L-Word Vocabulary Definitions
| laeger. | defensive encampment circled by armored vehicles (circumvallation, enceinte) |
| labarum. | ecclesiastical banner for processions; Constantine's cr banner (guidon). |
| labialize. | to round, make labial |
| labia majora. | |
| labia minora. | |
| labiodental. | articulated with the lips and teeth |
| labiovelar. | simultaneously labial and velar, as in kw in quick |
| labret. | lip ornament |
| labrum. | lip-like structure |
| laburnum. | ornamental shrubs (alburnum?) |
| lac, lakh. | 100,000; a very large number (shell lac) |
| laccolith. | igneous rock intruded between sedimentary layers |
| laches. | negligence, esp. delay in asserting a right or a claim |
| lacinate. | fringed (lacy) |
| lacunar. | a ceiling with recessed panels (pendentive) |
| lacustrine. | pertaining to lakes |
| lade. | to burden |
| Laertes. | Odysseus' father |
| lag. | a strip that forms a part of the covering for a cylindrical object |
| lag. | to arrest or imprison; a convict; an ex-con; a sentence |
| laga., ligan., lag-end. | jettisoned cargo with floats |
| Lag b'Omer. | Jewish holiday |
| lagomorph. | gnawing mammals (rabbits, hares, pikas) |
| laic, laical. | laity |
| laid paper. | paper made on wire molds that give it a watermark of close, thin lines |
| laird. | owner of a landed estate |
| laissez passer. | a pass used in lieu of a passport (See also carnet, passe partout). |
| lake. | deep red; organic coloring matter with inorganic base |
| Lallan. | Scottish lowland |
| lam. | to give a thorough beating (lambast, "a good lamming", tuck, larrup). |
| lambrequin. | cloth worn over knight's helmets; drapery for top of window, door, or shelf |
| lamellibranch. | clams, mussels and oysters (lamella) |
| lamellicorns. | scarabs and other beetles with leaf-tipped antennae |
| lamia. | serpent with head and breasts of woman, sucking children's blood |
| Lammas. | English harvest festival, August 1 |
| lammergeier. | large predatory mountain bird |
| lampion. | oil-burning outdoor lamp, colored glass |
| lanai. | Hawaiian verandah or roofed patio |
| lanate. | having or consisting of woolly hairs (lanolin) |
| lancelet. | small flattened marine organisms with notochord |
| lanceolate. | narrow and tapering at each end |
| lancet arch. | arch pointed like spearhead |
| landside. | flat side of plow opposite furrow |
| landsleit. | plural of landsman (Yiddish) |
| landsman. | a fellow Jew from the same town in Eastern Europe |
| langlauf. | a cross-country ski run |
| langley. | a unit of illumination used to measure the temperature of a star |
| langouste. | the spiny lobster |
| langue d'oc. | Provencal |
| langue d'oil. | French |
| languet. | resembling a tongue |
| langur. | long-tailed Asian monkey |
| laniferous. | having wool or wool-like hair |
| lanthorn. | lantern |
| lanuginous. | downy |
| lanugo. | fine, soft hair |
| Laocoon. | Trojan priest killed by 2 serpents for having warned Trojans about horse. |
| Laodicean. | religiously lukewarm |
| Laomedon. | Founder/king of Troy, Priam's dad |
| laparotomy. | incision in abdominal wall |
| lapidarian. | inscribed in stone |
| lapillus. | a small solidified fragment of lava |
| lapin. | rabbit; rabbit fur (Bugs Bunny, look out!) |
| lap joint. | ends overlapped (scarf) |
| lappet. | flap; wattle (caruncle, operculum) |
| larboard. | port (starboard and larboard) |
| lardon/lardoon. | a strip of fat for larding meat (lard) |
| lares and penates. | household possessions |
| largetto. | moderately slow |
| larigan. | moccasin with knee-high leggings |
| larrup. | hit ("He got a good larrupping.") |
| lascar. | East Indian sailor |
| last. | unit of weight or volume: 80 bushels, 640 gallons, 2 tons |
| latakia. | Turkish tobacco |
| latchet. | leather thong fastening sandal on foot |
| laterite. | red residual soil sometimes used as iron ore (Red Mountain) - (taconite). |
