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lowball

to give a deceptively low estimate of the price of (merchandise or services); -- a sales tactic to induce a person to buy.

Lowbell

To frighten, as with a lowbell.

Lowborn

Born in a low condition or rank; -- opposed to highborn.

Lowboy

A chest of drawers not more than four feet high; -- applied commonly to the lower half of a tallboy from which the upper half has been removed.

Lowbred

Bred, or like one bred, in a low condition of life; characteristic or indicative of such breeding; rude; impolite; vulgar; as, a lowbred fellow; a lowbred remark.

Lower

Cloudiness; gloominess.

Lower-case lowercase

Pertaining to, or kept in, the lower case; -- used to denote the small letters, in distinction from capitals and small capitals; as, lowercase letters a and b and c etc.. Contrasted with uppercase. See the Note under 1st Case, n., 3.

lower-class

same as low-class. Contrasted with middle-class and upper-class.

lower-middle-class

occupying the lower part of the middle socioeconomic range in a society.

lowered

pointed downward; as, with lowered eyes. Opposite of raised.

Lowering

Dark and threatening; gloomy; sullen; as, lowering clouds or sky.

Loweringly

In a lowering manner; with cloudiness or threatening gloom.

Lowery

Cloudy; gloomy; lowering; as, a lowery sky; lowery weather.

Lowing

The calling sound made by cows and other bovine animals.

Lowland

Land which is low with respect to the neighboring country; a low or level country; -- opposed to highland.

Lowlander

A native or inhabitant of the Lowlands, especially of the Lowlands of Scotland, as distinguished from Highlander.

Lowlily

In a lowly place or manner; humbly.

Lowliness

The state or quality of being lowly; humility; humbleness of mind.

Lowly

In a low manner; humbly; meekly; modestly.

Lowness

The state or quality of being low.

Lowry

An open box car used on railroads. Compare Lorry.

Loxodromic

Pertaining to sailing on rhumb lines; as, loxodromic tables.

Loxodromics

The art or method of sailing on the loxodromic or rhumb line.

Loxodromism

The act or process of tracing a loxodromic curve; the act of moving as if in a loxodromic curve.

Loy

A long, narrow spade for stony lands.

Loyalist

A person who adheres to his sovereign or to the lawful authority; especially, one who maintains his allegiance to his prince or government, and defends his cause in times of revolt or revolution.

Loyally

In a loyal manner; faithfully.

Loyalty

The state or quality of being loyal; fidelity to a superior, or to duty, love, etc.

Lozenge

A diamond-shaped figure usually with the upper and lower angles slightly acute, borne upon a shield or escutcheon. Cf. Fusil. A form of the escutcheon used by women instead of the shield which is used by men.

Lozengy

Divided into lozenge-shaped compartments, as the field or a bearing, by lines drawn in the direction of the bend sinister.

LP L-P

a long-playing phonograph record; designed to be played at 33.3 rpm.

Lr

The chemical symbol for lawrencium, a transuranic element of atomic number 103.

LSD

lysergic acid diethylamide, a powerful hallucinogenic drug.

Ltd.

A term attached to the name of a company that is organized to give its owners limited liability; it corresponds to Inc. in the United States.

LTM

long-term memory, the term for the set of neurons and neural processes responsible for the general store of information remembered for more than a day.

Lu

The chemical symbol for lutetium.

Lubber

A heavy, clumsy, or awkward fellow; a sturdy drone; a clown.

Lubricant

That which lubricates; specifically, a substance, as oil, grease, graphite, etc., used for reducing the friction of the working parts of machinery.

Lubricate

To make smooth or slippery; as, mucilaginous and saponaceous remedies lubricate the parts to which they are applied.

lubricated

smeared with oil or grease to reduce friction.

Lubrication

The act of lubricating; the act of making slippery.

Lucchese

A native or inhabitant of Lucca, in Tuscany; in the plural, the people of Lucca.

Luce

A pike when full grown.

Lucency

The quality of being lucent.

Lucent

Shining; bright; resplendent.

