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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.

Lifting

Used in, or for, or by, lifting.

liftoff

the initial ascent of a rocket from its launching pad.

Lig

To recline; to lie still.

Ligament

Anything that ties or unites one thing or part to another; a bandage; a bond.

Ligamentous Ligamental

Composing a ligament; of the nature of a ligament; binding; as, a strong ligamentous membrane.

Ligan

Goods sunk in the sea, with a buoy attached in order that they may be found again. See Jetsam and Flotsam.

ligase

An enzyme which catalyzes creation of a covalent bond between two substrates, resulting in a larger product which is a combination of the two starting materials; especially, DNA ligase, an enzyme which creates a phosphate bond between 5/ and 3/ ends of a DNA chain, resulting in a longer chain of DNA. DNA ligase is important in normal biosynthesis of DNA in the replication cycle of cells.

Ligate

To tie with a ligature; to bind around; to bandage.

Ligation

The act of binding, or the state of being bound.

Ligator

An instrument for ligating, or for placing and fastening a ligature.

Lige

To lie; to tell lies.

Ligeance

The connection between sovereign and subject by which they were mutually bound, the former to protection and the securing of justice, the latter to faithful service; allegiance.

Ligger

A baited line attached to a float, for night fishing. See Leger, a.

Light

To dismount; to descend, as from a horse or carriage; to alight; -- with from, off, on, upon, at, in.

light bulb lightbulb

A glass bulb with metallic contacts on the outside connected to a wire filament (usually tungsten) inside that emits light when heated by passage of electricity through the filament; -- used as the replaceable light-emitting component of an electric lamp, flashlight, lighting fixture, etc.

light-duty

not designed for heavy or demanding work; as, a light-duty detergent. Opposite of heavy-duty.

Light-fingered

Dexterous in taking and conveying away; thievish; pilfering; addicted to petty thefts.

Light-footed Light-foot

Having a light, springy step; moving lightly and nimbly; nimble in running or dancing; active; as, light-foot Iris. Opposite of heavy-footed.

light-green

Having a light green color, similar to the color of fresh grass.

light-haired

being or having light colored skin and hair; as, a certain light-haired girl. Contrasted to brunet.

Light-handed

Not having a full complement of men; as, a vessel light-handed.

Light-headed

Disordered in the head; dizzy; feeling faint; delirious.

Light-heeled

Lively in walking or running; brisk; light-footed.

Light-horseman

A soldier who serves in the light horse. See under 5th Light.

Light-o'-love

An old tune of a dance, the name of which made it a proverbial expression of levity, especially in love matters.

light-sensitive

Affected by light; as, the light-sensitive pigments in the retina.

Light-ship lightship

A vessel equipped like a lighthouse, carrying at the masthead a brilliant light, and moored off a shoal or place of dangerous navigation where a permanent lighthouse would be impracticable, to serve as a guide for mariners; as, the Ambrose lightship off New York was rammed and damaged in 1950 by the Santa Monica.

Light-struck

Damaged by accidental exposure to light; light-fogged; -- said of plates or films.

Light-winged

Having light and active wings; volatile; fleeting.

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