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Lettuce (let'is), n. [A. Sax. lactuce, G. lattich, D. latur, Fr. laitue, from L. lactuca, a lettuce, from lac, lactis, milk.] The English popular name of several species of Lactuca, some of which are used as salads. See LACTUCA.

Leucadendron (lu-ka-den'dron), n. [Gr. leukos, white, and dendron, a tree-in allusion to the white leaves.] A genus containing between forty and fifty species of trees and shrubs, with handsome silky silvery entire, mostly sessile leaves, and heads of yellowish dioecious flowers, nat. order Proteaceae, natives of the Cape of Good Hope. L. argenteum is the silver-tree, the silvery leaves of which are much used in Christmas decorations.

Leucin, Leucine (lu'sin), n. [Gr. leukos, white. (CH13 NO2.) A white pulverulent substance obtained by treating muscular fibre with sulphuric acid, and afterwards with alcohol. It crystallizes in shining scales.

Leuciscus (lu-siskus), n. [Gr. leukiskos, the white mullet.] A genus of fishes of the family Cyprinidæ. It contains numerous species, of which the roach, dace, and bleak afford familiar examples.

It is a

Leucite (lu'sit), n. [Gr. leukos, white.] A mineral, so called from its whiteness, found among volcanic products in Italy, especially at Vesuvius, disseminated through the lavas in crystals or in irregular masses. silicate of alumina and potassium. Leucitic (lu-sit'ik), a. Of or pertaining to, containing, or resembling leucite. Leucitoid (lu'si-toid), a. In crystal. the trapezohedron: so called as being the form of the mineral leucite.

Leucobryaces (lū ́kō-brī-ā”sē-e), n. pl. [Gr. leukos, white, and bryon, an alga.] A family of operculate mosses arranged among the Acrocarpi, but exhibiting also lateral fruitstalks.

There is only one British genus. Leucocythæmia, Leucocythemia (lü'kōsi-the'mi-a), n. [Gr. leukos, white, kytos, a cell, and haima, blood.] In med. a disease in which the blood presents a great increase of the white corpuscles, the spleen and lymphatic glands being at the same time in

creased.

Leucaethiopic (lūk-ē-thi-op'ik), a. Pertaining to a leucaethiops or albino; pertaining to leucopathy.

Leuco-ethiopic (lü'ko-e-thi-op"ik), a. Same as Leucaethiopic. Leucaethiops (lük-e'thi-ops), n. pl. Leucothiopes (luk-e'thi-op-ez). [Gr. leukos, white, and aithiops, an Ethiop or black.] An albino or individual affected with a want of colouring matter in the skin and cuticular appendages.

Leucojum, Leucoium (lu-kō'jum, lū-kō'ium), n. [Gr. leukos, white, and ion, a violet, in reference to the colour of the flower, whence the English name snowflake.] A genus of European bulbous plants, nat. order Amaryllidaceæ. They are very like snowdrops, but the six perianth-segments are nearly equal. L. aestivum is a British species commonly known by the name of snowflake.

Leucol, Leucoline (lu'kol, lū'kol-in), n. (CH-N.) An organic base obtained from coal-tar, isomeric with chinoline. Leucoma (lu-ko'ma), n. [L, from leukos, white.] A white opacity of the cornea of the eye, the result of acute inflammation. Called also Albugo.

Leucopathy, Leucopathia (lū-kop'a-thi, lu-ko-path'i-a), n. [Gr. leukos, white, and pathos, affection. ] The condition of an albino; albinism.

Leucophane (lū’kō-fān), n. [Gr. leukos, white, and phaino, to appear] A mineral occurring imperfectly crystallized, of a pale greenish or wine-yellow colour, consisting of silica, fluoric acid, glucina, lime, and sodium. It is found in Norway. Leucophasia (lū-kō-fa'si-a), n. A genus of white butterflies. L. sinapis, or wood-white butterfly, is a native of Britain. Leucophlegmacy (lu-kō-flegʼma-si), n. [Gr. leukophlegmatia- leukos, white, and phlegma, phlegm.] A tendency to a dropsi

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cal state known by paleness, flabbiness, or redundancy of serum in the blood. Leucophlegmatic (lū'kō-fleg-matik), a. Pertaining to leucophlegmacy; having a dropsical habit of body with an unnaturally pale complexion.

Leucopterian (lu’kop-të'ri-an), n. In eccles. hist. one of a sect of the Greek Church charged with the errors of the Origenists, and with corrupting the text of the Gospel. Leucopyrite (lū-kop'i-rīt), n. [Gr. leukos, white, and E. pyrites.] A mineral of a colour between white and steel-gray, of a metallic lustre, consisting chiefly of arsenic and iron.

Leucorrhoea (lū-ko-rē'a), n. [Gr. leukos, and rheo, to flow.] In med. a morbid discharge of a white, yellowish, or greenish mucus from the female genital organs; fluor albus; the whites.

Leucosiada (lū-ko-si'a-dē), n. pl. A family of short-tailed decapodous crustaceans, containing many pretty, round, porcellane, exotic crabs.

Leucostine (lú-kos'tin), n. [Gr. leukos, white.] A variety of trachyte.

Leucous (lūkus), a. [Gr. leukos, white.]
White: applied specifically to albinos.
Leugh, Leuch (lyuch or lyöch), pret. of
lauch. Laughed. [Scotch.]

How graceless Ham leugh at his dad,
Which made Canaan a niger.

Burns.

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2. In geol. the name ('sunrise') given by Professor H. Rogers to the fourth of his fifteen divisions of the palæozoic strata in the Appalachian chain, the names of which suggest metaphorically the different natural periods of the day; it corresponds to a certain extent with our lower Silurians.-Levant and couchant, in law, see COUCHANT. Levant (lé-vant'), n. [It. lerante, the east, the east wind. See the adjective.] 1. A name given somewhat loosely to the countries, or more especially the maritime parts of the countries, lying on the eastern portion of the Mediterranean and its contiguous waters, as Turkey, Syria, Asia Minor, Greece, Egypt, &c. 2. An easterly wind blowing up the Mediterranean; a levanter. Levant (le-vant), v. i. [Sp. levantar, to raise, to move, to remove; levantar la casa, means to break up house; levantar el campo, to break up camp; to decamp-from L. levare, to raise.] To run away; to decamp.

Her unfortunate affliction precluded her from all Trollope. hope of levanting with a lover. Levant (le-vant), n. A land-spring. [Local.] 'Landsprings which we call levants.' Gilbert White.

Levanter (lē-vant'èr), n. The name given to an easterly wind blowing up the Mediterranean from the direction of the Levant. Violent Levanters which the learned among us say ought to be the Euroclydon which drove St. Paul to Malta. W. H. Russell.

Levanter (lē-vant'èr), n. One who levants; one who bets at a horse-race, and runs away without paying the wager lost any one who runs away disgracefully. [Slang.] Levantine (le-vant'in or lev'an-tin), a. 1. Pertaining to the Levant. The levantine

churches.' Spencer. 2. Designating a particular kind of silk cloth.