| latifundium. | a great landed estate, esp., in ancient Rome |
| launce. | the sand lance |
| lavabo. | ceremonial hand-washing and Psalm recital before Eucharist; bowl and tank (piscina). |
| laver. | same thing for Roman priests: made of stone |
| laverock. | a skylark |
| layering. | rooting, with peat moss and plastic sheet |
| lazar. | one afflicted with loathsome disease: e.g., leprosy |
| lazarette. | hospital treating infectious diseases |
| leading tone. | the 7th tone of a scale a half-tone below the tonic: a sub-tone |
| leafage. | leaves, foliage |
| lection. | a variant reading or transcription of text; a Scriptural reading |
| legate. | emissary of the pope |
| legato. | in a smooth, even style |
| leghorn. | bleached straw of an Italian wheat; leghorn fabric or hat; chicken |
| legist. | specialist in law (legalist). |
| lehua. | Hawaiian tree |
| leister. | trident |
| leitmotif. | leading motif: recurring theme in a novel, musical signature for something |
| leman. | lover; mistress |
| lemma. | subsidiary proposition supporting main; title theme; word in glossary |
| Lampira. | 16th C. Indian leader who resisted the Spanish |
| Lenape. | The Delaware |
| lenis. | little or no aspiration: b and d, compared to p and t (Latin: "soft") |
| Lent. | the 40 weekdays from Ash Wednesday until Easter Sunday. |
| Lenten. | meager, somber |
| lentiak. | the mastic tree |
| lento. | slowly |
| lepidote. | covered with small, scurfy(loose, scaly crust) scales - lepido (scale, flake). (leprous). |
| leporine. | rabbits or hares - Lat.: lepus, (hare). |
| leptocephalous. | slender, transparent larvae of eels and other fishes - Gr.: leptos, (fine, slender). |
| lepton. | small coin - leptos |
| lepton. | spin ½, mass less than muons (electrons) |
| leptosome. | person with frail, thin body |
| lespedeza. | bush clovers - Sp.: Lespeder, Gov. of East Florida |
| letters of marque. | authorized piracy |
| leukorrhea. | vaginal discharge - leuko + rhein, (to flow) |
| leucoplast. | A colorless plastid in the cytoplasm of plant cells around which starch collects - leuko, (colorless) + plassin, (to mold) |
| leukocyte. | White cell. |
| leukoderma. | Unpigmented skin. |
| leukoma. | A dense, white opacity of the cornea. (cataract?) |
| leukopenia. | Abnormally low white count - leuko + penia, (poverty). |
| Levalloisian. | early Paleolithic flint-chippers |
| levee. | formal reception; reception held by bigwig on arising from bed |
| leveret. | young hare - lepus. |
| levigate. | to grind into fine powder; to suspend in a liquid; to smooth, polish |
| levirate. | marrying one's brother's widow, as required by Hebrew law |
| lewis. | a dovetailed iron tenon made to fit into a stone so that it can be hoisted |
| lexeme. | one of the vocabulary items of a language |
| liang. | Chinese weight: 37.24 grams |
| libeccio. | southwest wind in Italy (li beech eeo) |
| libretto. | text of an opera |
| lich gate. | roofed gateway to a churchyard (the corpse gate) |
| lickerish. | lecherous |
| liederkranz. | soft cheese, like mild Limburger |
| lienal. | pertaining to the spleen - Lat.: lien, (spleen). |
| lierne. | reinforcing rib for rib connections in Gothic churches |
| ligase. | splits off pyrophosphate group from ATP |
| lighter. | large barge for cargo unloading |
| lights. | lungs used as food |
| lignify. | to convert to wood in cell wall |
| ligroin. | flammable petroleum fraction |
| ligulate. | strap-shaped - Gr.: lingua, (tongue). |
| ligure. | precious stone of ancient Israel - Gr.: ligurin, |
| likuta. | coin (Zaire) |
| lilangi. | Swazi coin |
| Lilith . | Adam's first wife |
| limacene. | slug-like |
| limbers. | gutters on keelson that drain bilge water into the pump |
| limbus. | distinctive border - Lat.: limnus, (border). |
| lime. | Old World linden tree |
