Loading earlier words…
Libra Librae

The Balance; the seventh sign in the zodiac, which the sun enters at the autumnal equinox in September, marked thus / in almanacs, etc. A southern constellation between Virgo and Scorpio.

Librarian

One who has the care or charge of a library.

Library

A considerable collection of books kept for use, and not as merchandise; as, a private library; a public library.

Libration point

any one of five points in the plane of a system of two large astronomical bodies orbiting each other, as the Earth-moon system, where the gravitational pull of the two bodies on an object are approximately equal, and in opposite directions. A solid object moving in the same velocity and direction as such a libration point will remain in gravitational equilibrium with the two bodies of the system and not fall toward either body.

Libratory

Balancing; moving like a balance, as it tends to an equipoise or level.

Libretto

A book containing the words of an opera or extended piece of music. The words themselves.

Libriform

Having the form of liber, or resembling liber.

Libya

A country in Northern Africa, between Egypt and Tunisia, bordering the Mediterranean Sea. It also borders on Algeria, Chad, Niger, and Sudan. It is an Arabic-speaking country with over 97% of the population Sunni Moslem. The population in 1995 was about 5,248,000. The capital is Tripoli.

Libyan

Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of, the country Libya or its inhabitants.

License

To permit or authorize by license; to give license to; as, to license a man to preach.

Licensed

Having a license; permitted or authorized by license; as, a licensed victualer; a licensed traffic.

Licensee

The person to whom a license is given.

Licenser

One who gives a license; as, a licenser of the press.

Licentious

Characterized by license; passing due bounds; excessive; abusive of freedom; wantonly offensive; as, a licentious press.

Lich

A dead body; a corpse.

Lichanura

A genus of boas of western North America.

lichee

A Chinese tree (Litchi chinensis) cultivated especially in the Philippines and India for its edible fruit, the litchi nut; sometimes placed in the genus Nephelium.

Lichen

One of a class of cellular, flowerless plants, (technically called Lichenes), having no distinction of leaf and stem, usually of scaly, expanded, frond-like forms, but sometimes erect or pendulous and variously branched. They derive their nourishment from the air, and generate by means of spores. The species are very widely distributed, and form irregular spots or patches, usually of a greenish or yellowish color, upon rocks, trees, and various bodies, to which they adhere with great tenacity. They are often improperly called rock moss or tree moss.

Lichened

Belonging to, or covered with, lichens.

Lichenic

Of, pertaining to, or obtained from, lichens.

Lichenin

A substance isomeric with starch, extracted from several species of moss and lichen, esp. from Iceland moss.

Lichenography

A description of lichens; the science which illustrates the natural history of lichens.

Lichenous

Of, pertaining to, or resembling, lichens; abounding in lichens; covered with lichens.

Lichwort

An herb, the wall pellitory. See Pellitory.

Licitation

The act of offering for sale to the highest bidder.

Lick

A slap; a quick stroke.

Licker

One who, or that which, licks.

Lickerish

Eager; craving; urged by desire; eager to taste or enjoy; greedy.

Licorice

A plant of the genus Glycyrrhiza (Glycyrrhiza glabra), the root of which abounds with a sweet juice, and is much used in demulcent compositions.

Lictor

An officer who bore an ax and fasces or rods, as ensigns of his office. His duty was to attend the chief magistrates when they appeared in public, to clear the way, and cause due respect to be paid to them, also to apprehend and punish criminals.

Lidless

Having no lid, or not covered with the lids, as the eyes; hence, sleepless; watchful.

lido

A recreational facility, especially one including a swimming pool for water sports.

Lie

The position or way in which anything lies; the lay, as of land or country.

Lieberkuehn Lieberkuhn

A concave metallic mirror attached to the object-glass end of a microscope, to throw down light on opaque objects; a reflector.

Lieberkuehn's glands

The simple tubular glands of the small intestines; -- called also crypts of Lieberkuehn.

liebfraumilch

A white Rhenish-type wine produced especially in Hesse in western Germany.

Lied

A lay; a German song. It differs from the French chanson, and the Italian canzone, all three being national.

Liederkranz

Lit., wreath of songs; -- used as the title of a group of songs, and esp. as the common name for German vocal clubs of men.

Liedertafel

A popular name for any society or club which meets for the practice of male part songs.

Lief

Gladly; willingly; freely; -- now used only in the phrases, had as lief, and would as lief; as, I had, or would, as lief go as not.

Liege

A free and independent person; specif., a lord paramount; a sovereign.

Lien

A legal claim; a charge upon real or personal property for the satisfaction of some debt or duty; a right in one to control or hold and retain the property of another until some claim of the former is paid or satisfied.

Lienal

Of or pertaining to the spleen; splenic.

Lienculus

One of the small nodules sometimes found in the neighborhood of the spleen; an accessory or supplementary spleen.

Lieno-intestinal

Of or pertaining to the spleen and intestine; as, the lieno-intestinal vein of the frog.

Lienteric

Of or pertaining to, or of the nature of, a lientery. A lientery.

Lientery

A diarrhea, in which the food is discharged imperfectly digested, or with but little change.

Lier

One who lies down; one who rests or remains, as in concealment.

Lierne rib

In Gothic vaulting, any rib which does not spring from the impost and is not a ridge rib, but passes from one boss or intersection of the principal ribs to another.

Lieu

Place; room; stead; -- used only in the phrase in lieu of, that is, instead of.

Lieutenancy

The office, rank, or commission, of a lieutenant.

Lieutenant

An officer who supplies the place of a superior in his absence; a representative of, or substitute for, another in the performance of any duty.

Lieutenant general

An army officer in rank next below a general and next above a major general.

Lif

The fiber by which the petioles of the date palm are bound together, from which various kinds of cordage are made.

Life

The state of being which begins with generation, birth, or germination, and ends with death; also, the time during which this state continues; that state of an animal or plant in which all or any of its organs are capable of performing all or any of their functions; -- used of all animal and vegetable organisms.

life-giving

Giving life or spirit; having power to give life; inspiriting; invigorating; as, life-giving love and praise.

life-of-man

An unarmed woody rhizomatous perennial plant (Aralia racemosa) distinguished from wild sarsaparilla by more aromatic roots and panicled umbels; it grows from Southeastern North America to Mexico.

Life-preserver

An apparatus, made in very various forms, and of various materials, for saving one from drowning by buoying up the body while in the water.

Life-saving

That saves life, or is suited to save life, esp. from drowning; as, the life-saving service; a life-saving station.

life-sized life-size

Of full size; of the natural size; of the same size as an original; as, a life-size sculpture; a life-size portrait of the general.

life-sustaining

being the seat or source of life; performing a necessary function in the living body; as, the need for life-sustaining air and water.

Lifeblood

The blood necessary to life; vital blood.

Lifeboat

A strong, buoyant boat especially designed for saving the lives of shipwrecked people.

Lifeless

Destitute of life, or deprived of life; not containing, or inhabited by, living beings or vegetation; dead, or apparently dead; spiritless; powerless; dull; as, a lifeless carcass; lifeless matter; a lifeless desert; a lifeless wine; a lifeless story.

Lifelike

Like a living being; resembling life; giving an accurate representation; as, a lifelike portrait.

lifeline

The anem given to one of the creases on the palm; its length is said by palmists to indicate how long one will live.

Lifelong

Lasting or continuing through life.

Lifestring

A nerve, or string, that is imagined to be essential to life.

Lift

Act of lifting; also, that which is lifted.

lifted

turned upward; as, she left the room with her face lifted.

Lifter

One who, or that which, lifts.

Loading more words…