Levantine (le-vant'in or lev'an-tin), n. 1. A native or inhabitant of the Levant.-2. A vessel belonging to the Levant.-3. A particular kind of silk cloth.

[L.,

Levari facias (lē-vā'ri fā'shi-as), n. that you cause to be levied. ] In law, a writ of execution executed by the sheriff for levying money upon the goods and lands of another. It issues from the county court and other inferior courts, except when money due for taxes, upon recognizances, &c., is to be levied, in which case it issues from the exchequer. This writ, except in the case of outlawry, has been completely superseded by the writ of elegit. Levation (lē-vā'shon), n. [L. levatio, levationis, from levo, to raise.] The act of raising; elevation. Sir T. More. Levator (le-vā'tër), n. [L. from levo, to raise.] 1. In anat. a name applied to many

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LEVEL

muscles, such as raise the lips, eyelids, eye, soft palate, shoulder-blade, &c.-2. A surgical instrument used to raise a depressed part of the skull.

Levet (lev), v.t. To believe.
Levet (lev), v.i. To live.

Leve,ta. [See LIEF.] Dear; beloved. Levecel,t Levesell,t n. [Written also Lefesal, Lefsale, &c., from A. Sax. leaf, a leaf, and sal, sel, a hall, a rooni; comp. Dan. lövsal. Sw. lofsal, a hut of green branches.] 1. A lattice. 2. A pent-house or projecting roof over a door, window, &c.-3. An open shed.

He looketh up and doun til he hath found
The clerke's hors, there as he stood ybound
Behind the mille under a levesell.

Chaucer.

Levee (lev'e), n. [Fr. levée, a gathering or levying, a levy, the breaking up of a meeting, an embankment, from lever, to raise, L. levo. The French word does not appear ever to have had the meaning which levee commonly has in English, lever being the proper French word for this meaning.] 1. A morning reception held by a prince or great personage; a morning assembly. The term is chiefly applied in this country to the stated public occasions on which the sovereign receives visits from such persons as are entitled by rank or fortune to the honour. It is distinguished from a drawing-room in this respect, that while at the former gentlemen alone appear (with the exception of the chief ladies of the court), both ladies and gentlemen are admitted to the latter. In the United States, the term is applied to any general or miscellaneous assemblage of guests, usually in the evening; as, the president's levee.2. The act or time of rising. Johnson.3. [Borrowed from the use of the word by the French settlers.] In America, an enbankment on the margin of a river, to confine it within its natural channel; as, the levees on the banks of the Mississippi.-Levie See LEVY.

en masse.

All

Levee (lev'ē), v.t. 1. To attend the levee of;
to hunt or pursue at levees. [Rare.]
Warm in pursuit, he levees all the great. Young.
2. To embank; as, to levee a river.
Level (level), n. [A. Sax. lafel, from L.
libella, a line or other appliance for testing
whether a surface is level, from libra, a
balance, a plummet, a level. The A. Sax.
lafel no doubt merged in the O. Fr. level,
livel (now niveau), also from L. libella.]
1. An instrument by which to find or draw
a straight line parallel to the plane of the
horizon, and by this means to determine the
true level or the difference of ascent or
descent between several places, for various
purposes in architecture, agriculture, en-
gineering, hydraulics, surveying, &c. There
is a great variety of instruments for this
purpose, differently constructed and of dif-
ferent materials, according to the particular
purposes to which they are applied, as the
carpenter's level, mason's level, gunner's
level, balance level, water level, mercurial
level, spirit level, surveying level, &c.
such instruments, however, may be reduced
to three classes: (1) Those in which the ver-
tical line is determined by a suspended
plumb line or balance weight, and the hori-
zontal indicated by a line perpendicular to it.
Such are the carpenter's and mason's levels.
(2) Those which determine a horizontal line
by the surface of a fluid at rest, as water
and mercurial levels. (3) Those which point
out the direction of a horizontal line by a
bubble of air floating in a fluid contained in
a glass tube. Such are spirit-levels, which
are by far the most convenient and accu-
rate. All levels depend on the same prin-
ciple, namely, the action of terrestrial
gravity.-2. A line or surface every point of
which is equally distant from the centre of
the earth: called a true level.-3. A line or
surface which coincides with or is parallel
to the plane of the horizon: called an ap-
parent level.-4. A surface without inequal-
ities.-5. Rate; standard; usual elevation:
customary height; as, the ordinary level of
the world.-6. Equal elevation with some-
thing else; a state of equality.

Providence, for the most part, sets us upon a level,
Addison.

7. The line of direction in which a missive weapon is aimed. The level of mine aim.' Shak.

I stood i' the level
Of a full-charged confederacy, and give thanks
To you that choked it.
Shak.

LEVEL

8. Rule; plan; scheme.

Be the fair level of thy actions laid. Prior. 9. Fixed or settled position; natural position; position to which anything is entitled. 'When merit shall find its level.' F. W. Robertson.-10. In mining, an excavation or cutting in a lode; a horizontal gallery in a mine; levels are generally ten, twenty, thirty fathoms below the adit, in which case they are called the ten fathoms, twenty fathoms, &c., level.

Level (level), a. 1. Horizontal; coinciding with the plane of the horizon, or parallel to it; as, to be perfectly level is to be exactly horizontal.-2. Not having one part higher than another; not ascending or descending; even; flat; having no inequalities of magnitude; as, a level plain or field; level ground; a level floor or pavement.-3. Even with anything else; of the same height; on the same line or plane.

Now shaves with level wing the deep, then soars Up to the fiery concave towering high. Milton. The setting sun now beams more mildly bright, The shadows lengthening with the level light.

Beattie.

4. Equal in rank or degree; having no degree of superiority.

Be level in preferments, and you will soon be as level in your learning. Bentley.

Level (level), v.t. pret. & pp. levelled; ppr. lecelling. 1. To make horizontal; to reduce to a horizontal plane.-2. To make smooths or even; to reduce or remove inequalities of surface in anything; as, to level a road or walk.-3. To reduce or bring to the same height with something else; to lay flat; to reduce to an even surface or plane. And their proud structures level with the ground. Sandys. He levels mountains, and he raises plains. Dryden. 4. To reduce to equality of condition, state, or degree; as, to level all ranks and degrees

of men.

The consequence has been (in too many physical systems), to level the study of nature, in point of moral interest, with the investigations of the algebraist. Stewart.

5. To point, in taking aim; to elevate or depress so as to direct a missile weapon to an object; to aim; as, to level a cannon or musket.

Millon.