| limicoline. | pertaining to shore birds such as sandpipers - Lat.: limus, (mud) + coleus, (to inhabit). |
| limnetic. | freshwater - Gr.: limne, (lake). |
| limnology. | study of bodies of fresh water |
| limonite. | iron ore - Gr.: leimon, (meadow). |
| limpkin. | brownish wading bird; warm, swampy regions; wailing call |
| linage. | payment for written work by the line |
| linalool. | used to make perfume |
| lineament. | distinctive shape or line of the face; characteristic feature |
| Linear B. | Cretan, Mycenian |
| linear perspective. | converging lines |
| lineolate. | marked with fine lines |
| ling. | 1. Heather 2. Cod or burbot. |
| lingum. | stylized phallus worshipped as Siva symbol |
| lingcod. | food fish |
| linguine. | ling, narrow strips |
| lingulate. | tongue-shaped |
| linin. | filamentous achromatic material in nucleus connecting chromatin |
| link-boy. | carried torch |
| linsang. | carnivorous mammals with spotted coats and long, banded tails |
| linsey-woolsey. | coarse fabric of cotton or linen and wool |
| linstock. | long forked stick for holding cannon match |
| linter. | short fibers clinging to cotton seeds after first ginning |
| lipase. | enzyme hydrolyzing fats |
| lipotropic. | preventive excessive accumulation of fat in liver |
| Liptauer | soft Hungarian cheese or imitation cottage cheese spread |
| liquate. | to separate metals in an alloy by melting |
| liripipe. | long scarf or cord hanging from a hood |
| list. | to be pleasing to or satisfy |
| listel. | narrow border or molding |
| lichee,litchi. | lichee nuts |
| literatim. | letter for letter |
| lithia. | lithium oxide |
| lithiasia. | formation of harmful calculi in body |
| lithic. | pertaining to stone or lithium |
| lithophyte. | plant that grows on rocky surface; rocky organism like coral |
| lithopone. | white zinc/barium pigment |
| lithotomy. | surgery to remove calculi |
| lithotrity.. | surgical operation of pulverizing calculi in bladder or urethra |
| lithotropy.. | ultrasonic pulverization of calculi |
| litotes.. | double negative |
| literateur. | man of letters (literatus) |
| littoral. | pertaining to the shore |
| liturgy. | rite of the Eucharist; order of public service |
| live bearer. | ovoviviparous fish, like guppy |
| liverwort. | hepatica |
| livre. | French pound |
| lixiviate. | to wash or percolate the soluble matter from (elutriate) |
| llano. | large, grassy, almost treeless plain, esp., in S.A. (altiplano, pampa). |
| loach. | like catfish |
| lob. | clumsy, dull, looby |
| lobefin. | coelocanth |
| lobelia. | plant |
| lobscouse. | a seaman's stew |
| lobulate. | having lobules |
| lobworm. | lugworm |
| lachia. | discharge from vagina after childbirth |
| locular. | formed of small cells or cavities (alveolar) |
| loculus. | "little place" (alveolus) |
| locus classicus. | illustrative passage from classics |
| lodicule. | small scale at the base of each flower in grasses |
| loge. | balcony compartment |
| loggia. | roofed open gallery, open balcony in a theater |
| logion. | one of the sayings of Jesus not recorded in the Gospels (Agrapha) |
| logogram. | symbol like $ for "dollar", % for "percent" |
| logogriph. | word puzzle in which clues are a series of verses |
| Logos. | Cosmic reason (Greek); will of God, as revealed in John |
| Lollard. | Wycliffe's followers in 14th centuries |
| lollop. | lounge about; to move with bobbing motion (to loll around) |
| lolly. | piece of hard candy (lollipop) |
| loment. | pod having constrictions separating individual seed |
| longanimity. | equanimity in the face of suffering; forbearance |
| long-headed. | dolichocephalic; foresighted or wise |
| longicorn. | long-horned beetle (lamellicorn). |
| longspur. | northern birds |
| looby. | big, gangling, clumsy fellow; lubber |
| loofa. | vine: fruit used as sponge |
| loosestrife. | plant |
