Lethal - Levant

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Lethal (lēth�l), a. [L. lethalis, letalis, fr. lethum, letum, death: cf. F. léthal.] Deadly; mortal; fatal. “The lethal blow.” W. Richardson. -- Lethally, adv.
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Lethality (l�thălĭt�), n. [Cf. F. léthalité.] The quality of being lethal; mortality.
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{ Lethargic (l�thärjĭk), Lethargical (-jĭk�l), } a. [L. lethargicus, Gr. lhqargikos: cf. F. léthargique. See .] Pertaining to, affected with, or resembling, lethargy; morbidly drowsy; dull; heavy. -- Lethargically, adv. -- Lethargicalness, n. -- Lethargicness, n.
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Lethargize (lĕthȧrjīz), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Lethargized (-jīzd); p. pr. & vb. n. Lethargizing (-jīzĭng).] To make lethargic.
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All bitters are poison, and act by stilling, and depressing, and lethargizing the irritability. Coleridge.
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Lethargy (-j�), n.; pl. -gies (-jĭz). [F. léthargie, L. lethargia, Gr. lhqargia, fr. lhqargos forgetful, fr. lhqh forgetfulness. See .] 1. Morbid drowsiness; continued or profound sleep, from which a person can scarcely be awaked.
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2. A state of inaction or indifference.
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Europe lay then under a deep lethargy. Atterbury.
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Lethargy, v. t. To lethargize. [Obs.] Shak.
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Lethe (lēth� or lēth), n. [See .] Death. [Obs.] Shak.
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Lethe (lēth�), n. [L., fr. Gr. lhqh, prop., forgetfulness; akin to lanqanesqai to forget, lanqanein to escape notice.] 1. (Class. Myth.) A river of Hades whose waters when drunk caused forgetfulness of the past.
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2. Oblivion; a draught of oblivion; forgetfulness.
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Lethean (l�thē�n), a. [L. Lethaeus, Gr. lhqaios or lhqai^os.] Of or pertaining to Lethe; resembling in effect the water of Lethe. Milton. Barrow.
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Letheed (lēthēd), a. Caused by Lethe. “ Letheed dullness.” [Obs.] Shak.
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Letheon (lēth�ŏn), n. [NL., fr. Gr. lhqh.] (Med.) Sulphuric ether used as an anæsthetic agent. [R.]
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Letheonize (-īz), v. t. To subject to the influence of letheon. [R. or Obs.]
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Lethiferous (l�thĭfẽrŭs), a. [L. lethifer, letifer, fr. lethum, letum, death + ferre to bear, to bring: cf. F. léthifère.] Deadly; bringing death or destruction.
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Lethy (lēth�), a. Lethean. [Obs.] Marston.
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Let-off (lĕtŏf; 115), n. (Mach.) A device for letting off, releasing, or giving forth, as the warp from the cylinder of a loom.
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Lette (lĕtt�), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Letted.] To let; to hinder. See , to hinder. [Obs.] Chaucer.
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Letter (lĕttẽr), n. [From to permit.] One who lets or permits; one who lets anything for hire.
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Letter, n. [From to hinder.] One who retards or hinders. [Archaic.]
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Letter, n. [OE. lettre, F. lettre, OF. letre, fr. L. littera, litera, a letter; pl., an epistle, a writing, literature, fr. linere, litum, to besmear, to spread or rub over; because one of the earliest modes of writing was by graving the characters upon tablets smeared over or covered with wax. Pliny, xiii. 11. See , and cf. .] 1. A mark or character used as the representative of a sound, or of an articulation of the human organs of speech; a first element of written language.
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And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew. Luke xxiii. 38.
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2. A written or printed communication; a message expressed in intelligible characters on something adapted to conveyance, as paper, parchment, etc.; an epistle.
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The style of letters ought to be free, easy, and natural. Walsh.
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3. A writing; an inscription. [Obs.]
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None could expound what this letter meant. Chaucer.
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4. Verbal expression; literal statement or meaning; exact signification or requirement.
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We must observe the letter of the law, without doing violence to the reason of the law and the intention of the lawgiver. Jer. Taylor.
