=Lamm=, to beat, is not spelled lăm nor lămb.
=Lapel=--la-pĕl´, not lăp´el. That part of a coat which
laps over the facing.
=Lariat=--lăr´i-at, not lā´ri-at. A lasso.
=Lay=. This word in the sense here considered is a transitive
verb, or one in which the action or state implied by the verb,
passes over to an object. The present tense is _lay_; the
imperfect tense and past participle are _laid_; and the present
participle _laying_. Requiring an object in each of the various
meanings attached to it, it is proper to say: "The hen _lays_
an egg every day;" "The man _laid_ his load on the ground;"
"The rain has _laid_ the dust;" "The hunter is _laying_ a
snare." The verb _lie_ is an _intransitive_ verb and can have
_no object_ after it. The present tense is _lie_; the imperfect
tense is _lay_; the past participle is _lain_; the present
participle is _lying_. Having no objective case to which the
action or state passes over, it is correct to say: "Ohio _lies_
north of Kentucky;" "The sick man _lay_ upon the bed
yesterday;" "He has _lain_ there helpless for weeks;" "The
goods I bought are _lying_ on my hands." Contrasting the
sentences under each verb it will be readily seen that Ohio
does not _lie_ Kentucky, but the hen _lays_ the egg; the
invalid did not _lay_ the bed like the man _laid_ his load; he
has not _lain_ anything, as the rain has _laid_ the dust; and
the goods are not _lying_ anything, as the hunter is _laying_
the snare. If the foregoing differences have been carefully
observed, I imagine that it will always be easy to select the
proper word by remembering the following rules:
1. If the person or thing spoken of exerts an action that
must pass over to an object, use _lay_, _laid_ and _laying_.
2. If the person or thing spoken of exerts an action that
does not pass over to an object, use _lie_, _lay_, _lain_
and _lying_.
"He _laid_ upon the bed," then, is incorrect, for the verb has no
object. It should be: "He _lay_ upon the bed." But, "He _laid
himself_ upon the bed," would be correct, for there is an
objective case, _himself_, supplied. "Let these papers _lay_,"
should be, "Let these papers _lie_." "The ship _lays_ at
anchor," should be, "The ship _lies_ at anchor." "The ship
_laid_ at anchor," should be, "The ship _lay_ at anchor." "They
have _laid_ in wait for you," should be, "They have _lain_ in
wait for you." "This trunk is _laying_ in our way," should be,
"This trunk is _lying_ in our way." Errors connected with the
use of these verbs are more common, probably, than any others
in our language, being detected in the conversation and
writings of many of the best educated people. Attention to the
above rules, and a few trial sentences in the different moods,
tenses, numbers and persons, ought to make the selection of the
proper word so simple, that persons should seldom make mistakes.
=Learn.= _Learning_ is done by the scholar or student, and
_teaching_ by the instructor. "She will _learn_ me how to
play," should be, "She will _teach_ me how to play," etc.
=Leasing=--leez´ing, not lēs´ing. An obsolete word meaning
falsehood; lying. "Thou shalt destroy them that speak
leasing."--_Bible._
=Leg.= Of late years there has become quite popular a prudish
notion that it is indelicate to say _leg_ when one of the limbs
that supports the human body is meant, _limb_ being preferred
instead. _Leg_ is certainly a less euphonious word than _limb_,
and if the latter had the same signification attached to it,
there would be no objection to its employment; but _limb_ means
_arm_ just as much as it does _leg_. There is nothing immodest in
the sound or meaning of the word _leg_; if there were, it would
be well to speak of the _limb_ of a table, a _limb_ of mutton, or
a three _limbed_ stool; and the mention of such words as _legacy_
or _legate_ should cause the blush to rise to our cheeks. The
very use of the word _limb_ indicates what is passing in the mind
of the speaker--a thought of _leg_, an indelicate meaning
attached to it, and a fear to speak the word. The mind of the
listener is affected similarly and the result is that a
conversation intended to be perfectly pure, has a slight stain
left upon it. If we could pass through life without ever finding
it necessary to speak of our legs to strangers, there would be no
danger of compromising ourselves; but run-away and other
accidents are constantly occurring in which legs are broken or
otherwise injured. When a surgeon is called, if he is told that a
_limb_ is injured, he has one chance in four of guessing the
riddle. It is not always safe to trifle thus with some of the
serious, practical old followers of Esculapius. Before now they
have given such rebukes as to make people ashamed that they did
not say _leg_ in the first place; or they have left the bedside
abruptly with such a remark as: "When you find out whether it is
your arm or your leg, send for me again." If people will persist
in using _limb_ for _leg_, it is to be hoped that they will adopt
some adjective prefix to remove all ambiguity. How would
north-east, south-east, etc., do? Any one informed that the
_south-east limb_ was fractured, would know at once that it was
the _right leg_.
=Legate=--lĕg´ate, not lē´gāte.
=Legendary=--lĕj´end-a-ry, not lē´jĕnd-a-ry.
=Leisure=--lē´zhur, not lĕzh´ur, nor lā´zhur.
=Leisurely= (lē´zhur-ly).
=Length=, not lĕnth. Every letter is sounded, also, in
=lengthy=, =lengthen=, =lengthiness=, etc.
=Lenient=--lē´ni-ent, not lĕn´i-ent. =Leniently=
(lē´ni-ent-ly), etc.
=Lethe=--lē´the, not lēth; the _th_ is as in _both_. The
mythological and poetical name of a river of the infernal
region, the drinking of a portion of which caused forgetfulness
of the past.
=Lethean=--lē-thē´an, not lē´the-an.
=Let's.= It should be remembered that _let's_ is really _let us_,
the apostrophe denoting the elision of the u. Such expressions
then as: "let's us go," "let's him and me go," should he, "let
us go" (or let's go), and "let him and me go;" for who wishes
to say "let us us go," or "let us him and me go."
=Leverage=--lĕv´er-aje, not lē´ver-aje.
=Licorice=--lĭk´o-rĭs, not lĭk´er-ĭsh.
=Lie.= See =Lay=.
=Lien=--lē´en or lī´en, not _leen_. A charge upon property
for the satisfaction of a debt.
=Lighted= is preferable to lĭt as the imperfect tense and past
participle of _light_. "He _lighted_ the gas," instead of, "He
_lit_ the gas." "I have _lighted_ the fire," instead of, "I
have _lit_ the fire." The same remarks apply to the imperfect
and participle of _light_ taken as an intransitive verb. "The
bird has _lighted_ upon the tree," instead of, "has _lit_ upon
the tree." _Lit_ is condemned as common.
=Lithographer=--lĭ-thog´ra-pher, not lĭth´o-grăph-er,
nor lī-thŏg´ra-pher. =Lithography=
(lĭ-thŏg´ra-phy).
=Loath=--lōth, not lŏth; the _th_ is as in _both_.
Reluctant. Written sometimes =loth=. The verb is =loathe=, with
the _th_ as in _breathe_.
=Lyceum=--lī-sē´um, not lī´se-um.