| lop. | to hang loosely, as in lop-eared |
| loppy. | pendulous |
| loquat. | small fruit tree or its fruit (cherimoya, mangosteen). |
| lordosis. | spine curved forward |
| lorgnon. | lorgnette |
| lorica. | protective shell (diatom) |
| lorikeet. | Australian parrots |
| loris. | small, nocturnal, aboriginal primates of S.A. with large eyes |
| lory. | Australasian parrots |
| losel. | worthless |
| lotah. | Indian copper or brass water or food pot |
| loti. | Lesotho coin |
| lotic. | living in or pertaining to moving water (trout are lotic fish) (locustrine) |
| Louis d'or. | pre-Revolutionary |
| Louis Quatorze. | Louis XIV Pr.: "cay-tors" |
| Louis Quinze. | Louis XV Pr.: "kaynz" |
| Louis Seize. | Louis XVI Pr.: "seez" |
| Louis Treize. | Louis XIII Pr.: "treez" |
| lovage. | a plant |
| Love-Lies-Bleeding. | tropical flower |
| lovelock. | a lock of hair tied with ribbon worn by 17th (1600's), 18th C (1700's). courtiers (havelock) |
| lowboy. | table-like chest of drawers |
| lubber line. | ship's heading |
| lubricious. | slippery; lewdness; sexually stimulating; shifty, tricky |
| lucerne. | alfalfa |
| Lucifer. | Venus as morning star |
| Lucina. | goddess of childbirth |
| lucubrate. | to write in a scholarly fashion (to work at night by lamplight) |
| lucubrations. | laborious study or writing; pedantry |
| luculent. | easily understood, lucid |
| Lucullan. | Lavish, luxurious |
| lues. | syphilis |
| lugger. | small 2- or-3-masted fishing boat with lugsails and jibs on bowsprit |
| lumbago. | lumbar muscles and tendons |
| lumbricoid. | resembling an earthworm |
| lumpen. | the dispossessed; lowest stratum of proletariat |
| lumper. | laborer loading/unloading ships (navvy) |
| lumpfish. | covered with lumps |
| lunate. | crescent-shaped |
| Luna. | goddess of the moon |
| lunette. | crescent-shaped opening in vaulted roof or in wall |
| lunette. | defensive military formation: two projecting faces |
| lungwort. | treats respiratory disorders |
| lunker. | unusually large: e.g., game fish ("a big lunker") |
| lunula. | crescent-shaped structure or marking |
| lunular. | crescent-shaped |
| Lupercalia. | fertility festival in Rome in honor of pastoral god Lupercus |
| lunation. | period between two successive new moons (29 days, 12 hours) |
| lune. | portion of circle enclosed by two longitude semi-circles |
| lupine. | ravenous, rapacious |
| lupus. | any of several disease of the skin and mucous membranes |
| lurch. | losing position in cribbage ("left them in the lurch"?) |
| lustihood. | sexual capacity or physical and mental vigor |
| lustral. | rite of purification (lustrous). |
| lustrum . | Roman period of purification after 5-year census |
| lusus naturae. | freak of nature (moon calf). |
| luteal. | pertaining to corpus luteum |
| lutein . | yellow pigment found in corpus luteum, body fat, and egg yolk |
| luteous. | light or moderate greenish-yellow |
| lutetium. | rare earth element |
| luxate. | to dislocate |
| luxe. | elegantly sumptuous |
| lycee. | French high school |
| lyseum. | public hall; organization |
| lychnia. | campions |
| lycopodium. | club mosses; used in fireworks and pills |
| lyddite. | picrate explosive |
| lymphadenitis. | inflammation of the lymph nodes |
| lymphalism. | hyperplasia of lymph nodes, spleen, and bone marrow |
| lymphocytosis. | Great increase in leukocytes |
| lymphoma. | Any of various abnormal proliferative diseases of the lymhoid tissue |
| lymphopoiesis. | The formation of lymphocytes |
| lyncean. | lynx-eyed - Gr.: lunkeios, ("Lynceus, the Warder", Argus-eyed) |
| lyonnaise. | cooked with onions |
| lyophilizer. | freeze dryer |
| lyrate. | curved like a lyre |
| lyrebird. | Australian - tail spread like a lyre during courtship |
| lysin. | destroys microorganisms |
| lytta. | thin cartilaginous strip on underside of tongue of e.g., dogs |