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I broke the letter of it to keep the sense. Tennyson.
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5. (Print.) A single type; type, collectively; a style of type.
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Under these buildings . . . was the king's printing house, and that famous letter so much esteemed. Evelyn.
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6. pl. Learning; erudition; as, a man of letters.
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7. pl. A letter; an epistle. [Obs.] Chaucer.
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8. (Teleg.) A telegram longer than an ordinary message sent at rates lower than the standard message rate in consideration of its being sent and delivered subject to priority in service of regular messages. Such telegrams are called by the Western Union Company day letters, or night letters according to the time of sending, and by The Postal Telegraph Company day lettergrams, or night lettergrams.
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Coloq. Dead letter , Coloq. Drop letter , etc. See under , , etc. -- Coloq. Letter book , a book in which copies of letters are kept. -- Coloq. Letter box , a box for the reception of letters to be mailed or delivered. -- Coloq. Letter carrier , a person who carries letters; a postman; specif., an officer of the post office who carries letters to the persons to whom they are addressed, and collects letters to be mailed. -- Coloq. Letter cutter , one who engraves letters or letter punches. -- Coloq. Letter lock , a lock that can not be opened when fastened, unless certain movable lettered rings or disks forming a part of it are in such a position (indicated by a particular combination of the letters) as to permit the bolt to be withdrawn.
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A strange lock that opens with AMEN. Beau. & Fl.
-- Coloq. Letter paper , paper for writing letters on; especially, a size of paper intermediate between note paper and foolscap. See . -- Coloq. Letter punch , a steel punch with a letter engraved on the end, used in making the matrices for type. -- Coloq. Letters of administration (Law), the instrument by which an administrator or administratrix is authorized to administer the goods and estate of a deceased person. -- Coloq. Letter of attorney , Coloq. Letter of credit , etc. See under , , etc. -- Coloq. Letter of license , a paper by which creditors extend a debtor's time for paying his debts. -- Coloq. Letters close or Coloq. Letters clause (Eng. Law.), letters or writs directed to particular persons for particular purposes, and hence closed or sealed on the outside; -- distinguished from letters patent. Burrill. -- Coloq. Letters of orders (Eccl.), a document duly signed and sealed, by which a bishop makes it known that he has regularly ordained a certain person as priest, deacon, etc. -- Coloq. Letters patent , Coloq. Letters overt , or Coloq. Letters open (Eng. Law), a writing executed and sealed, by which power and authority are granted to a person to do some act, or enjoy some right; as, letters patent under the seal of England. The common commercial is a derivative form of such a right. -- Coloq. Letter-sheet envelope , a stamped sheet of letter paper issued by the government, prepared to be folded and sealed for transmission by mail without an envelope. -- Coloq. Letters testamentary (Law), an instrument granted by the proper officer to an executor after probate of a will, authorizing him to act as executor. -- Coloq. Letter writer . (a) One who writes letters. (b) A machine for copying letters. (c) A book giving directions and forms for the writing of letters.
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Letter (lĕttẽr), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Lettered (-tẽrd); p. pr. & vb. n. Lettering.] To impress with letters; to mark with letters or words; as, a book gilt and lettered.
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letter bomb, letter-bomb n. A bomb disguised as a letter and sent through the mail, usually rigged to explode and kill or harm the recipient when opened.
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letter-bomb v. t. to send a letter-bomb to.
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lettercard n. a postcard that folds so that the message is inside.
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Lettered (lĕttẽrd), a. 1. Literate; educated; versed in literature. “ Are you not lettered?” Shak.
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The unlettered barbarians willingly accepted the aid of the lettered clergy, still chiefly of Roman birth, to reduce to writing the institutes of their forefathers. Milman.
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2. Of or pertaining to learning or literature; learned. “ A lettered education.” Collier.
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3. Inscribed or stamped with letters. Addison.
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Letterer (lĕttẽrẽr), n. One who makes, inscribes, or engraves, alphabetical letters.
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Lettergram (?), n. See , above.
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Lettering, n. 1. The act or business of making, or marking with, letters, as by cutting or painting.
