Syn. -- Loose; slack; vague; unconfined; unrestrained; dissolute;
licentious.
Lax, n. A looseness; diarrhea.
Lax*a"tion (?), n. [L. laxatio, fr. laxare to loosen, fr. laxus loose,
slack.] The act of loosening or slackening, or the state of being
loosened or slackened.
Lax"a*tive (?), a. [L. laxativus mitigating, assuaging: cf. F. laxatif.
See Lax, a.] 1. Having a tendency to loosen or relax. Milton.
2. (Med.) Having the effect of loosening or opening the intestines, and
relieving from constipation; -- opposed to astringent. -- n. (Med.) A
laxative medicine. See the Note under Cathartic.
Lax"a*tive*ness, n. The quality of being laxative.
||Lax*a"tor (?), n. [NL., fr. L. laxare, laxatum, to loosen.] (Anat.)
||That which loosens; -- esp., a muscle which by its contraction
||loosens some part.
||
Lax"i*ty (lks"*t), n. [L. laxitas, fr. laxus loose, slack: cf. F.
laxité, See Lax, a.] The state or quality of being lax; want of
tenseness, strictness, or exactness.
Lax"ly, adv. In a lax manner.
Lax"ness, n. The state of being lax; laxity.
Lay (?), imp. of Lie, to recline.
Lay, a. [F. lai, L. laicus, Gr. &?; of or from the people, lay, from
&?;, &?;, people. Cf. Laic.] 1. Of or pertaining to the laity, as
distinct from the clergy; as, a lay person; a lay preacher; a lay
brother.