The setting sun.... Against the eastern gate of Paradise Levelled his evening rays. Hence 6. To aim; to direct; as, severe remarks levelled at the vices and follies of the age.-7. To adapt; to suit; to proportion; as, to level observations to the capacity of children. To level up, to raise something that is low to the level of anything higher; specifically, to raise a lower person or class to the level of a higher.-To level down, to lower to the same level or status. Level (lev'el), v.i. 1. To accord; to agree; to suit. [Rare.]

Such accommodation and besort
As levels with her breeding.

Shak.

2. To be in the same direction with some

thing; to be aimed.

He to his engine flew,

Plac'd near at hand in open view,

And rais'd it till it levell'd right,

Against the glow-worm tail of kite. Hudibras.

3. To point a gun or an arrow to the mark; as, he immediately levelled and fired.-4. To direct the view or purpose; to make attempts; to aim.

The glory of God and the good of his church . . . ought to be the mark whereat we also level. Hooker.

Ambitious York did level at thy crown. Shak 5. To conjecture; to attempt to guess. 'He levelled at our purposes.' Shak. Level-coilt (level-koil), n. An old Christmas game in which each hunted the other from his seat, the loser giving up his seat to the winner; hence, riotous sport of any kind.

Young Justice Bramble has kept level-coil Here in our quarters, stole away our daughter. B. Jonson. Leveless,ta. Without leave. Chaucer. Levelism (lev'el-izm), n. The act or principles of levelling distinctions in society. [Rare.]

Leveller (level-ér), n. 1. One who levels or makes even. 2. One who destroys or attempts to destroy social distinctions and reduce all men to equality.

You are an everlasting leveller; you won't allow encouragement to extraordinary merit. Collier. Its structure strongly proves the truth of the maxim that princes are true levellers-real republicansamong themselves. Brougham.

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[The term Levellers was particularly given to a party which arose in the army of the Long Parliament about the year 1647. They professed a determination to level all ranks and establish an equality in titles and estates throughout the kingdom. They were put down by Fairfax.] Levelling (lev'el-ing), n.

1. The reduction

of uneven surfaces to a level or plane.2. The art or operation of ascertaining the different elevations of objects on the surface of the earth; the art or practice of finding how much any assigned point on the earth's surface included in a survey is higher or lower than another assigned point. It is a branch of surveying of great importance in making roads, determining the proper lines for railways, conducting water, draining low grounds, rendering rivers navigable, forming canals, and the like. In ordinary cases of levelling (for example, for canals, railways, &c.) the instruments commonly employed are a spirit-level with a telescope attached to it, and a stand for mounting them on, and a pair of levelling staves.

Levelling-pole, Levelling-rod (lev'el-ingpol, lev'el-ing-rod), n. Same as Levellingstaff

Levelling-staff (lev'el-ing-staf), n. An instrument used in levelling in conjunction with a spirit-level and telescope. It is tially of a graduated pole with a cane sliding variously constructed, but consists essenupon it so as to mark the height at any particular distance above the ground. In levelling two of them are used together, and being set up at any required distance the surveyor, by means of a telescope placed between them perfectly horizontally, is enabled to compare the relative heights of the two places. Called also Levelling-pole, Levelling-rod, Station-pole, or Station-staff. Levelly (lev'el-li), adv. In a level manner;

Levelness (lev'el-nes), n. evenly.

The condition of

being level; evenness; equality. Leven (lev'n). See LEAVEN. Levent (lev'en), n. Lightning. See LEVIN. Leven (lev'en), n. A lawn; an open space between woods. [Scotch.]

Lever (lē'ver), n. [Fr. levier, from lever, L. levo, to raise.] 1. In mech. a bar of metal, wood, or other substance turning on a support called the fulcrum or prop, and used to overcome a certain resistance (called the weight) encountered at one part of the bar by means of a force (called the power) applied at another part. It is one of the mechanical powers, and is of three kinds, viz.: (1) When the fulcrum is between the weight and the power, as in the handspike, crowbar, &c. In this case the parts of the lever on each side of the fulcrum are called the arms, and these arms may either be equal as in the balance, or unequal as in the steelyard. (2) When the weight is between

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LEVIN

arms of an obstetrical forceps.-4. In dentistry, an instrument used in extracting the stumps of teeth.-Compound lever, a machine consisting of several simple levers

Fig. 3.

W

combined together and acting on each other. Lever escapement, in a watch, an escapement in which the pallets are affixed to a bar or lever vibrating on its centre and having at one end a notch or fork which catches a pin connected with the balancewheel and drives this pin backwards and forwards so as to give the balance-wheel its reciprocal motion. Lever watch, a watch with a lever escapement.-Universal lever, a contrivance by means of which the reciprocating motion of a lever is made to communicate a continuous rotatory motion to a wheel, and a continuous rectilinear motion to anything attached by a rope to the axle of the wheel.

Levert (le'vér), a. compar. of lefe, lief, or
leve. [See LIEF.] More agreeable.
Levert (lē'ver), adv. Rather; more gladly;
more willingly.

Shalt thou never eat nor drink, said the steward,
Till my lord be come to town?

I make mine avow to God, said Little John, I had lever to crack thy crown. Old ballad. Leverage (lē'vèr-āj), n. 1. The action of a lever; the arrangement by which lever power is gained. The fulcrum of the leverage. 1. Taylor.-2. Lever power; the mechanical advantage or power gained by using a lever.

Lever-board (lē'vèr-bōrd), n. See LOUVRE. Leveret (lev'ér-et), n. [Fr. levrette, dim. of O. Fr. levre (now lièrre), a hare, from L. lepus, leporis, a hare.] A hare in the first year of its age.

Leverock (lev'er-ok), n. A lark. See LARK. Lever-valve (lē'vér-valv), n. A safety-valve kept down by the pressure of an adjustable weight. In locomotives a spring is substituted for the weight, and the pressure is regulated by a screw and indicated on a brass plate.

Levesell,tn. See LEVECEL.

Levett (le-vet'), n. [Fr. lever, to raise, to call up.] The morning call on the trumpet by which soldiers are summoned to rise; a reveille.

Come, sir, a quaint levet

To waken our brave general. Beau. & FL. Leveth,t v. t. imper. second pers. pl. Leveth me, believe me. Chaucer.

Leviable (lev'i-a-bl), a. That may be levied ; that may be assessed and collected; as, sums leviable by law.

Leviathan (lē-vi'a-than), n. [Heb. livyathan, a term which etymologically seems to mean a long jointed monster.] 1. An aquatic animal described in the book of Job, ch. xli., and mentioned in other passages of Scripture. In Isaiah it is called the crooked serpent. It is not known what animal is intended by the writers, whether the crocodile, the whale, or a species of serpent. 2. A fabulous sea-monster of immense size. Levier (lev'i-ér), n. One who levies. Levigable (lev'i-ga-bl), a. That can be rubbed or ground down to fine powder. Levigate (lev'i-gat), v. t. pret, and pp. levigated; ppr. levigating. [L. lævigo, from lavis, smooth.] 1. In phar. and chem. to rub or grind to a fine impalpable powder; to make fine, soft, and smooth. 2. To plane to polish. 'When use hath levigated the organs." Barrow.