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2. The letters made; as, the lettering of a sign.
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Letterless (lĕttẽrlĕs), a. 1. Not having a letter.
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2. Illiterate. [Obs.] E. Waterhouse.
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Lettern (lĕttẽrn), n. See .
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letter-perfect adj. correct to the last detail; especially being in or following the exact words; as, a letter-perfect rendition of the soliloquy.
Syn. -- word-perfect.
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Letterpress (-tẽrprĕs), n. Print; letters and words impressed on paper or other material by types; -- often used of the reading matter in distinction from the illustrations.
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Letterpress printing, printing directly from type, in distinction from printing from plates.
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Letterure (-�r), n. Letters; literature. [Obs.] “To teach him letterure and courtesy.” Chaucer.
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Letterwood (-w�d), n. (Bot.) The beautiful and highly elastic wood of a tree of the genus Brosimum (Brosimum Aubletii), found in Guiana; -- so called from black spots in it which bear some resemblance to hieroglyphics; also called snakewood, and leopardwood. It is much used for bows and for walking sticks.
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Lettic (lĕttĭk), a. (a) Of or pertaining to the Letts; Lettish. (b) Of or pertaining to a branch of the Slavic family, subdivided into Lettish, Lithuanian, and Old Prussian. -- n. (a) The language of the Letts; Lettish. (b) The language of the Lettic race, including Lettish, Lithuanian, and Old Prussian.
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Lettish (lĕttĭsh), a. Of or pertaining to the Letts. -- n. The language spoken by the Letts. See .
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Lettrure (-trụr), n. See . [Obs.] Chaucer.
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Letts (lĕts), n. pl.; sing. Lett (lĕt). (Ethnol.) An Indo-European people, allied to the Lithuanians and Old Prussians, and inhabiting a part of the Baltic provinces of Russia.
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Lettuce (lĕttĭs), n. [OE. letuce, prob. through Old French from some Late Latin derivative of L. lactuca lettuce, which, according to Varro, is fr. lac, lactis, milk, on account of the milky white juice which flows from it when it is cut: cf. F. laitue. Cf. , .] 1. (Bot.) A composite plant of the genus Lactuca (Lactuca sativa), the leaves of which are used as salad. Plants of this genus yield a milky juice, from which lactucarium is obtained. The commonest wild lettuce of the United States is Lactuca Canadensis.
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2. United States currency; dollar bills; greenbacks. [slang]
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Coloq. Hare's lettuce , Coloq. Lamb's lettuce . See under , and . -- Coloq. Lettuce opium . See . -- Coloq. Sea lettuce , certain papery green seaweeds of the genus Ulva.
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Letuary (lĕt��r�), n. Electuary. [Obs.] Chaucer.
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Let-up (lĕtŭp), n. [See to forbear.] Abatement; also, cessation; as, it blew a gale for three days without any let-up. [Colloq.]
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Leuc- (lūk-) pref. Same as .
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Leucadendron (lūkȧdĕndrŏn), n. [NL., fr. Gr. leykos white + dendron tree.] (Bot.) A genus of evergreen shrubs from the Cape of Good Hope, having handsome foliage. Leucadendron argenteum is the silverboom of the colonists.
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Leucaniline (l�kănĭlĭn or -lēn), n. [Leuc- + aniline.] (Chem.) A colorless, crystalline, organic base, obtained from rosaniline by reduction, and also from other sources. It forms colorless salts.
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Leuchæmia (l�kēmĭȧ), n. [NL., fr. Gr. leykos white + ai^ma blood.] (Med.) See . -- Leuchæmic (l�kĕmĭk), a. [Written also leukæmia, leukæmic.]
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{ Leucic (lūsĭk), Leucinic (l�sĭnĭk), } a. (Chem.) Pertaining to, or designating, an acid obtained from leucin, and called also oxycaproic acid.
