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Favorite Words – the letter L |
| L |
| Go to any of the following websites to look up any of the words below you are interested in knowing more about: Macmillan, Howjsay, Merriam-Webster, The Free Dictionary by Farlex, and Cambridge Dictionary. |
la’ity — lay people considered as a group; those who are not member of a given profession or specialized field laa’ger — defensive encampment encircled by armored vehicles labile (laa’bile) — open to change; adaptable; chem. constantly undergoing or likely to undergo change; unstable laborious laburnum — drooping clusters of yellow flowers lac’tate — secrete or produce milk lacerate — rip, cut or tear lach’rymose — (lak’re mose) inclined to weep; tearful lackadai’sical lackey lackluster lacon’ic — use of few words, terse, concise lacu’na — empty space or a missing part; gap ladle laffer curve – statistical curve: the greater the tax rate, the greater the tax revenues, gets so high will drop lag screw — heavy wood screw having a square bolt head laggard lagniappe (lan.yap’) — small gift presented by a storeowner with customer’s purchase; extra or unexpected gift or benefit lagoon — shallow body of water, esp. separated from a sea by sandbars or coral reefs lais’sez faire’ — non interference in the affairs of others lam — to escape, as from prison lam’bent — (of light or fire) glowing, gleaming, or flickering with a soft radiance. lam’bert — unit of brightness equivalent to the brightness of perfectly diffusing surface that emits or reflects one lumen per square centimeter lam’brequin — (lam’ber.kin) short ornamental drapery for the top of a window or door or the edge of a shelf lambaste (lam.baste’) — scold sharply; berate lame duck — elected officeholder continuing in office during the period before the inauguration of his successor lament lamentable lamia (laa’me.a) — gr. monster part serpent and part women reputed to prey on humans, esp. children lampoon’ — light goodhearted satire lan’guet — tongue-shaped thing lan’ner — falcon lan’quish lan’quor — dreamy lazy mood or quality lan’yard — cord worn around the neck for carrying something landmine — concealed yet incipient crisis lanky lanquid — lacking energy or vitality; weak lap dog lap’idary — cuts, polishes or engraved gems lapse lar’rup — beat, flog or thrash larceny — theft larder lares and penates (lar’ez / pe.naa’tez) — treasured household possessions largesse’ — money or gifts bestowed Larousse’ — fr. lexicographer, grand dictionnaire las’situde — listlessness lasciv’ious lat’ent — dormant or hidden stage, present or potential but not evident or active lathe latitude — extent, breadth laudable launder — disguise the source or nature of laur’eat — deserving the highest distinction or honor lava’tion — process of washing lavaliere’ — pendant worn on a chain around the neck lavatory lavish Law of Medes & Persians – unalterable law; no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed lec’ithin — emulsifier for commercial products
leyden jar — early form of capacitor consisting of a glass jar lined inside and out with tinfoil and a conducting rod lia’ison liable liba’tion — alcoholic drink libertine libid’inous libra – 12 oz. in ancient rome libretto — text of musical work licen’tious liege (lej) — loyal subject to monarch lien — right to take and hold or sell the property of a debtor as security or payment for a debt lig’neous — of or having texture of wood lig’ure — precious stone of ancient Israel ligature — act of tying or binding likelihood likeminded likewise lil’ith — female spirit in ancient Semitic legend, alleged to haunt deserted places and attack children; the first wife of Adam in Jewish folklore, believed to have been created before Eve lillipu’tian — very small, trivial lily-livered — coward lily-white lim’pid — char. by transparent clearness; pellucid; easily intelligible; clear; calm, untroubled, serene limbate (lim’bate) — having an edge or a margin of a different color limber limerick — humorous, nonsensible or bawdry verse of five anapestic lines usu. with aabba limicolous (li.mik’e.les) — living in mud limn — to describe; to depict by painting or drawing lin’gam — hindusism. Stylized phallus worshipped as a symbol of the god Shiva, penis lin’gulate — shaped like a tongue lin’iment — medicinal fluid rubbed into the skin to soothe pain or relieve stiffness lin’tel — horizontal beam over a window or door that supports the structure above it linchpin — central cohesive element; locking pin inserted in the end of a shaft to prevent a wheel from slipping off lindy — lively swing dance for couples, named after lindbergh (nickname) line of scrimmage — imaginary line across the field on which the ball rests and at which the teams line up for a new play lineage linebacker — any of the defensive players forming a second line of defence behind the ends and tackles lionize — look on or treat a person as a celebrity