in operation, or in a capacity to operate; not dead; as, a live ox. 2. Full of earnestness; active; wide awake; glowing; as, a live man, or orator. 3.…Live, n. p. 781The state of being alive; life. [Obs.]Live'less, a. p. 781See LIFELESS.Live'li-hēd, n. p. 781The same as LIVELIHOOD. [Obs.]Live'li-hōod, n. p. 781Means of maintaining existence; support of life; maintenance. It is their profession and livelihood to get their living by practices for which they deserve to forfeit their lives. Swift. 2. Active…Live'li-ly, adv. p. 781In a lively manner; vivaciously; actively. [Obs.]Live'li-ness, n. p. 781The quality or state of being lively or animated; sprightliness; vivacity; animation; spirit; as, the liveliness of youth, contrasted with the gravity of age. 2. An appearance of life, animation, or…Live'lōde, n. p. 781The same as LIVELIHOOD. [Obs.]Live'lōng, a. p. 781Long in passing. How could she sit the livelong day, Yet never ask us once to play? Swift. 2. Lasting; durable. [Obs.] Thou hast built thyself a livelong monument. Milton.Līve'lŏng, n. p. 781(Bot.) A plant of the genus Sedum.Līve'ly, a. p. 781Endowed with or manifesting life; living. “Begotten . . . unto a lively hope.” 1 Pet. i. 3. “Chaplets of gold and silver resembling lively flowers and leaves.” Holland. 2. Brisk; vigorous; vivacious…Līve'ly, adv. p. 781In a brisk manner; briskly; vigorously. [Rare.] They brought their men to the slough, who, discharging lively, almost close to the face of the enemy, did much amaze them. Hayward. 2. With strong…Līve'-ōak, n. p. 781(Bot.) A species of oak (Quercus virens), growing in the Southern States, of great durability, and highly esteemed for ship-timber.Līv'er, n. p. 781One who lives. And try if life be worth the liver's care. Prior. 2. A resident; a dweller; as, a liver in Brooklyn. 3. An eater or provider of food, &c.; as, a good or hearty liver.Līv'er, n. p. 781(Anat.) The largest gland of the body, reddish in color, rounded on its upper surface, flattened on the lower, and situated immediately beneath the diaphragm, mainly on the right side. That portion…Līv'er, n. p. 781(Ornith.) A bird (Ibis falcinellus), found all over the eastern continent, and said to have given its name to the city of Liverpool. Yarrell.Līv'er-col'or, a. p. 781Dark red; of the color of the liver.Līv'ered, a. p. 781Having a liver;—used in composition; as, white-livered.Līv'er-grōwn, a. p. 781Having a large liver. — Graunt.Lĭv'er-ied, a. p. 781Wearing a livery, as servants. See LIVERY, 3.Līv'er-ing, n. p. 781A kind of pudding or sausage made of liver, or of hog’s flesh. [Obs.] “Liverings, white-skinned as ladies.” Chapman.Līv'er-stōne, n. p. 781(Min.) A stone of a gray or brown color, which, when rubbed or heated to redness, emits the smell of liver of sulphur.Līv'er-wort, n. p. 781(Bot.) A plant between the lichens and mosses, of a loose cellular texture, usually procumbent, with rootlets from the frond-like confluent leaf and stem. In some, the leaf and stem are distinct.…Lĭv'er-y, n. p. 781(Eng. Law.) (a.) The act of delivering possession of lands or tenements. ☞ It is usual to say, livery of seizin, which is a feudal investiture, made by the delivery of a turf, of a rod, or twig, from…Lĭv'er-y, v. t. p. 781To clothe in livery. Shak.