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Leucine (l�sēn), Leucin (lūsĭn), n. [Gr. leykos white.] (Physiol. Chem.) a naturally occurring alpha-amino acid ((CH3)2CH.CH2.CH(NH2)-COOH), one of the building units of almost all proteins of living organisms, both animal and vegetable. It is one of the essential amino acids (not synthesized by the human body, a required component for proper nutrition), and is hydrophobic in character when bound in proteins. In isolated form it is a white, crystalline, zwitterionic substance formed, e. g. by the decomposition of proteins by pancreatic digestion, by the action of boiling dilute mineral acid, or by putrefaction. Chemically it is to be considered as amido-caproic acid. It occurs as two optical isomers, the L- and D-forms. The L-form, L-leucine, is the natural form, present in most proteins.
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Leuciscus prop. n. A genus of freshwater fishes including the dace (Leuciscus leuciscus).
Syn. -- genus Leuciscus.
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Leucite (lūsīt), n. [Gr. leykos white: cf. F. leucite.]
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1. (Min.) A mineral having a glassy fracture, occurring in translucent trapezohedral crystals. It is a silicate of alumina and potash KAlSi2O6. It is found in the volcanic rocks of Italy, especially at Vesuvius.
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2. (Bot.) A leucoplast.
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Leucitic (l�sĭtĭk), a. (Min.) Containing leucite; as, leucitic rocks.
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Leucitoid (lūsĭtoid), n. [Leucite + -oid.] (Crystallog.) The trapezohedron or tetragonal trisoctahedron; -- so called as being the form of the mineral leucite.
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{ Leuco- (lūk�-), Leuc- (lūk-). } pref. [Gr. leykos white.] A combining form signifying white, colorless; specif. (Chem.), denoting an extensive series of colorless organic compounds, obtained by reduction from certain other colored compounds; as, leucaniline, leucaurin, etc.
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Leucocyte (lūk�sīt), n. [Leuco- + Gr. kytos a hollow vessel.] (Physiol.) A colorless corpuscle, as one of the white blood corpuscles, or those found in lymph, marrow of bone, connective tissue, etc.
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☞ They all consist of more or less spherical masses of protoplasm, without any surrounding membrane or wall, and are capable of motion.
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{ Leucocythæmia Leucocythemia } (lūk�s�thēmĭȧ), n. [NL., fr. Gr. leykos white + kytos a hollow vessel + ai^ma blood.] (Med.) A disease in which the white corpuscles of the blood are largely increased in number, and there is enlargement of the spleen, or the lymphatic glands; leuchæmia.
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Leucocytogenesis (-sīt�jĕn�sĭs), n. [Leucocyte + genesis.] (Physiol.) The formation of leucocytes.
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Leucoethiopic (-ēthĭŏpĭk), a. [Leuco- + Ethiopic.] White and black; -- said of a white animal of a black species, or the albino of the negro race.
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Leucoethiops (-ēthĭŏps), n. [Leuco- + Aethiops.] An albino. [Also written leucœthiops.]
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Leucoline (lūk�lĭn or -lēn), n. [Leuc- + L. oleum oil.] (Chem.) A nitrogenous organic base from coal tar, and identical with quinoline. Cf. .
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Leucoma (l�kōmȧ), n. [NL., fr. Gr. leykwma, fr. leykos white.] (Med.) A white opacity in the cornea of the eye; -- called also albugo.
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Leucomaine (l�kōmȧĭn or -ēn), n. [Leuco- + -maine, as in ptomaine.] (Physiol. Chem.) An animal base or alkaloid, appearing in the tissue during life; hence, a vital alkaloid, as distinguished from a ptomaine or cadaveric poison.
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Leuconic (-kŏnĭk), a. [Leuc- + croconic.] (Chem.) Pertaining to, or designating, a complex organic acid, obtained as a yellowish white gum by the oxidation of croconic acid.
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Leucopathy (l�kŏpȧth�), n. [Leuco- + Gr. paschein, paqei^n to suffer.] The state of an albino, or of a white child of black parents.
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Leucophane (lūk�fān), n. [Gr. leykofanhs appearing bright or white; leykos white + fainein to show: cf. G. leukophan.] (Min.) A mineral of a greenish yellow color; it is a silicate of glucina, lime, and soda with fluorine. Called also leucophanite.
