Lunar - Lurch

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Lunar (lūnẽr), a. [L. lunaris, fr. luna the moon. See , and cf. .] 1. Of or pertaining to the moon; as, lunar observations.
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2. Resembling the moon; orbed. Dryden.
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3. Measured by the revolutions of the moon; as, a lunar month.
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4. Influenced by the moon, as in growth, character, or properties; as, lunar herbs. Bacon.
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Coloq. Lunar caustic (Med. Chem.), silver nitrate prepared to be used as a cautery; -- so named because silver was called luna by the ancient alchemists. -- Coloq. Lunar cycle . Same as Metonic cycle. See under . -- Coloq. Lunar distance , the angular distance of the moon from the sun, a star, or a planet, employed for determining longitude by the lunar method. -- Coloq. Lunar method , the method of finding a ship's longitude by comparing the local time of taking (by means of a sextant or circle) a given lunar distance, with the Greenwich time corresponding to the same distance as ascertained from a nautical almanac, the difference of these times being the longitude. -- Coloq. Lunar month . See . -- Coloq. Lunar observation , an observation of a lunar distance by means of a sextant or circle, with the altitudes of the bodies, and the time, for the purpose of computing the longitude. -- Coloq. Lunar tables . (a) (Astron.) Tables of the moon's motions, arranged for computing the moon's true place at any time past or future. (b) (Navigation) Tables for correcting an observed lunar distance on account of refraction and parallax. -- Coloq. Lunar year , the period of twelve lunar months, or 354 days, 8 hours, 48 minutes, and 34.38 seconds.
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Lunar, n. 1. (Astron.) A lunar distance.
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2. (Anat.) The middle bone of the proximal series of the carpus; -- called also semilunar, and intermedium.
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Lunaria prop. n. A small genus of European herbs of the mustard family, including the herb honesty (Lunaria annua), which is also called moonwort and lunary.
Syn. -- genus Lunaria.
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Lunarian (?), n. [See , .] An inhabitant of the moon.
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Lunary (?), a. [Cf. F. lunaire. See .] Lunar. [Obs.] Fuller.
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Lunary, n. [Cf. F. lunaire.] (Bot.) (a) The herb moonwort or “honesty”. (b) A low fleshy fern (Botrychium Lunaria) with lunate segments of the leaf or frond.
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{ Lunate (?), Lunated (?), } a. [L. lunatus crescent-shaped, p. p. of lunare to bend like a crescent, fr. luna the moon.] Crescent-shaped; resembling the crescent moon; as, a lunate leaf; a lunate beak; a lunated cross. Gray.
Syn. -- lunular, bicephalous, crescent(prenominal), crescent-shaped.
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Lunatic (?), a. [F. lunatique, L. lunaticus, fr. luna the moon. See .] 1. Affected by lunacy; insane; mad; crazy; demented.
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Lord, have mercy on my son; for he is lunatic. Wyclif (Matt. xvii. 15).
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2. Of or pertaining to, or suitable for, an insane person; evincing lunacy; as, lunatic gibberish; a lunatic asylum.
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Lunatic, n. A person affected by lunacy; an insane person, esp. one who has lucid intervals; a madman; a person of unsound mind.
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The lunatic, the lover, and the poet,
Are of imagination all compact. Shak.
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lunatic fringe n. the members of a political or social group espousing extreme, fanatical, or seemingly irrational views.
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Lunation (?), n. [Cf. .] The period of a synodic revolution of the moon, or the time from one new moon to the next; varying in length, at different times, from about 291/4 to 295/6 days, the average length being 29 d., 12h., 44m., 2.9s.
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Lunch (lŭnch), n. [Of uncertain etymol. Cf. Prov. Eng. nunc a lump.] A luncheon; specifically, a light repast between breakfast and dinner, most commonly about noontime.
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Lunch, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Lunched (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Lunching.] To take luncheon. Smart.
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Luncheon (?), n. [Prov. E. luncheon, lunchion, lunshin, a large lump of food, fr. lunch. See .]
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1. A lump of food. [Prov. Eng.]
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2. A portion of food taken at any time except at a regular meal. [obsolescnet]
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3. A lunch, especially one organized by a group as a formal social gathering.