Levigate (lev'i-gat), a. 1. Made smooth, as if by polishing.-2. Made less harsh or burdensome; alleviated. 'His labours being Sir T. levigate, and made more tolerable.' Elyot. [Rare.]

The act or

The

Levigation (lev-i-ga'shon), n. operation of grinding or rubbing a solid substance to a fine impalpable powder. Levin (lev'in), n. [O.E. levene, levening, &c., from or allied to A. Sax. lig, lige, flame, ligen, flaming, E. leme, leam, flame. connection between levin and A. Sax. lig, ligen, is similar to that between Icel. log and Dan. lov, law, Icel. skóg, Dan. skov, a wood, F. laugh, and its present pronunciation laf; the connection between it and leme

LEVIN-BRAND

again is paralleled by Icel. himinn and hifinn, E. heaven, Sw. hamn, Icel. höfn, E. haven.] Lightning. Spenser.

To him, as to the burning levin, Short, bright, resistless course was given. Sir W. Scott. Levin-brand (lev'in-brand), n. A thunderbolt. Spenser.

Levine (lē'vin), n. See LEVYNE.

Leviner (lev'in-ér), n. A swift species of hound.

Levirate, Leviratical (lē-vi'rāt, lē-vi-rat'ik-al), a. [L. levir, a husband's brother.] In Jewish antiq. (a) a term applied to the law according to which a woman whose husband died without issue was to be married to the husband's brother. Deut. xxv. 5. (b) Made in accordance with the levirate law.

The first-born son of a leviratical marriage was reckoned and registered as the son of the deceased Dean Alford.

brother.

Leviration (lē-vi-rā'shon), n. The act or custom among the Jews of a man's marrying the widow of a brother who died without issue. The same custom or law prevails in some parts of India. Levitation (lev-i-tä'shon), n. [From L. levitas, lightness, from levis, light.] 1. The act of making light; lightness; buoyancy.

The lungs also of birds, as compared with the lungs of quadrupeds, contain in them a provision distinguishingly calculated for this same purpose of Paley.

levitation.

2. Among Spiritualists, the alleged phenomenon of bodies heavier than air being by spiritual means rendered buoyant in the atmosphere.

Levite (lē'vit), n. [From Levi, one of the sons of Jacob.] 1. In Jewish history, one of the tribe or family of Levi; a descendant of Levi; more particularly, one of those persons who were employed in various duties connected with the tabernacle, or afterwards with the temple, as in bringing wood and other necessaries for the sacrifices, singing and playing in connection with the services, &c. They were subordinate to the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who was also of the family of Levi.-2. A priest: so used in contempt or ridicule.

A young Levite... might be had for his board, a small garret, and ten pounds a year. Macaulay. Levitic, Levitical (lē-vit'ik, lé-vit’ik-al), a. 1. Belonging to or connected with the Levites. 2. Priestly. 'Certain theological, or rather levitical, questions.' Milton. Levitical degrees, degrees of kindred within which persons are prohibited to marry. They are set forth in Lev. xviii. 6-18. Levitically (le-vit'ik-al-li), adv. After the manner of the Levites.

Leviticus (lē-vit'ik-us), n. [From Levi, Levite.] A canonical book of the Old Testament, the third book of Moses, containing principally the laws and regulations relating to the priests and Levites and to offerings; the body of the ceremonial law. Levity (lev'i-ti), n. [L. levitas, from levis, light. 1. Lightness; the want of weight in a body compared with another that is heavier; as, the ascent of a balloon in the air is owing to its levity.-2. Lightness of temper or conduct; want of due consideration; want of seriousness; disposition to trifle; inconstancy; changeableness; unsteadiness; fickleness; capriciousness; volatility; as, the levity of youth.

The levity that is fatigued and disgusted with everything of which it is in possession. Burke. Levoglucose, Lævoglucose (lē'vō-glū-kōs),

n.

In chem. a sugar isomeric with dextroglucose, but distinguished from it by turning the plane of polarization to the left, and always occurring along with it in honey, in many fruits, and in other sacchariferous vegetable organs. The mixture of these two sugars in equal numbers of molecules constitutes fruit-sugar or inverted sugar, which itself turns the plane of polarization to the left, the specific rotatory power of levoglucose being greater than that of dextroglucose.

Levogyrate (lē'vō-ji-rāt), a. [L. lævus, left, and gyrus, a circle.] Causing to turn towards the left hand; as, a lavogyrate crystal, that is, one that turns the rays to the right in the polarization of light. See DEXTROGYRATE, and extract below.

If the analyser (a slice of quartz) has to be turned towards the right, so as to cause the colours to succeed each other in their natural order-red, orange,

yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet-the piece of quartz is called right-handed, or dextrogyrate. If, however, the analyser has to be turned from right to left to

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obtain the natural order of colours, the quartz is called left-handed or levogyrate, the two kinds of polarization respectively called right-handed circular polarization and left-handed circular polarization. Haydn. Levorotatory (lē-võ-rõ’ta-to-ri),a. [L.lævus, left, and rota, a wheel] Same as Levogyrate.

Levulose, Lævulose (lē'vu-lōs), n. One of the constituents of fruit-sugar or inverted sugar.

Under the influence of dilute acids, or long boiling with water, cane-sugar is converted into what is called inverted sugar, a mixture of dextrose and lavulose. It is called inverted, because the lefthanded rotation of the lavulose is greater than the right-handed rotation of the dextrose. Haydn. Levy (lev'i), n. [Fr. levée, a raising or levying, a levy of troops or taxes, &c., from lever, L. levo, to raise.] 1. The act of levying or collecting, especially for public service; as, a lery of troops was then made.-2. That which is levied, as a body of troops, or the amount accruing from a tax.

And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men. 1 Ki. v. 13. And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised; for to build the house of the Lord, and his own house, &c. I Ki. ix. 15.

3. In law, the act of collecting on execution. -Levy in mass [Fr. levée en masse], the act of levying for military service all the ablebodied men of a country.

Levy (lev'i), v.t. pret. & pp. levied; ppr. levying. [From the noun, and perhaps partly directly from the Fr. lever.] 1. To raise; to collect; as, to levy troops; to levy taxes.

Edward the First covenanted in express terms for himself and his heirs, that they would never again levy any aid without the assent and good-will of the estates of the realm. Macaulay.

2. In law, (a) to erect or construct; as, to levy a mill; to levy a ditch. (b) To take or seize on execution or by seizure or distress. -3. To raise or desist from, as a siege.