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Leucophlegmacy (lūk�flĕgmȧs�), n. [Gr. leykoflegmatia; leykos white + flegma phlegm: cf. F. leucophlegmasie.] (Med.) A dropsical habit of body, or the commencement of anasarca; paleness, with viscid juices and cold sweats.
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Leucophlegmatic (-flĕgmătĭk), a. [Cf. F. leucophlegmatique, Gr. leykoflegmatos.] Having a dropsical habit of body, with a white bloated skin.
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Leucophyll (lūk�fĭl), n. [Leuco- + Gr. fyllon a leaf.] (Chem.) A colorless substance isomeric with chlorophyll, contained in parts of plants capable of becoming green. Watts.
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Leucophyllous (l�kŏfĭllŭs or lūk�fĭllŭs), a. [Gr. leykofyllos; leykos white + fyllon a leaf.] (Bot.) Having white or silvery foliage.
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{ Leucoplast (lūk�plăst), Leucoplastid (-plăstĭd), } n. [Leuco- + Gr. plassein to mold.] (Bot.) One of certain very minute whitish or colorless granules occurring in the protoplasm of plants and supposed to be the nuclei around which starch granules will form.
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Leucopyrite (l�kŏpĭrīt), n. [Leuco- + pyrites.] (Min.) A mineral of a color between white and steel-gray, with a metallic luster, and consisting chiefly of arsenic and iron.
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Leucorrhœa (lūkŏrrēȧ), n. [Leuco- + Gr. rei^n to flow.] (Med.) A discharge of a white, yellowish, or greenish, viscid mucus, resulting from inflammation or irritation of the membrane lining the genital organs of the female; the whites. Dunglison.
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Leucoryx (lūk�rĭks), n. [NL., from Gr. leykos + 'oryx a kind of gazelle.] (Zoöl.) A large antelope of North Africa (Oryx leucoryx), allied to the gemsbok.
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Leucoscope (lūk�skōp), n. [Leuco- + -scope.] (Physics) An instrument, devised by Professor Helmholtz, for testing the color perception of the eye, or for comparing different lights, as to their constituent colors or their relative whiteness.
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Leucosoid (-soid), a. [NL. Leucosia, the typical genus (fr. Gr. leykos white) + -oid.] (Zoöl.) Like or pertaining to the Leucosoidea, a tribe of marine crabs including the box crab or Calappa.
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Leucosphere (-sfēr), n. [Leuco- + sphere.] (Astron.) The inner corona. [R.]
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Leucoturic (lūk�tūrĭk), a. [Leuco- + allantoic + uric.] (Chem.) Pertaining to, or designating, a nitrogenous organic substance of the uric acid group, called leucoturic acid or oxalantin. See .
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Leucous (lūkŭs), a. [Gr. leykos.] White; -- applied to albinos, from the whiteness of their skin and hair.
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Leucoxene (l�kŏksēn), n. [Leuco- + Gr. xenos stranger.] (Min.) A nearly opaque white mineral, in part identical with titanite, observed in some igneous rocks as the result of the alteration of titanic iron.
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Leukæmia (l�kēmĭȧ), n. Leucocythæmia.
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Leuke (lūk), a., Leukeness, n. See , etc.
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Leukoplast (lūk�plăst), n. (Bot.) See .
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Levana (l�vānȧ), n. [L., fr. levare to raise.] (Rom. Myth.) A goddess who protected newborn infants.
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Levant (lēv�nt), a. [F., p. pr. of lever to raise.] (Law) Rising or having risen from rest; -- said of cattle. See Couchant and levant, under .
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Levant (l�vănt), n. [It. levante the point where the sun rises, the east, the Levant, fr. levare to raise, levarsi to rise: cf. F. levant. See .] 1. The countries washed by the eastern part of the Mediterranean and its contiguous waters.
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2. A levanter (the wind so called).
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Levant (lēv�nt; 277), a. Eastern. [Obs.]
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Forth rush the levant and the ponent winds. Milton.
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Levant (l�vănt), v. i. [Cf. Sp. levantar to raise, go from one place to another.] To run away from one's debts; to decamp. [Colloq. Eng.] Thackeray.
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