Lead"man (?), n.; pl. Leadmen (&?;). One who leads a dance.[Obs.] B.
Jonson.
Leads"man (?), n.; pl. Leadsmen (&?;). (Naut.) The man who heaves the
lead. Totten.
Lead"wort` (?), n. (Bot.) A genus of maritime herbs (Plumbago). P.
Europæa has lead-colored spots on the leaves, and nearly lead-colored
flowers.
Lead"y (?), a. Resembling lead. Sir T. Elyot.
Leaf (lf), n.; pl. Leaves (lvz). [OE. leef, lef, leaf, AS. leáf; akin
to S. lf, OFries. laf, D. loof foliage, G. laub, OHG. loub leaf,
foliage, Icel. lauf, Sw. löf, Dan. löv, Goth. laufs; cf. Lith. lapas.
Cf. Lodge.] 1. (Bot.) A colored, usually green, expansion growing from
the side of a stem or rootstock, in which the sap for the use of the
plant is elaborated under the influence of light; one of the parts of a
plant which collectively constitute its foliage.
Such leaves usually consist of a blade, or lamina , supported upon a
leafstalk or petiole, which, continued through the blade as the midrib,
gives off woody ribs and veins that support the cellular texture. The
petiole has usually some sort of an appendage on each side of its base,
which is called the stipule. The green parenchyma of the leaf is
covered with a thin epiderm pierced with closable microscopic openings,
known as stomata.
2. (Bot.) A special organ of vegetation in the form of a lateral
outgrowth from the stem, whether appearing as a part of the foliage, or
as a cotyledon, a scale, a bract, a spine, or a tendril.
In this view every part of a plant, except the root and the stem, is
either a leaf, or is composed of leaves more or less modified and
transformed.
3. Something which is like a leaf in being wide and thin and having a
flat surface, or in being attached to a larger body by one edge or end;
as : (a) A part of a book or folded sheet containing two pages upon its
opposite sides. (b) A side, division, or part, that slides or is
hinged, as of window shutters, folding doors, etc. (c) The movable side
of a table. (d) A very thin plate; as, gold leaf. (e) A portion of fat
lying in a separate fold or layer. (f) One of the teeth of a pinion,
especially when small.
Leaf beetle (Zoöl.), any beetle which feeds upon leaves; esp., any
species of the family Chrysomelidæ, as the potato beetle and helmet
beetle. -- Leaf bridge, a draw-bridge having a platform or leaf which
swings vertically on hinges. -- Leaf bud (Bot.), a bud which develops
into leaves or a leafy branch. -- Leaf butterfly (Zoöl.), any butterfly
which, in the form and colors of its wings, resembles the leaves of
plants upon which it rests; esp., butterflies of the genus Kallima,
found in Southern Asia and the East Indies. -- Leaf crumpler (Zoöl.), a
small moth (Phycis indigenella), the larva of which feeds upon leaves
of the apple tree, and forms its nest by crumpling and fastening leaves
together in clusters. -- Leaf cutter (Zoöl.) , any one of various
species of wild bees of the genus Megachile, which cut rounded pieces
from the edges of leaves, or the petals of flowers, to be used in the
construction of their nests, which are made in holes and crevices, or
in a leaf rolled up for the purpose. Among the common American species
are M. brevis and M. centuncularis. Called also rose- cutting bee. --
Leaf fat, the fat which lies in leaves or layers within the body of an
animal. -- Leaf flea (Zoöl.), a jumping plant louse of the family
Psyllidæ. -- Leaf frog (Zoöl.), any tree frog of the genus
Phyllomedusa. -- Leaf green.(Bot.) See Chlorophyll. -- Leaf hopper
(Zoöl.), any small jumping hemipterous insect of the genus Tettigonia,
and allied genera. They live upon the leaves and twigs of plants. See
Live hopper. -- Leaf insect (Zoöl.), any one of several genera and
species of orthopterous insects, esp. of the genus Phyllium, in which
the wings, and sometimes the legs, resemble leaves in color and form.
They are common in Southern Asia and the East Indies. -- Leaf lard,
lard from leaf fat. See under Lard. -- Leaf louse (Zoöl.), an aphid. --
Leaf metal, metal in thin leaves, as gold, silver, or tin. -- Leaf
miner (Zoöl.), any one of various small lepidopterous and dipterous
insects, which, in the larval stages, burrow in and eat the parenchyma
of leaves; as, the pear-tree leaf miner (Lithocolletis geminatella). --
Leaf notcher (Zoöl.), a pale bluish green beetle (Artipus Floridanus),
which, in Florida, eats the edges of the leaves of orange trees. --
Leaf roller (Zoöl.), the larva of any tortricid moth which makes a nest
by rolling up the leaves of plants. See Tortrix. - - Leaf scar (Bot.),
the cicatrix on a stem whence a leaf has fallen. -- Leaf sewer (Zoöl.),
a tortricid moth, whose caterpillar makes a nest by rolling up a leaf
and fastening the edges together with silk, as if sewn; esp.,
Phoxopteris nubeculana, which feeds upon the apple tree. -- Leaf sight,
a hinged sight on a firearm, which can be raised or folded down. --
Leaf trace (Bot.), one or more fibrovascular bundles, which may be
traced down an endogenous stem from the base of a leaf. -- Leaf tier
(Zoöl.), a tortricid moth whose larva makes a nest by fastening the
edges of a leaf together with silk; esp., Teras cinderella, found on
the apple tree. -- Leaf valve, a valve which moves on a hinge. -- Leaf
wasp (Zoöl.), a sawfly. - - To turn over a new leaf, to make a radical
change for the better in one's way of living or doing. [Colloq.]
They were both determined to turn over a new leaf.
Richardson.
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Leaf (lf), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Leafed (lft); p. pr. & vb. n. Leafing.]
To shoot out leaves; to produce leaves; to leave; as, the trees leaf in
May. Sir T. Browne.
Leaf"age (?), n. Leaves, collectively; foliage.
Leaf"cup` (?), n. (Bot.) A coarse American composite weed (Polymnia
Uvedalia).
Leafed (?), a. Having (such) a leaf or (so many) leaves; -- used in
composition; as, broad- leafed; four-leafed.
Leaf"et (?), n. (Bot.) A leaflet.
Leaf"-foot`ed (?), a. (Zoöl.) Having leaflike expansions on the legs;
-- said of certain insects; as, the leaf-footed bug (Leptoglossus
phyllopus).
Leaf"i*ness (?), n. The state of being leafy.
Leaf"less, a. Having no leaves or foliage; bearing no foliage.
"Leafless groves." Cowper. -- Leaf"less*ness, n.
Leafless plants, plants having no foliage, though leaves may be present
in the form of scales and bracts. See Leaf, n., 1 and 2.
Leaf"let (?), n. 1. A little leaf; also, a little printed leaf or a
tract.