Euphranor having levied the siege from this one city, forthwith led his army to Demetrias. Holland. -To levy war is to raise or begin war; to take arms for attack; to attack.-To levy a fine, to commence and carry on a suit for assuring the title to lands or tenements. Levyne (lev'in), n. [So called from Lery the crystallographer.] A mineral found in Ireland, Faroe, and some other places. occurs crystallized, the primary form being an acute rhomboid. It is a hydrated silicate of calcium and aluminum. Lew (lu), a. [Allied to D. laauw, G. lau, lukewarm; comp. also A. Sax. hleowan, to be warm.] Tepid; lukewarm. [Old and provincial.]

It

Lewd (lüd), a. [O. E. lewed, lewd, lay, ignorant; A. Sax. lawed, lawd, &c., lay, laic, pp. of lawan, to weaken, enfeeble. Skeat.] 1. Lay; laic; not clerical; unlearned; ignorant; simple.

So these great clerks their little wisdom shew To mock the lewd, as learn'd in this as they. Sir F. Davies. 2. Vile; despicable; profligate; wicked. But the Jews which believed not, . . . took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort,... and assaulted the house of Jason. Acts xvii. 5.

Great numbers of men were trained up in an idle and dissolute way of life, .. and then, if not ashamed to beg, too lewd to work, and ready for any kind of mischief. Southey.

3. Given to the unlawful indulgence of lust; addicted to fornication or adultery; dissolute; lustful; libidinous. -4. Proceeding from unlawful lust; as, lewd actions.SYN. Lustful, libidinous, licentious, profligate, dissolute, sensual, unchaste, impure, lascivious, lecherous. Lewdly (lūd'li), adv.

In a lewd manner: (a) ignorantly; foolishly. Spenser. (b)† Grossly; coarsely; wantonly; wickedly.

Whom she with leasings lewdly did miscall
And wickedly backbite.

Spenser.

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LEY

Lewis, Lewisson (lu'is, lü'is-son), n. 1. The name of one kind of shears used in cropping woollen cloth. 2. An instrument of iron used in raising large stones to the upper part of a building. It operates by the dovetailing of one of its ends into an opening in

the stone, so formed that no vertical force can detach it. In the figure a a are two movable parts, perforated at their heads to admit the pin or bolt e d. These are inserted by hand into the cavity formed in the stone, and between them the part b is introduced, which pushes their points out to the sides of the stone, thus filling the cavity; e is a half-ring bolt with a perforation at each end, to this the tackle above is attached by a hook. The fastening pin passes horizontally through all the holes, entering at the right side d, and forelocking on the other end c.

Lewis.

Lex (leks), n. [L., from same root as E. to lie.] Law; a word used in various law phrases; as, lex loci contractus, the law of the place where the contract is made; lex talionis, the law of retaliation, directing the punishment to be analogous to the crime, as an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, &c.; lex non scripta, the unwritten or common law; lex scripta, the written or statute law; lex mercatoria, mercantile law. Lexical (leks'ik-al), a. Pertaining to a

lexicon.

Lexically (leks'i-kal-li), adv. By means of a lexicon; according to lexicography or a lexicon.

By modifying a root lexically is here meant varying its signification. Sir F. Stoddart. Lexicographer (leks-i-kog'ra-fér), n. [See LEXICOGRAPHY.] The author or compiler of a lexicon or dictionary.

Lexicographer .. a writer of dictionaries, a harmless drudge, that busies himself in tracing the original and detailing the signification of words. Johnson. Lexicographic, Lexicographical (leks'ikö-grafik, leks'i-kō-grafik-al), a. Pertaining to the writing or compilation of a dictionary.

Lexicography (leks-i-kog'ra-fi), n. [Gr. lexikon, and graphō, to write.] 1. The act of writing a lexicon or dictionary, or the occupation of composing dictionaries. 2. The principles on which dictionaries are, or should be, constructed; the art of compiling a dictionary.

Lexicologist (leks-i-kol'o-jist), n. One skilled in lexicology; one who makes dictionaries or lexicons; a lexicographer. Lexicology (leks-i-kol'o-ji), n. [Gr. lexikon, a dictionary, and logos, discourse.] The science of words, their derivation and signification; that branch of learning which treats of the proper signification and just application of words.

Lexicon (leks'i-kon), n. [Gr. lexikon, from lexis, a speaking, speech, a word, from legō, to say, to speak.] A dictionary; a vocabulary or book containing an alphabetical arrangement of the words in a language, with the definition of each, or an explanation of its meaning. The term lexicon was originally and is still usually applied to dictionaries of the Greek or Hebrew tongues. Lexiconist (leks'i-kon-ist), n. A writer of a lexicon. [Rare.]

Lexigraphic, Lexigraphical (leks-i-graf'ik, leks-i-graf'ik-al), a. "Pertaining to lexigraphy.

Lexigraphy (leks-ig'ra-fi), n. [Gr. lexis, a word, and grapho, to write.] The art or practice of defining words. Lexiphanic (leks-i-fan'ik), a. [From Gr. lexiphanes, grandiloquent, from lexis, a word, especially a rare or foreign word, and phaino, to show.] Relating to lexiphanicism; bombastic; turgid; inflated. CampLexiphanicism (leks-i-fan'i-sizm), n. The habit of using an inflated, pompous style in speaking or writing. Campbell. Lexipharmic (leks-i-fär'mik), n. A medicine which counteracts the effect of poison. See ALEXIPHARMIC. Ley,+ n. Law.

bell.

Ley (lē), n. A different orthography of Lay and Lea, a meadow or field. (See LEA.)

LEY

It is a common element in English placenames; as, Chorley, Dudley, Stanley. It sometimes, especially in Devonshire, assumes the form of Leigh.

Leyt (le), a. Fallow; uncultivated.

Let wife and land

Lie ley till I return.

Ley (lē), n. Same as Lye.

Beau. & FI.

Leyden-phial, Leyden-jar (lï'dn-fi-al, lidn-jar), n. [So named from having been invented at Leyden, Holland.] A glass phial or jar coated inside and outside, usually with tin-foil, to within a third of the top, that it may be readily charged with electricity, and thus employed in a variety of interesting and useful experiments. A metallic rod, having a knob at the top, is fixed into the mouth of the jar, and is made to

Leyden-phial.

communicate with the inside coating, and when the jar is to be charged the knob of this rod is applied to the prime conductor. As the electric fluid passes to the inside of the jar, an equal quantity passes from the outside, so that the two sides are brought into opposite states, the inside being positive and the outside negative. The jar is discharged by establishing a communication between the outside coating and the knob. A vacuum produced in a Leyden-phial has been named the Leyden

vacuum.

Leye,t v.t. To lay; to lay a wager. Chaucer. Leyte, Leite, n. [See LIGHT.] Flame. Chaucer.

Leze Majesty (lez' maj-es-ti), n. [Fr. lèsemajesté, high treason, from L. læsa majestas, treason-ledo, læsum, to hurt, to injure, offend against, and majestas, majesty.] In jurisprudence, any crime committed against the sovereign power in a state; treason. The Latin crimen læsæ majestatis,' denoted a charge brought against a citizen for acts of rebellion, usurpation of office, and general misdemeanours of a political character, which were comprehended under the title of offences against the majesty of the Roman people.