lip service — verbal expression of agreement or allegience, unsupported by real conviction or action; hypocritical respect liquefac’tion — process of liquefying liquidate liquidity lis’some — limber listicle – a short-form of writing that uses a list as its thematic structure, but is fleshed out with sufficient copy to be published as an article. A typical listicle will prominently feature a cardinal number in its title, with subsequent subheadings within the text itself reflecting this schema. The word is a portmanteau derived from list and article. lit’oral — of the seashore lit’urgy — any form of public worship litany — repetitive or incantatory recital literacy literati — literary intelligentsia lithe (liith) — readily bent; supple; effortless grace lithe’some — lithe; lissome litig’ious — tending to engage in lawsuits litmus test — test for chemical acidity or basicity using litmus paper; test that uses a single indicator to prompt a decision liv’id — discolored as from a bruise; extremely angry live load — moving, variable weight added to the dead load or intrinsic weight of a structure or vehicle live wire liven lixiv’iate — wash or percolate the soluble matter from lo’cum te’nens — physician or cleric who temporarily substitutes for another lo’cus — center of focus of great activity or intense concentration; the locus of power lo’ggia — open balcony in a theatre loathe lob’scouse — sailor’s stew made of meat, vegetables and hardtack lobster thermidor — lobster meat mixed with a cream sauce in a lobster shell, sprinkled with cheese and browned local color — interest or flavor of a locality imparted by the customs and sights peculiar to it localize lochia (lo’ke.a) — normal uterine discharge of blood, tissue and mucus from the vagina after childbirth locu’tion — style of speaking; phraseology lodestar — guiding principal, interest, ambition lodestone — one that attracts strongly; piece of magnetite that has magnetic properties and attracts iron or steel lodger lofty logarithm — power to which a base, usu. 10, must be raised to produce a given number. 10 to the third equals 1,000; therefore 10 log 1,000 equals 3 loge — front row of mezzanine in theatre logical logistics — management of the details of an operation logjam logorrhe’a — excessive use of words loiter lollapaloo’za — something outstanding of its kind lone wolf longevity longstanding longueur’ — tedious passage in a work of performing art or literature loom loose cannon loqua’cious Lor’elei — siren of Germanic legend whose singing lures sailors to shipwreck lore lorgnette’ — pair of eyeglasses or opera glasses with a short handle lorry — motor truck lothario lotus eater — gk. myth. One of a people described in the Odyssey who fed on the lotus and hence lived in a drugged, indolent state; lazy person devoted to pleasure and luxury louche — of questionable taste or morality Louis Quatorze — of or relating to barouque style in architecture Louis Quinze — rococo style in arch Louis Seize — neoclassic style Louis Treize — late-Renaissance style loupgarou (loo.ge.roo’) — werewolf louse louver — framed opening as in a door fitted with horizontal slats for admitting air and light and shedding rain; one of the slats used in such an opening lovage — plant having small aromatic seedlike fruit used as seasoning love-in-a-mist — mediterrainean plant having blue or whitish flowers surrounded by threadlike bracts loving cup — ornamental wine vessel, usu. made of silver and having two or more handles lowbrow low density — low concentration lowest common denominator — accepted by majority of people low-key low profile lubri’cious — having a slippery or smooth qulity lucarne’ — dormer window lu’cent — giving off light lucid lucifer lucin’a — midwife, latin, goddess of childbirth lucrative lu’cubrate — to write in a scholarly fashion; produce scholarship lud’dite — one who opposes technical change lu’dic — or or relating to play or playfulness ludicrous lues (loo’ez) — syphilis luff — act of sailing closer into the wind; forward side of a fore-and-aft sail loss leader — commodity offered by retail store at cost or below cost to attract customers lugu’brious — mournful, dismal luminance luminary luminescence lum’mox — clumsy person lunacy lunatic fringe — extremist, irrational members of society lurid — gruesome, sensational lurk luscious lush luster lu’sus natu’rae — freak or sport of nature lu’teous — color, of light or moderate greenish yellow luxuriate lycan’thropy (li) — folklore, the magical ability to assume the form and characteristics of a wolf lyce’um — hall for public lectures, concerts, etc. lycee (le.sa’) — fr. public secondary school lyme disease transmitted by ticks, rash followed by flulike symptoms, fever, joint pain and headache lyonnaise’ — cooked with onions Ly.sip’pus — greek sculptor who created figures that were more lifelike than traditional forms (4thC BC) |
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