LEWD, l[=u]d, or l[=oo]d, _adj._ lustful: unchaste: debauched: ignorant,
vicious, or bad, so in _B._--_adv._ LEWD'LY.--_ns._ LEWD'NESS; LEWD'STER,
one addicted to lewdness. [A.S. _l['æ]wede_, ignorant, belonging to the
laity, the pa.p. of the verb _l['æ]wan_, to weaken.]
LEWIS, l[=u]'is, _n._ a contrivance for securing a hold on a block of stone
to allow of its being raised by a derrick.--Also LEW'ISSON. [Ety. dub.]
LEXICON, leks'i-kon, _n._ a word-book or dictionary.--_adj._ LEX'ICAL,
belonging to a lexicon.--_adv._ LEX'ICALLY.--_n._ LEXICOG'RAPHER, one
skilled in lexicography.--_adjs._ LEXICOGRAPH'IC, -AL.--_ns._
LEXICOG'RAPHIST, LEXICOL'OGIST, one skilled in lexicology; LEXICOG'RAPHY,
the art of compiling a dictionary; LEXICOL'OGY, that branch of philology
which treats of the proper signification and use of words.--_adjs._
LEXIGRAPH'IC, -AL, pertaining to lexigraphy.--_n._ LEXIG'RAPHY, the art of
defining words. [Gr.,--_lexis_, a word, _legein_, to speak.]
LEY, l[=e], _n._ Same as LEA.
LEYDEN JAR, l[=i]'den jär, _n._ a form of condenser for statical
electricity, a glass jar coated inside and outside with tinfoil for
two-thirds of its height, the inner coating connected with a metallic knob
at the top of the jar, usually by means of a loose chain.
LHERZOLITE, ler'z[=o]-l[=i]t, _n._ an igneous rock, consisting of a
granular aggregate of olivine, pyroxene, enstatite, and picotite. [From
Lake _Lherz_.]
LI, l[=e], _n._ a Chinese weight, equal to the one-thousandth of a liang or
ounce, and nominally to the Japanese _rin_: a Chinese mile, equal to rather
more than one-third of an English mile. [Chinese.]
LIABLE, l[=i]'a-bl, _adj._ able to be bound or obliged: responsible:
tending to: subject: (_Shak._) exposed: suitable.--_ns._ LIABIL'ITY, state
of being liable: that for which one is liable, an obligation, debt, &c.;
L[=I]'ABLENESS, state of being liable.--EMPLOYERS' LIABILITY ACT, an
enactment (1880) making employers answerable to their servants for the
negligence of those to whom they have delegated their authority; LIMITED
LIABILITY, a principle of modern statute law which attempts to limit the
responsibilities of shareholders in a partnership, joint-stock company,
&c., by the extent of their personal interest therein. [Fr. _lier_--L.
_lig[=a]re_, to bind.]
LIAISON, l[=e]-[=a]-zong', _n._ union, or bond of union: connection, esp.
if illicit between the sexes: in French, the linking in pronunciation of a
final consonant to the succeeding word, when that begins with a vowel.
[Fr.--L. _ligation-em_--_lig[=a]re_, to bind.]
LIANA, li-an'a, _n._ a general name for the woody, climbing, and twining
plants in tropical forests. [Fr. _liane_--_lier_, to bind--L. _lig[=a]re_,
to bind.]
LIANG, lyang, _n._ a Chinese ounce or tael, reckoned as one-third heavier
than the ounce avoirdupois.