Lherzolite (lérzō-lit), n. [From Lherz, in the Pyrenees, where it is found.] A mineral, a variety of pyroxene. When crystallized its crystals are brilliant, translucid, very small, and of an emerald green.

Li (lē), n. 1. A Chinese copper coin, otherwise called a cash. It is worth about onefifth of a farthing.-2. A Chinese measure of length, equal to 486 inch. Liability (li-a-bil'i-ti), n. 1. The state of being liable: (a) the state of being bound or obliged in law or justice; responsibility; as, the officer wishes to discharge himself from his liability. (b) Exposedness; tendency; a state of being subject; as, the liability of a man to contract disease in an infected room; a liability to accidents.2. That for which one is liable; specifically (pl.), that which one is under obligation to pay; debts; as, his liabilities amounted to £50,000.

Liable (li'a-bl), a. ['Commonly explained from L. ligo, Fr. lier, to bind; under obligation to. But no L. ligabilis, or Fr. liable, is brought forwards. The word seems purely English, and it looks as if it were barbarously formed from the verb lie, as inclinable from incline, with the sense of lying open to.' Wedgwood. Such words as ally, lien, however, may have had something to do with the development of the meaning. Comp. rely and reliable.] 1. Obliged in law or equity; responsible; answerable for consequences; bound to make good a loss; as, the surety is liable for the debt of his principal; the parent is not liable for debts contracted by a son who is a minor, except for necessaries.-2. Apt or not unlikely to incur something undesirable; subject; exposed: with to.

Proudly secure, yet liable to fall.

Milton.

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Is't not I

That undergo this charge? who else but I,
And such as to my claim are liable,
Sweat in this business and maintain this war?
Shak.

[Liable, in this sense, is always applied to evils. We never say a man is liable to happiness or prosperity, but he is liable to disease, calamities, censure; he is liable to err, to sin, to fall.]-3.† Subordinate; subject. 'Reason to my love is liable.' Shak.

All that we upon this side the sea...
Find liable to our crown and dignity,
Shall gild her bridal bed.

Shak

4. Fit; suitable. Apt, liable to be employ'd in danger.' Shak.-Liable, Subject. Liable is used chiefly with regard to what may befall; subject to what is likely to do so, and does so customarily. The former class of things are determined more by accident and circumstance, the latter by nature or constitution. A man may be subject to certain ailments, and he is always liable to accidents of various kinds.

Liableness (li'a-bl-nes), n. The state of being liable; liability. Lia-fail, n. [Gael. lia, a stone, and fail, for faidheil, fate. ] Stone of destiny, the stone on which the ancient Irish kings are said to have been crowned, brought by Fergus to Scotland, and ultimately deposited at Scone, where the Scottish kings sat on it at their coronation. It was removed by Edward I. to England and placed in Westminster Abbey, where it still forms part of the coronation chair. Enthusiasts affirm that it was the stone on which Jacob rested his head when he had his miraculous dream, and that it was brought to Spain by Gathelus, who married Scota, Pharaoh's daughter, and was subsequently brought to Ireland by one of their descendants, who was crowned king of Ireland on it. In reality the legend was fabricated by a Baldrec Bisset, who was sent to Rome to pray the pope to aid the Scots in resisting the claims of England. The stone is the same as the rocks around Scone. Called also Jacob's Stone. Liaget (li'aj), n. [Fr. liage, a binding, from lier, L. ligare, to bind.] A league; an alliance. Liaison (le-a-zon), n. [Fr., from L. ligatio, a binding, from L. ligare, to bind.] 1. A union or bond of union; an entanglement; an intimacy; commonly, an illicit intimacy between a man and a woman.-2. In cookery, a thickening, generally of beat eggs, sometimes of cream and eggs, intended to tie or connect the component parts of a dish. Liana (le-a'nä), n. [Fr. liane, from lier, to bind.] A term applied to the climbing and twining plants in tropical forests, which wind themselves round the stems of the trees, often overtopping them, and descending again to the ground. Our own honeysuckle and clematis afford familiar examples of this kind of plants on a limited scale. Liar (li'èr), n. One who tells lies; a person who knowingly utters falsehood; one who

declares to another as a fact what he knows to be not true, and with an intention to deceive him.

Liard (lē-är), n. [Fr.] A French farthing. Liardt (li'èrd), a. Same as Liart. Liard, n. [O. Fr. liart, L. L. liardus, dapple-gray.] A name applied to a horse, properly of a gray or dapple-gray colour: equivalent to Dapple. Chaucer. Liart, Lyart (li'èrt), a. [Scotch.]

Gray; gray-headed.

Lias (li'as), n. [Fr. liais, O. Fr. liois, Arm. liach, Gael. leac, a stone.] In geol. a name given to that series of strata, consisting principally of thin layers of limestone embedded in thick masses of blue argillaceous clay, lying at the basis of the oolitic or jurassic series, and above the triassic or new red sandstone. The formation is highly fossiliferous, ammonites being found in such quantities and varieties as to be called into use in the classification of the different beds. Gryphites and belemnites are also very common molluscs. Fish remains are frequent, but of all its fossil remains by far the most important are those of the great reptiles, of which the ichthyosaurus, plesiosaurus, and enaliosaurus are representatives. Numerous remains of plants occur in the lias. Liassic (li-as'ik), a. Pertaining to or of the age of the lias formation.

Lib (lib), v.t. [D. lubben, Dan. live, to geld. The form glib is also found.] To castrate. [Obsolete or Scotch.]

Libament (lib'a- ment), n. [L. libamentum.] Same as Libation. Holland.

LIBELLULIDÆ

Libant (li'bant), a. [L. libans, libantis, ppr. of libo, to taste, to sip.] Sipping; touching lightly. [Rare.]

She touched his eyelashes with libant lip.
And breathed ambrosial odours o'er his cheek.
Landor.

Libation (li-ba'shon), n. [L. libatio, libationis, from libo, Gr. leibo, to pour, to pour forth, as in honour of a deity.] 1. The act of pouring a liquor, usually wine, either on the ground or on a victim in sacrifice, in honour of some deity: a practice observed by the ancient Greeks and Romans, and by the Jews. 2. The wine or other liquor poured out in honour of a deity.

The goblet then she took, with nectar crown'd,
Sprinkling the first libation on the ground.
Dryden.

Libatory (liba-to-ri), a. Pertaining to liba

tion.

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Thwart of these, as fierce, Forth rush the Levant and the Ponent winds, Eurus and Zephyr, with their lateral noise, Sirocco and Libecchio. Milton.