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Luncheon, v. i. To take luncheon. Beaconsfield.
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luncher n. someone who is eating lunch.
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lunching n. the act of eating lunch.
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lunchroom n. a dining room (in a school, business, or other non-domestic facility) where lunch can be purchased.
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lunchtime n. the time for eating lunch; as, he observed a regular lunchtime.
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Lunda n. A genus of birds including some of the puffins.
Syn. -- genus Lunda.
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Lune (lūn), n. [L. luna moon: cf. F. lune. See .] 1. Anything in the shape of a half moon. [R.]
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2. (Geom.) A figure in the form of a crescent, bounded by two intersecting arcs of circles.
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3. A fit of lunacy or madness; a period of frenzy; a crazy or unreasonable freak. [Obs.]
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These dangerous, unsafe lunes i' the king. Shak.
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Lunet (?), n. [See .] A little moon or satellite. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.
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Lunette (?), n. [F., dim. of lune moon, L. luna. See a crescent.] 1. (Fort.) A fieldwork consisting of two faces, forming a salient angle, and two parallel flanks. See .
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2. (Far.) A half horseshoe, which lacks the sponge.
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3. A kind of watch crystal which is more than ordinarily flattened in the center; also, a species of convexoconcave lens for spectacles.
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4. A piece of felt to cover the eye of a vicious horse.
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5. (Arch.) Any surface of semicircular or segmental form; especially, the piece of wall between the curves of a vault and its springing line.
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6. An iron shoe at the end of the stock of a gun carriage.
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Coloq. Lunette window (Arch.), a window which fills or partly fills a lunette.
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Lung (lŭng), n. [OE. lunge, AS. lunge, pl. lungen; akin to D. long, G. lunge, Icel. & Sw. lunga, Dan. lunge, all prob. from the root of E. light. √125. See not heavy.] (Anat.) An organ for aërial respiration; -- commonly in the plural.
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My lungs began to crow
like chanticleer. Shak.

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☞ In all air-breathing vertebrates the lungs are developed from the ventral wall of the esophagus as a pouch which divides into two sacs. In amphibians and many reptiles the lungs retain very nearly this primitive saclike character, but in the higher forms the connection with the esophagus becomes elongated into the windpipe and the inner walls of the sacs become more and more divided, until, in the mammals, the air spaces become minutely divided into tubes ending in small air cells, in the walls of which the blood circulates in a fine network of capillaries. In mammals the lungs are more or less divided into lobes, and each lung occupies a separate cavity in the thorax. See .
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Coloq. Lung fever (Med.), pneumonia. -- Coloq. Lung flower (Bot.), a species of gentian (Gentian Pneumonanthe). -- Coloq. Lung lichen (Bot.), tree lungwort. See under . -- Coloq. Lung sac (Zoöl.), one of the breathing organs of spiders and snails.
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Lunge (?), n. [Also spelt longe, fr. allonge. See , .] A sudden thrust or pass, as with a sword.
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Lunge, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Lunged (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Lunging (?).] To make a lunge.
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Lunge, v. t. To cause to go round in a ring, as a horse, while holding his halter. Thackeray.
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Lunge, n. (Zoöl.) Same as .
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Lunged (lŭngd), a. Having lungs, or breathing organs similar to lungs.
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lunger (lŭngẽr), n. a person with pulmonary tuberculosis. [informal]
Syn. -- consumptive.
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Lungfish (?), n. (Zoöl.) Any fish belonging to the Dipnoi; -- so called because they have both lungs and gills.
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Lung-grown (?), a. (Med.) Having lungs that adhere to the pleura.
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Lungie (?), n. (Zoöl.) A guillemot. [Written also longie.] [Prov. Eng. & Scot.] Sir W. Scott.
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Lungis (?), n. [OF. longis. See .] A lingerer; a dull, drowsy fellow. [Obs.]
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Lungless (?), a. Being without lungs.
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Lungoor (?), n. [Hind. langūr.] (Zoöl.) A long-tailed monkey (Semnopithecus schislaceus), from the mountainous districts of India.
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lung-power n. the ability to speak loudly.
