Lit"er*a*ture (lt"r**tr; 135), n. [F. littérature, L. litteratura,
literatura, learning, grammar, writing, fr. littera, litera, letter.
See Letter.] 1. Learning; acquaintance with letters or books.
2. The collective body of literary productions, embracing the entire
results of knowledge and fancy preserved in writing; also, the whole
body of literary productions or writings upon a given subject, or in
reference to a particular science or branch of knowledge, or of a given
country or period; as, the literature of Biblical criticism; the
literature of chemistry.
3. The class of writings distinguished for beauty of style or
expression, as poetry, essays, or history, in distinction from
scientific treatises and works which contain positive knowledge;
belles-lettres.
4. The occupation, profession, or business of doing literary work.
Lamb.
Syn. -- Science; learning; erudition; belles-lettres. See Science. --
Literature, Learning, Erudition. Literature, in its widest sense,
embraces all compositions in writing or print which preserve the
results of observation, thought, or fancy; but those upon the positive
sciences (mathematics, etc.) are usually excluded. It is often
confined, however, to belles-lettres, or works of taste and sentiment,
as poetry, eloquence, history, etc., excluding abstract discussions and
mere erudition. A man of literature (in this narrowest sense) is one
who is versed in belles-lettres; a man of learning excels in what is
taught in the schools, and has a wide extent of knowledge, especially
in respect to the past; a man of erudition is one who is skilled in the
more recondite branches of learned inquiry.
The origin of all positive science and philosophy, as well as of
all literature and art, in the forms in which they exist in
civilized Europe, must be traced to the Greeks.
Sir G. C. Lewis.
Learning thy talent is, but mine is sense.
Prior.
Some gentlemen, abounding in their university erudition, fill their
sermons with philosophical terms.
Swift.
||Lit`e*ra"tus (lt`*r"ts), n.; pl. Literati (- t). [L. litteratus,
||literatus.] A learned man; a man acquainted with literature; --
||chiefly used in the plural.
||
Now we are to consider that our bright ideal of a literatus may
chance to be maimed.
De Quincey.
{ -lith (-lth), -lite (-lt). } Combining forms fr. Gr. li`qos, a stone;
-- used chiefly in naming minerals and rocks.
Lith (lth), obs. 3d pers. sing. pres. of Lie, to recline, for lieth.
Chaucer.
Lith (lth), n. [AS. lið.] A joint or limb; a division; a member; a part
formed by growth, and articulated to, or symmetrical with, other parts.
Chaucer.
||Li*thæ"mi*a (l*th"m*), n. [NL., fr. Gr. li`qos stone + a"i^ma blood.]
||(Med.) A condition in which uric (lithic) acid is present in the
||blood.
||
Lith"a*gogue (lth"*gg), n. [Gr. li`qos stone + 'agwgo`s leading.]
(Med.) A medicine having, or supposed to have, the power of expelling
calculous matter with the urine. Hooper.
Lith"arge (lth"rj), n. [OE. litarge, F. litharge, L. lithargyrus, Gr.
liqa`rgyros the scum or foam of silver; li`qos stone + 'a`rgyros
silver. Litharge is found in silverbearing lead ore.] (Chem.) Lead
monoxide; a yellowish red substance, obtained as an amorphous powder,
or crystallized in fine scales, by heating lead moderately in a current
of air or by calcining lead nitrate or carbonate. It is used in making
flint glass, in glazing earthenware, in making red lead or minium, etc.
Called also massicot.
||Li*thar"gy*rum (l*thär"j*rm), n. [NL. See Litharge.] (Old Chem.)
||Crystallized litharge, obtained by fusion in the form of fine yellow
||scales.
||
Lith"ate (lth"t), n. (Old Med. Chem.) A salt of lithic or uric acid; a
urate. [Obs.] [Written also lithiate.]
Lithe (l), v. t. & i. [Icel hlða. See Listen.] To listen or listen to;
to hearken to. [Obs.] P. Plowman.
Lithe, a. [AS. lðe, for linðe tender, mild, gentle; akin to G. lind,
gelind, OHG. lindi, Icel. linr, L. lenis soft, mild, lentus flexible,
and AS. linnan to yield. Cf. Lenient.] 1. Mild; calm; as, lithe
weather. [Obs.]