Libel (li'bel), n. [Fr. libelle, bill, lampoon; L. libellus, little book, a pamphlet, a notice, a libel or lampoon, dim. of liber, the inner bark or rind of a tree used for paper; and hence a book.] 1. A writing of any kind; a written declaration, certificate, supplication, &c. A libel of forsaking.' Mat. v. 31. Wickliffe. ['Writing of divorcement' in our New Testament.]--2. A defamatory writing; a malicious publication; any book, pamphlet, writing, or picture containing representations, maliciously made or published, tending to bring a person into contempt, or expose him to public hatred, contempt, or derision; also any obscene, blasphemous, or seditious publication, whether by printing, writing, signs, or pictures.3. The crime of publishing a libel; as, guilty of libel.-4. In Scots law and English eccles. law, the summons or similar writ commencing a suit and containing the plaintiff's allegations.

Libel (li'bel), v. t. pret. & pp. libelled; ppr. libelling. 1. To defame or expose to public hatred or contempt by a writing, picture, and the like; to lampoon.

Some wicked wits have libelled all the fair. Pope. 2. To exhibit a charge against, as against a clergyman for conduct unbecoming his office. or against a ship or goods for a violation of the laws of trade or revenue. Libelt (li'bel), v.i. To spread defamation, written or printed: with against. 'Libelling against the senate.' Shak.

Libella (li'bel'la), n. [L., dim. of libra, a balance.] 1. A small balance.2. An instrument for taking levels; a level. Libellant (li'bel-ant), n. One who libels: one who brings a libel or institutes a suit in a court, especially in an ecclesiastical or admiralty court.

The counsel for the libellant contended they had Cranch. a right to read the instructions. Libeller (li'bel-ér), n. One who libels; a lampooner.

It is ignorance of ourselves which makes us the libellers of others. Buckminster.

Libellist (li'bel-ist), n. A libeller. Libellous (li'bel-us), a. Containing matter of the nature of a libel; defamatory; containing that which exposes a person to public hatred, contempt, or ridicule; as, a libellous picture. Alibellous pamphlet.' Wotton.

Libellously (libel-us-li), adv. In a libellous

manner.

Libellula (li-bel'ü-la), n. A Linnæan genus of neuropterous or orthopterous insects, having the mouth furnished with jaws, and the tail terminated by a kind of forceps. This genus is now divided into three families, each containing several genera, Libellula being the type of those with large eyes, broad hind wings, and larvæ with helmetmask.

Libellulidæ (lī-bel-ū'li-dē), n. pl. The dragon-flies, a family of neuropterous, or, according to some, orthopterous insects, with a mouth furnished with jaws, antennæ shorter than the thorax, extended wings, and a tail terminated by a kind of forceps.

LIBER

The metamorphosis is incomplete, and the larvæ aquatic. See DRAGON-FLY. Liber (liber), n. [L.] In bot. the inner lining of the bark of exogenous trees; the innermost layer of the bark; endophloum; bast.

Liberal (lib'èr-al), a. [L. liberalis, from liber, free. Akin to libet, lubet, it pleases, it is agreeable, Skr. lubh, to desire.] 1. Befitting a freeman or one well-born; not mean or low; gentlemanlike; refined; as, the liberal arts; a liberal education.-2. Of a free heart; ready to give or bestow; munificent; bountiful; generous; giving largely; as, a liberal donor; the liberal founders of a college or hospital.-3. Generous; ample; large; as, a liberal donation; a liberal allowance; hence, abundant; profuse; as, a liberal outflow of water.

His wealth doth warrant a liberal dower. Shak. 4. Not having or not characterized by selfish, narrow, or contracted ideas or feelings; favourable to civil, political, and religious liberty; favourable to reform or progress; not bound by orthodox or established tenets in politics or religion; not conservative; friendly to great freedom in the forms of administration of government; as, a liberal thinker; a liberal Christian; liberal sentiments or views; a liberal mind; liberal policy; liberal institutions; the Liberal party.-5. Free; open; candid; as, a liberal communication of thoughts. 6. Not too literal or strict; free; as, a liberal construction of a statute.-7. † Licentious; free to excess; unrestrained; uncontrolled; loose; lax. 'A liberal villain. Shak.

Liberal jests.' Beau. & Fl. — Liberal arts. See under ART. [Liberal has of or with before the thing bestowed, and to before the person or object on which anything is bestowed; as, to be liberal of praise or censure; he was liberal with his money; liberal to the poor.] Liberal is often used in compounds which are selfexplanatory; as, liberal-hearted; liberal

minded; liberal-souled.

Liberal (lib'ér-al), n. An advocate of freedom from restraint, especially in politics and religion; a member of that party which advocates progressive reform, especially in the direction of conferring more power on the people.

Liberalism (lib'èr-al-izm), n. Liberal principles; the principles or practice of Liberals; freedom from narrowness or bigotry, especially in matters of religion or politics.

Relating

They show that our forefathers had not learned our modern affectation of a liberalism so cosmopolitan as to shrink from celebrating, in the loftiest strains, the greatness, the glory, and the happiness of England. Sir F. Stephen. Liberalist (lib'èr-al-ist), n. A liberal. Liberalistic (lib'er-al-ist"ik), a. to or characterized by liberalism; conforming to liberal principles. Liberality (lib-er-al'i-ti), n. [L. liberalitas; Fr. libéralité. See LIBERAL.] 1. The quality of being liberal: (a) disposition to give largely; the habit of giving largely; munificence; bounty; generosity.

That liberality is but cast away

Which makes us borrow what we cannot pay.
Denham.

(b) Largeness of mind; catholicity; that comprehensiveness of mind which includes other interests besides its own, and duly estimates in its decisions, the value or importance of each; impartiality; as, it is evidence of a noble mind to judge of men and things with liberality.

Many treat the gospel with indifference under the name of liberality. F. M. Mason.

2. A particular act of generosity; a donation; a gratuity: in this sense it has the plural number; as, a prudent man is not impoverished by his liberalities.

Liberalize (lib'èr-al-iz), v.t. pret. & pp. liberalized; ppr. liberalizing. To render liberal or catholic; to enlarge; to free from narrow views or prejudices.

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to think or judge liberally of men and their actions. (c) Freely; not strictly; not literally; as, he construes the words of the act liberally.

Liberate (lib'è-rāt), v. t. pret, & pp. liberated; ppr. liberating. [L. libero, liberatum, from liber, free.] To release from restraint or bondage; to set at liberty; to free; to deliver; to disengage; as, to liberate a slave; to liberate one from duress or imprisonment; to liberate the mind from the shackles of prejudice. By what means a man may liberate himself from those fears. Johnson.

Liberation (lib-e-rä'shon), n.

[L. liber

atio, liberationis, from libero, to free. See LIBERATE.] The act of delivering, or the state of being delivered from restraint, confinement, slavery, debt, and the like. Liberator (lib'e-rat-ér), n. One who liberates or delivers.

He (Luther) was the great reformer and liberator Buckle. of the European intellect. Liberatory (lib'è-ra-to-ri), a. Tending to liberate or set free. Libero-motor (lib'êr-o-mo-tor), a. Letting out or liberating nerve-force.