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Lungworm (?), n. (Zoöl.) Any one of several species of parasitic nematoid worms which infest the lungs and air passages of cattle, sheep, and other animals, often proving fatal. The lungworm of cattle (Strongylus micrurus) and that of sheep (Strongylus filaria) are the best known.
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Lungwort (?), n. (Bot.) (a) An herb of the genus Pulmonaria (Pulmonaria officinalis), of Europe; -- so called because the spotted appearance of the leaves resembles that of a diseased lung. (b) Any plant of the genus Mertensia (esp. Mertensia Virginica and Mertensia Sibirica), plants nearly related to Pulmonaria. The American lungwort is Mertensia Virginica, Virginia cowslip. Gray.
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Coloq. Cow's lungwort mullein. -- Coloq. Sea lungwort , Mertensia maritima, found on the seacoast of Northern Europe and America. -- Coloq. Tree lungwort , a lichen (Sticta pulmonacea) growing on trees and rocks. The thallus is lacunose, and in appearance somewhat resembles the lungs, for diseases of which it was once thought a remedy.
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Lunicurrent (?), a. [L. luna moon + E. current.] Having relation to changes in currents that depend on the moon's phases. Bache.
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Luniform (?), a. [L. luna moon + -form: cf. F. luniforme.] Resembling the moon in shape.
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Lunisolar (?), a. [L. luna moon + E. solar: cf. F. lunisolaire.] Resulting from the united action, or pertaining to the mutual relations, of the sun and moon.
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Coloq. Lunisolar precession (Astron.), that portion of the annual precession of the equinoxes which depends on the joint action of the sun and moon. -- Coloq. Lunisolar year , a period of time, at the end of which, in the Julian calendar, the new and full moons and the eclipses recur on the same days of the week and month and year as in the previous period. It consists of 532 common years, being the least common multiple of the numbers of years in the cycle of the sun and the cycle of the moon.
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Lunistice (?), n. [L. luna moon + sistere to cause to stand. Cf. .] (Astron.) The farthest point of the moon's northing and southing, in its monthly revolution. [Obs.]
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Lunitidal (?), a. Pertaining to tidal movements dependent on the moon. Bache.
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Coloq. Lunitidal interval . See , n.
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Lunt (?), n. [D. lont; akin to Dan. & G. lunte, Sw. lunta. Cf. a torch.] 1. The match cord formerly used in firing cannon.
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2. A puff of smoke. [Scotch.] Burns.
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Lunula (?), n.; pl. Lunulæ (#). [L., prop., a little moon. See .] (Anat. & Zoöl.) Same as .
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Lunular (?), a. [Cf. F. lunulaire. See .] (Bot.) Having a form like that of the new moon; shaped like a crescent; lunate.
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{ Lunulate (?), Lunulated (?), } a. [See .] (Bot. & Zoöl.) Resembling a small crescent. Gray.
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Lunule (?), n. [F., fr. L. lunula, dim. of luna moon.] 1. (Anat.) Anything crescent-shaped; a crescent-shaped part or mark; a lunula; a lune.
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2. (Chem.) A lune. See .
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3. (Zoöl.) (a) A small or narrow crescent. (b) A special area in front of the beak of many bivalve shells. It sometimes has the shape of a double crescent, but is oftener heart-shaped. See Illust. of .
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Lunulet (?), n. [Dim. of lunule.] (Zoöl.) A small spot, shaped like a half-moon or crescent; as, the lunulet on the wings of many insects.
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Lunulite (?), n. [Lunule + -life: cf. F. lunulithe. See .] (Paleon.) Any bryozoan of the genus Lunulites, having a more or less circular form.
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Luny (?), a. [Shortened fr. lunatic.] Crazy; insane; mentally unsound. [Written also loony and looney.] [Low, U.S.]
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Lupercal (?), a. Of or pertaining to the Lupercalia.
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Lupercal, n. A grotto on the Palatine Hill sacred to Lupercus, the Lycean Pan.
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Lupercalia (?), n. pl. [L. luperealis, fr. Lupercus the Lycean Pan, so called fr. lupus a wolf, because he kept off the wolves.] (Rom. Antiq.) A feast of the Romans in honor of Lupercus, or Pan.