2. Capable of being easily bent; pliant; flexible; limber; as, the
elephant's lithe proboscis. Milton.
Lithe, v. t. [AS. lðian. See Lithe, a.] To smooth; to soften; to
palliate. [Obs.]
Lithe"ly, adv. In a lithe, pliant, or flexible manner.
Lithe"ness, n. The quality or state of being lithe; flexibility;
limberness.
Li"ther (l"r), a. [AS. lðer bad, wicked.] Bad; wicked; false;
worthless; slothful. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Not lither in business, fervent in spirit.
Bp. Woolton.
Professor Skeat thinks " the lither sky" as found in Shakespeare's
Henry VI. (Part I. IV. VII., 21) means the stagnant or pestilential
sky.
-- Li"ther*ly, adv. [Obs.]. -- Li"ther*ness, n. [Obs.]
Li"ther*ly, a. Crafty; cunning; mischievous; wicked; treacherous;
lazy.[Archaic]
He [the dwarf] was waspish, arch, and litherly.
Sir W. Scott.
Lithe"some (l"sm), a. [See Lithe, a., and cf. Lissom.] Pliant; limber;
flexible; supple; nimble; lissom.
-- Lithe"some*ness, n.
Lith"i*a (lth"*), n. [NL., from Gr. li`qos stone.] (Chem.) The oxide of
lithium; a strong alkaline caustic similar to potash and soda, but
weaker. See Lithium.
Lithia emerald. See Hiddenite.
||Li*thi"a*sis (l*th"*ss), n. [NL., fr. Gr. liqi`asis, fr. li`qos
||stone.] (Med.) The formation of stony concretions or calculi in any
||part of the body, especially in the bladder and urinary passages.
||Dunglison.
||
Lith"ic (lth"k), a. [Gr. liqiko`s of or belonging to stones, fr. li`qos
stone: cf. F. lithique.] 1. Of or pertaining to stone; as, lithic
architecture.
2. (Med.) Pertaining to the formation of uric-acid concretions (stone)
in the bladder and other parts of the body; as, lithic diathesis.
Lithic acid (Old Med. Chem.), uric acid. See Uric acid, under Uric.
lith"ic, n. (Med.) A medicine which tends to prevent stone in the
bladder.
Lith"ic, a. [From Lithium.] (Chem.) Pertaining to or denoting lithium
or some of its compounds. Frankland.
Lith`i*oph"i*lite (lth`*f"*lt), n. [Lithium + Gr. fi`los friend.]
(Min.) A phosphate of manganese and lithium; a variety of triphylite.
<! p. 860 !>
Lith"i*um (lth"*m), n. [NL., from Gr. li`qeios of stone, fr. li`qos
stone.] (Chem.) A metallic element of the alkaline group, occurring in
several minerals, as petalite, spodumene, lepidolite, triphylite, etc.,
and otherwise widely disseminated, though in small quantities.
When isolated it is a soft, silver white metal, tarnishing and
oxidizing very rapidly in the air. It is the lightest solid element
known, specific gravity being 0.59. Symbol Li. Atomic weight 7.0 So
called from having been discovered in a mineral.
Lith"o (lth") A combining form from Gr. li`qos, stone.
Lith`o*bil"ic (-bl"k), a. [Litho + bile.] (Chem.) Pertaining to or
designating an organic acid of the tartaric acid series, distinct from
lithofellic acid, but, like it, obtained from certain bile products, as
bezoar stones.
Lith"o*carp (lth"*kärp), n. [Litho- + Gr. karpo`s fruit: cf. F.
lithocarpe.] (Paleon.) Fossil fruit; a fruit petrified; a carpolite.
Lith`o*chro*mat"ics (-kr*mt"ks), n. See Lithochromics.
Lith`o*chro"mics (-kr"mks), n. [Litho- + Gr. chrw^ma color.] The art of
printing colored pictures on canvas from oil paintings on stone.
Lith"o*clast (lth"*klst), n. [Litho- + Gr. kla^n to break.] (Surg.) An
instrument for crushing stones in the bladder.