Per

Each ganglion is a libero-motor agent. Herbert Spencer. Libertarian (lib-ér-ta'ri-an), a. taining to liberty, or to the doctrine of freewill, as opposed to the doctrine of necessity.

Libertarian (lib-ér-tā'ri-an), n. One who holds the doctrine of moral freedom, or the doctrine of the freedom of the will.

It retorts against himself the very objection of incomprehensibility by which the fatalist had thought to triumph over the libertarian. Sir W. Hamilton. I believe he (Dr. Crombie) may claim the merit of adding the word 'libertarian' to the English language as Priestley added that of 'necessarian.' Reid. Libertarianism (lib-ér-tăʼri-an-izm), n. The principles or doctrines of libertarians. Liberticide (lib'èr-ti-sid), n. [Liberty, and L. cado, to kill.] 1. Destruction of liberty. Libertinage (lib'er-tin-aj), n. 2. A destroyer of liberty.

Undue freedom of opinions or conduct; license.

A growing libertinage, which disposed them to think slightly of the Christian faith. Warburton.

Libertine (lib'er-tin), n. [L. libertinus, from liber, free.] 1. Among the Romans, a freedman; a person manumitted or set free from legal servitude.-2. One unconfined; one free from restraint.

When he speaks,

The air, a charter'd libertine, is still. Shak. 3. One who indulges his lust without restraint; one who leads a dissolute, licentious life; a rake; a debauchee. -4. One who holds loose views with regard to the laws of religion or morality; an irreligious person. 5. One of a sect of heretics in Holland, who maintained that nothing is sinful but to those who think it sinful, and that perfect innocence is to live without doubt. They rejected all the customs and decencies of life, and advocated a community of goods and of women.

That the Scriptures do not contain in them all things necessary to salvation is the fountain of many great and capital errors: I instance in the whole doctrine of the libertines, familists, quakers, and other enthusiasts, which issue in the corrupted fountain.

Fer. Taylor. 6.†A freeman of an incorporate town or city. And used me like a fugitive, an inmate in a town, That is no city libertine, nor capable of their gown. Chapman. Libertine (lib'èr-tin), a. [Fr. libertin, licentious; L. libertinus, from libertus, one made free, from liber, free.] Licentious; dissolute; not under the restraint of law or religion; as, libertine principles. A libertine life.' Bacon.

Libertinism (lib'èr-tin-izm), n. 1. State or condition of being a libertine or freedman. [Rare.]

Dignified with the title of freeman, and denied the libertinism that belongs to it. Hammond.

2. The state or conduct of a libertine or rake; licentiousness; unrestrained indulgence of lust; debauchery; lewdness.-3. Irreligiousness; carelessness for the dictates of morality.

That spirit of religion and seriousness vanished all at once, and a spirit of liberty and libertinism, of infidelity and profaneness, started up in the room of it. Atterbury.

Liberty (lib'ér-ti), n. [L. libertas, from liber, free; Fr. liberté.] 1. The state or condition of one who is free; exemption from restraint; power of acting as one pleases; freedom.

'Tis liberty alone that gives the flower
Of fleeting life its lustre and perfume. Couper.

(b) With generous and impartial regard to other interests than our own; with enlarged views; without selfishness or meanness; as,

LIBIDINOUSNESS

2. Permission granted, as by a superior, to do something that one might not otherwise do; leave; as, liberty given to a child to play, or to a witness to leave a court.3. Immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant; privilege; exemption; franchise; as, the liberties of the commercial cities of Europe.--4. A place or district within which certain exclusive privileges may be exercised; a place of exclusive jurisdiction; as, within the city liberty. 5. A certain amount of freedom; permission to go about freely within certain limits, as in a place of confinement; also, the place or limits within which such freedom or privilege is exercised; as, the liberties of a prison.-6. Action or speech of one person to another hardly warranted by their relative positions; freedom not specially granted; freedom of action or speech beyond the ordinary bounds of civility or decorum; as, may I take the liberty of calling on you?

He was repeatedly provoked into striking those who had taken liberties with him. Macaulay.

7. The power of an agent to do or forbear any particular action, according to the determination or thought of the mind, by which either is preferred to the other; freedom of the will; exemption from compulsion or restraint in willing or volition.-8. Freedom from occupation or engagements; disengagement.-9. In the manége, a curve or arch in that part of the bit placed in the mouth of a horse in order to afford room for the tongue of the animal. -- Natural liberty, the power of acting as one thinks fit, without any restraint or control, except from the laws of nature. It is a state of exemption from the control of others, and from positive laws and the institutions of social life. This liberty is abridged by the establishment of government.-Civil liberty, the liberty of men in a state of society, or natural liberty, so far only abridged and restrained as is necessary and expedient for the safety and interest of the society, state, or nation. Civil liberty is an exemption from the arbitrary will of others, secured by established laws, which restrain every man from injuring or controlling another. Hence the restraints of law are essential to civil liberty. ---Political liberty, a term sometimes used as synonymous with civil liberty. But it more properly designates the liberty of a nation, the freedom of a nation or state from all unjust abridgment of its rights and independence by another nation. Hence we often speak of the political liberties of Europe, or the nations of Europe. - Religious liberty, the free right of adopting and enjoying opinions on religious subjects, and of worshipping the Supreme Being according to the dictates of conscience, without external control.-Liberty of the press, freedom from any restriction on the power to publish books; the free power of publishing what one pleases, subject only to punishment for abusing the privilege, or publishing what is mischievous to the public or injurious to individuals. - Cap of liberty, a cap or hat used as a symbol of liberty. ancient times the manumitted slaves put on what was termed the Phrygian cap, in token of their freedom. In modern times, a red cap worn by French revolutionaries. -Leave, Liberty, License. See under LEAVE. Libethenite (li-beth'en-it), n. The hydrous phosphate of copper, a mineral first found at Libethen in Hungary, having an olivegreen colour, and consisting of phosphoric Libidinist (li-bid'in-ist), n. One given to acid, oxide of copper, and water. lewdness. [Rare.]

In

Nero, being monstrous incontinent himself, verily believed that all men were most foul libidinists. Funius, Libidinosity (li-bid′in-os”i-ti), n. The state or quality of being libidinous; libidinous

ness.

Libidinous (li-bid'in-us), a. [L. libidinosus, from libido, lubido, lust, from libet, lubet, it pleases.] Characterized by lust or lewdness; having an eager appetite for sexual indulgence; fitted to excite lustful desire; lustful; lewd. 'Wanton glances and libidinous thoughts.' Bentley.-SYN. Lewd, lustful, lascivious, unchaste, impure, sensual, licentious, lecherous.

Libidinously (li-bid'in-us-li), adv. In a libidinous manner; with lewd desire; lustfully; lewdly.

Libidinousness (li-bid'in-us-nes), n. The state or quality of being libidinous; lustfulness; lewdness.

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