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Lupine (?), n. [L. lupinus, lupinum, apparently fr. lupinus belonging to a wolf, fr. lupus a wolf; perh. so called because it was supposed to exhaust the soil: cf. F. lupin. Cf. .] (Bot.) A leguminous plant of the genus Lupinus, especially Lupinus albus, the seeds of which have been used for food from ancient times. The common species of the Eastern United States is Lupinus perennis. There are many species in California.
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Lupine (?), a. [See , n.] Wolfish; ravenous. Gauden.
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Lupinin (?), n. (Chem.) A glucoside found in the seeds of several species of lupine, and extracted as a yellowish white crystalline substance.
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Lupinine (?), n. (Chem.) An alkaloid found in several species of lupine (Lupinus luteus, Lupinus albus, etc.), and extracted as a bitter crystalline substance, having a formula C10H19NO. Called also l-lupinine
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Chemically it is a a bicyclic saturated quinolizine [1-R-trans]-Octahydro-2H-quinolizine-1-methanol, with the structure:
CH2OH | /\ H /\ / \|/ \ | | | | N | \ / \ / \/ \/
[MI11]
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Lupulin (?), n. [Cf. F. lupulin. See .] 1. (Chem.) A bitter principle extracted from hops.
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2. The fine yellow resinous powder found upon the strobiles or fruit of hops, and containing this bitter principle. [Written also lupuline.]
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Lupuline (?), n. [NL. lupulus the hop, fr. L. lupus the hop: cf. F. lupuline.] (Chem.) An alkaloid extracted from hops as a colorless volatile liquid.
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Lupulinic (?), a. (Chem.) Pertaining to, or obtained from, hops; specifically, designating an acid obtained by the decomposition of lupulin.
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Lupus (?), n. [L., a wolf. See .] 1. (Med.) originally, a cutaneous disease with the appearance of the skin having been gnawed, and occurring under two distinct forms. Now used as a generic term for over ten distinguishable diseases having visible cutaneous symptoms.
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☞ Lupus erythematosus is characterized by an eruption of red patches, which become incrusted, leaving superficial scars. Lupus vulgaris is marked by the development of nodules which often ulcerate deeply and produce great deformity. Prior to 1900 the latter was often confounded with cancer, and some varieties of cancer were included under Lupus. Systemic lupus erythematosus is an inflammatory connective tissue disease occurring mostly in women, characterized by skin rash, fever, and arthritic symptoms, and often accompanied by hemolytic anemia, inflammation of the pericardium, glomerular lesions, and hyperglobulinemia; the condition shows positive in the LE cell test. [Stedman]br/ [ Webster +PJC]

2. (Astron.) The Wolf, a constellation situated south of Scorpio.
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Lurcation (?), n. [See its .] Gluttony; gormandizing. [Obs.]
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Lurch (?), v. i. [L. lurcare, lurcari.] To swallow or eat greedily; to devour; hence, to swallow up. [Obs.]
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Too far off from great cities, which may hinder business; too near them, which lurcheth all provisions, and maketh everything dear. Bacon.
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Lurch, n. [OF. lourche name of a game; as adj., deceived, embarrassed.] 1. An old game played with dice and counters; a variety of the game of tables.
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2. A double score in cribbage for the winner when his adversary has been left in the lurch.
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Lady --- has cried her eyes out on losing a lurch. Walpole.
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Coloq. To leave one in the lurch . (a) In the game of cribbage, to leave one's adversary so far behind that the game is won before he has scored thirty-one. (b) To leave one behind; hence, to abandon, or fail to stand by, a person in a difficulty. Denham.
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But though thou'rt of a different church,
I will not leave thee in the lurch. Hudibras.
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Lurch, v. t. 1. To leave in the lurch; to cheat. [Obs.]
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Never deceive or lurch the sincere communicant. South.
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2. To steal; to rob. [Obs.]
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And in the brunt of seventeen battles since
He lurched all swords of the garland. Shak.
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Lurch, n. [Cf. W. llerch, llerc, a frisk, a frisking backward or forward, a loitering, a lurking, a lurking, llercian, llerciaw, to be idle, to frisk; or perh. fr. E. lurch to lurk.] A sudden roll of a ship to one side, as in heavy weather; hence, a swaying or staggering movement to one side, as that by a drunken man. Fig.: A sudden and capricious inclination of the mind.
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