-- Lep"rous*ly, adv. -- Lep"rous*ness, n.
Lep"ry (-r), n. Leprosy. [Obs.] Holland.
Lep"ti*form (-t*fôrm), a. [Leptus + -form.] (Zoöl.) Having a form
somewhat like leptus; -- said of active insect larvæ having three pairs
of legs. See Larva.
||Lep`to*car"di*a (lp`t*kär"d*), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. lepto`s small +
||kardi`a the heart.] (Zoöl.) The lowest class of Vertebrata, including
||only the Amphioxus. The heart is represented only by a simple
||pulsating vessel. The blood is colorless; the brain, renal organs,
||and limbs are wanting, and the backbone is represented only by a
||simple, unsegmented notochord. See Amphioxus. [Written also
||Leptocardii.]
||
Lep`to*car"di*an (-an), a. (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to the Leptocardia.
-- n. One of the Leptocardia.
Lep`to*dac"tyl (-dk"tl), n. [Gr. lepto`s small, thin + da`ktylos
finger, toe.] (Zoöl.) A bird or other animal having slender toes.
[Written also lepodactyle.]
Lep`to*dac"tyl*ous (-s), a. Having slender toes.
Lep*tol"o*gy (lp*tl"*j), n. [Gr. leptologi`a; lepto`s small, subtile +
lo`gos discourse.] A minute and tedious discourse on trifling things.
||Lep`to*men`in*gi"tis (lp`t*mn`n*j"ts), n. [NL., fr. Gr. lepto`s small
||+ meningitis.] (Med.) Inflammation of the pia mater or of the
||arachnoid membrane.
||
Lep"to*rhine (lp"t*rn or *rn), a. [Gr. lepto`s small + "ri`s, "rino`s,
the nose.] (Anat.) Having the nose narrow; -- said esp. of the skull.
Opposed to platyrhine.
||Lep*tos"tra*ca (lp*ts"tr*k), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. lepto`s thin,
||slender + 'o`strakon shell of a testacean.] (Zoöl.) An order of
||Crustacea, including Nebalia and allied forms.
||
||Lep"to*thrix (lp"t*thrks), n. [NL., fr. Gr. lepto`s small + qri`x
||hair.] (Biol.) A genus of bacteria, characterized by having their
||filaments very long, slender, and indistinctly articulated.
||
||Lep"to*thrix, a. [See Leptothrix, n. ] (Biol.) Having the form of a
||little chain; -- applied to bacteria when, as in multiplication by
||fission, they form a chain of filiform individuals.
||
||Lep"tus (lp"ts), n. [NL., from Gr. lepto`s thin, small.] (Zoöl.) The
||six-legged young, or larva, of certain mites; -- sometimes used as a
||generic name. See Harvest mite, under Harvest.
||
Lep"ty*nite (lp"t*nt), n. (Min.) See Granulite.
Lere (lr), n. [See Lore knowledge.] Learning; lesson; lore. [Obs.]
Spenser.
Lere, v. t. & i. [OE. leeren, leren, AS. lran. See Lore, Learn.] To
learn; to teach. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Lere, a. Empty. [Obs.] See Leer, a.
Lere, n. [AS. lira flesh; cf. Icel. lær thigh.] Flesh; skin. [Obs.]
"His white leer." Chaucer.
Ler"ed (lr"d), a. [From lere, v. t.] Learned. [Obs.] " Lewed man or
lered." Chaucer.
||Ler*næ"a (lr*n"), n. [NL., fr. L. Lernaeus Lernæan, fr. Lerna, Gr.
||Le`rnh, a forest and marsh near Argos, the mythological abode of the
||hydra.] (Zoöl.) A Linnæan genus of parasitic Entomostraca, -- the
||same as the family Lernæidæ.
||
The genus is restricted by modern zoölogists to a limited number of
species similar to Lernæa branchialis found on the gills of the cod.
||Ler`næ*a"ce*a (lr`n*"sh*), n. pl. [NL. See Lernæa.] (Zoöl.) A
||suborder of copepod Crustacea, including a large number of remarkable
||forms, mostly parasitic on fishes. The young, however, are active and
||swim freely. See Illustration in Appendix.
||
Ler*ne"an (lr*n"an), n. [See Lernæa.] (Zoöl.) One of a family
(Lernæidæ) of parasitic Crustacea found attached to fishes and other
marine animals. Some species penetrate the skin and flesh with the
elongated head, and feed on the viscera. See Illust. in Appendix.
||Lé`rot" (l`r"), n. [F.] (Zoöl.) A small European rodent (Eliomys
||nitela), allied to the dormouse.
||
Les (ls), n. A leash. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Les"bi*an (ls"b*an), a. Of or pertaining to the island anciently called
Lesbos, now Mitylene, in the Grecian Archipelago.
Lese (lz), v. t. To lose. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Lese`-maj"es*ty (-mj"s*t), n. See Leze majesty.
Le"sion (l"zhn), n. [F. lésion, L. laesio, fr. laedere, laesum, to
hurt, injure.] A hurt; an injury. Specifically: (a) (Civil Law) Loss
sustained from failure to fulfill a bargain or contract. Burrill. (b)
(Med.) Any morbid change in the exercise of functions or the texture of
organs. Dunglison.
-less (-ls). [AS. leás loose, false; akin to OS. ls loose, false, D.
los loose, loos false, sly, G. los loose, Icel. lauss loose, vacant,
Goth. laus empty, vain, and also to E. loose, lose. √127. See
Lose, and cf. Loose, Leasing.] A privative adjective suffix, denoting
without, destitute of, not having; as witless, childless, fatherless.
Less (ls), conj. Unless. [Obs.] B. Jonson.
Less, a. [OE. lesse, AS. lssa; akin to OFries. lssa; a compar. from a
lost positive form. Cf. Lesser, Lest, Least. Less has the sense of the
comparative degree of little.] Smaller; not so large or great; not so
much; shorter; inferior; as, a less quantity or number; a horse of less
size or value; in less time than before.
The substantive which less qualifies is often omitted; as, the purse
contained less (money) than ten dollars. See Less, n.
Thus in less [time] than a hundred years from the coming of
Augustine, all England became Christian.
E. A. Freeman.
Less, adv. [AS. ls. See Less, adj., and cf. Lest.] Not so much; in a
smaller or lower degree; as, less bright or loud; less beautiful.
Less, n. 1. A smaller portion or quantity.
The children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less.
Ex. xvi. 17.