Lucernaria

A genus of acalephs, having a bell-shaped body with eight groups of short tentacles around the margin. It attaches itself by a sucker at the base of the pedicel.

Lucernarian

Of or pertaining to the Lucernarida. One of the Lucernarida.

Lucernarida

A division of acalephs, including Lucernaria and allied genera; -- called also Calycozoa. A more extensive group of acalephs, including both the true Lucernarida and the Discophora.

Lucid

Shining; bright; resplendent; as, the lucid orbs of heaven.

Lucidity

The quality or state of being lucid.

Lucidness

The quality of being lucid; lucidity.

Luciferase

an enzyme which catalyzes the oxidation of luciferin, thereby producing bioluminescence.

Luciferian

One of the followers of Lucifer, bishop of Cagliari, in the fourth century, who separated from the orthodox churches because they would not go as far as he did in opposing the Arians.

Luciferin

any of several substances found in luminescent organisms (such as the firefly, Photinus pyralis) which, when oxidized, produces an almost heatless light. It was first isolated from fireflies, and is the source of the firefly luminescence. See also firefly luciferin

Luciferous

Giving light; affording light or means of discovery.

Luciform

Having, in some respects, the nature of light; resembling light.

Lucimeter

an instrument for measuring the intensity of light; a photometer.

Lucite

A brand name for a transparent plastic based on methyl methacrylate esters; the term is often used generically to refer to any similar transparent plastic. It is sold in various forms, including rigid sheets which may be used as a substitute for glass in windows.

Luck

That which happens to a person; an event, good or ill, affecting one's interests or happiness, and which is deemed casual; a course or series of such events regarded as occurring by chance; chance; hap; fate; fortune; often, one's habitual or characteristic fortune; as, good, bad, ill, or hard luck. Luck is often used by itself to mean good luck; as, luck is better than skill; a stroke of luck.

Luckily

In a lucky manner; by good fortune; fortunately; -- used in a good sense; as, they luckily escaped injury.

Luckiness

The state or quality of being lucky; as, the luckiness of a man or of an event.

Luckless

Being without luck; unpropitious; unfortunate; unlucky; meeting with ill success or bad fortune; as, a luckless gamester; a luckless maid.

Lucknow

A city in India, the site of the Indian Mutiny (1857) when the British were beseiged.

Lucky

Favored by luck; fortunate; meeting with good success or good fortune; -- said of persons; as, a lucky adventurer.

Lucre

Gain in money or goods; profit; riches; -- often in an ill sense.

Luctation

Effort to overcome in contest; struggle; endeavor.

Lucubrate

To elaborate, perfect, or compose, by night study or by laborious endeavor.

Lucubration

The act of lucubrating, or studying by candlelight; nocturnal study; meditation.

Lucubrator

One who studies by night; also, one who produces lucubrations.

Lucubratory

Composed by candlelight, or by night; of or pertaining to night studies; laborious or painstaking.

Lucule

A spot or fleck on the sun brighter than the surrounding surface.

Lucullite

A variety of black limestone, often polished for ornamental purposes.

Lucuma

An American genus of sapotaceous trees bearing sweet and edible fruits.

Luddite

One of a number of riotous persons in England, who for six years (1811-17) tried to prevent the use of labor-saving machinery by breaking it, burning factories, etc.; -- so called from Ned Lud, a half-witted man who some years previously had broken stocking frames.

Ludicrous

Adapted to excite laughter, without scorn or contempt; sportive.

Ludlamite

A mineral occurring in small, green, transparent, monoclinic crystals. It is a hydrous phosphate of iron.

Ludlow group

A subdivision of the British Upper Silurian lying below the Old Red Sandstone; -- so named from the Ludlow, in Western England. See the Chart of Geology.

Ludwigite

A borate of iron and magnesia, occurring in fibrous masses of a blackish green color.

Lues

Disease, especially of a contagious kind.

Luff

To turn the head of a vessel toward the wind; to sail nearer the wind; to turn the tiller so as to make the vessel sail nearer the wind.

Lug

A rod or pole.

Luganda

the language of the Buganda; spoken in Uganda.

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