Lith"o*cyst (lth"*sst), n. [Litho- + cyst.] (Zoöl.) A sac containing
small, calcareous concretions (otoliths). They are found in many
Medusæ, and other invertebrates, and are supposed to be auditory
organs.
Lith"o*dome (-dm), n. [Litho- + Gr. do`mos house: cf. F. lithodome.]
(Zoöl.) Any one of several species of bivalves, which form holes in
limestone, in which they live; esp., any species of the genus
Lithodomus.
Li*thod"o*mous (?), a. (Zoöl.) Like, or pertaining to, Lithodomus;
lithophagous.
||Li*thod"o*mus (?), n. [NL. See Lithodome.] (Zoöl.) A genus of
||elongated bivalve shells, allied to the mussels, and remarkable for
||their ability to bore holes for shelter, in solid limestone, shells,
||etc. Called also Lithophagus.
||
These holes are at first very small and shallow, but are enlarged with
the growth of the shell, sometimes becoming two or three inches deep
and nearly an inch diameter.
Lith"o*fel"lic (?), a. [Litho- + L. fel, fellis, gall.] (Physiol.
Chem.) Pertaining to, or designating, a crystalline, organic acid,
resembling cholic acid, found in the biliary intestinal concretions
(bezoar stones) common in certain species of antelope.
||Lith`o*frac"teur (?), n. [F., fr. li`qos stone + L. frangere,
||fractum, to break.] An explosive compound of nitroglycerin. See
||Nitroglycerin.
||
Lith`o*gen"e*sy (?), n. [Litho- Gr. ge`nesis origin, generation: cf. F.
lithogénésie. See Genesis.] The doctrine or science of the origin of
the minerals composing the globe.
Li*thog"e*nous (l*thj"*ns), a. [Litho- + -genous.] Stone- producing; --
said of polyps which form coral.
Lith"o*glyph (lth"*glf), n. [Gr. liqoglyfi`a; li`qos stone + gly`fein
to engrave.] An engraving on a gem.
Li*thog"ly*pher (l*thg"l*fr), n. One who curs or engraves precious
stones.
Lith`o*glyph"ic (lth`*glf"k), a. Of or pertaining to the art of cutting
and engraving precious stones.
Lith`o*glyp"tics (-glp"tks), n. The art of cutting and engraving gems.
Lith"o*graph (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Lithographed (?); p. pr. & vb. n.
Lithographing (?).] [Litho- + - graph: cf. F. lithographier.] To trace
on stone by the process of lithography so as to transfer the design to
paper by printing; as, to lithograph a design; to lithograph a
painting. See Lithography.
Lith"o*graph, n. A print made by lithography.
Li*thog"ra*pher (l*thg"r*fr), n. One who lithographs; one who practices
lithography.
{ Lith`o*graph"ic (?), Lith`o*graph"ic*al (?), } a. [Cf. F.
lithographique.] Of or pertaining to lithography; made by lithography;
as, the lithographic art; a lithographic picture.
Lithographic limestone (Min.), a compact, fine-grained limestone,
obtained largely from the Lias and Oölite, esp. of Bavaria, and
extensively used in lithography.
-- Lith`o*graph"ic*al*ly, adv.
Li*thog"ra*phy (?), n. [Cf. F. lithographie.] The art or process of
putting designs or writing, with a greasy material, on stone, and of
producing printed impressions therefrom. The process depends, in the
main, upon the antipathy between grease and water, which prevents a
printing ink containing oil from adhering to wetted parts of the stone
not covered by the design. See Lithographic limestone, under
Lithographic.
{ Lith"oid (?) Li*thoid"al (?), } a. [Litho- + -oid: cf. F. lithoïde.]
Like a stone; having a stony structure.
Li*thol"a*try (?), n. [Litho- + Gr. &?; worship.] The worship of a
stone or stones.
{ Lith`o*log"ic (?), Lith`o*log"ic*al (?), } a. [Cf. F. lithologique.]
1. (Geol.) Of or pertaining to the character of a rock, as derived from
the nature and mode of aggregation of its mineral contents.