nandhakumarms/qualc-wiktionary-en huggingface dataset:
Word: lard Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English larden, from Old French larder and Medieval Latin lārdō. Pronunciation: /lɑːd/, /lɑɹd/, /lɐːd/ 1. To stuff (meat) with bacon or pork before cooking. 2. To smear with fat or lard. Example: In his buff doublet larded o'er with fat / Of slaughtered brutes. 3. To distribute, garnish or strew, especially with reference to fatty or greasy things or words or phrases in speech and writing. Example: The first notice came from — of course — a Trump tweet, after his meeting with Barr on the question of voter fraud allegations in the 2020 election. Barr made a point of noting the topic in his resignation letter, which was larded with slavish praise for the president's accomplishments in the face of what Barr called "relentless, implacable resistance." 4. To fatten; to enrich. Example: [The oak] with his nuts larded many swine. Example: Falstaff sweats to death, / And lards the lean earth as he walks along. 5. To mix or garnish with something, as by way of improvement; to interlard. Example: Larded with sweet flowers; Which bewept to the grave Example: Let no alien Sedley interpose / To lard with wit thy hungry Epsom prose. 6. To embellish with unnecessary frills; to pad. Example: Ultimately, the plans were rejected by Senate leadership, Cruz told reporters, after he and a number of others objected. "That proposal did not carry the day," Cruz said. "Those $350bn in tax increases are not in the bill ... and larding the bill up with new tax increases would have been going the wrong direction." Example: Volkswagen avoided the fins and other frills with which U.S. manufacturers larded their vehicles. Instead, the company and its advertising agency, Doyle Dane Bernbach, promoted "our philosophy of a car that doesn't change for the reason of change, only for the benefit of the consumer," Mr. Hahn said at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, in 2011. 7. To grow fat. Labels: intransitive, obsolete
Word: latch Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English lacchen (“to seize, catch, grasp”, verb), from Old English læċċan (“to grasp, take hold of, catch, seize”), from Proto-Germanic *lakjaną, *lakwijaną, *lakkijaną (“to seize”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)leh₂g-, *(s)leh₂gʷ- (“to take, seize”). Cognate with Middle Dutch lakken (“to grasp, catch”). Pronunciation: /læt͡ʃ/ 1. To close or lock as if with a latch. 2. To catch; lay hold of. Labels: transitive Example: Where hearing should not latch them. 3. To use a latch (kind of lightweight lock). 4. To connect to the breast.
Word: latch Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English latche, lacche (“a latch; a trap”), from lacchen (“to seize, catch, grasp”), from Old English læċċan (“to grasp, take hold of, catch, seize”). See above for more. Pronunciation: /læt͡ʃ/ 1. A fastening for a door that has a bar that fits into a notch or slot, and is lifted by a lever or string from either side. Example: The cleverly constructed latch which Clayton had made for the door had sprung as Kerchak passed out; nor could the apes find means of ingress through the heavily barred windows. 2. An electronic circuit that is like a flip-flop, except that it is level triggered instead of edge triggered. 3. A latching. Labels: obsolete 4. A crossbow. Labels: obsolete 5. That which fastens or holds; a lace; a snare. Labels: obsolete Example: Love will none other birde catch, Though he set either nette or latch 6. A breastfeeding baby's connection to the breast. 7. A lightweight lock to protect internal structures from being modified by multiple concurrent accesses.
Word: latch Part of Speech: verb Etymology: Compare French lécher (“to lick”). Pronunciation: /læt͡ʃ/ 1. To smear; to anoint. Labels: obsolete Example: But hast thou yet latch'd the Athenian's eyes With the love-juice , as I did bid thee do?
Word: laudable Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From Middle English laudable, from Old French laudable or directly from Latin laudabilis; equivalent to laud + -able. Pronunciation: /ˈlɔːdəbl/ 1. Worthy of being lauded. Example: Near-synonym: admirable Example: laudable motives 2. Healthful; having a disposition to promote healing. Labels: archaic Example: laudable juices of the body Example: laudable pus
Word: lawn Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Early Modern English laune (“turf, grassy area”), alteration of laund (“glade”), from Middle English launde, from Old French lande (“heath, moor”), of Germanic or Gaulish origin, from Proto-Germanic *landą (“land”) or Proto-Celtic *landā, both from Proto-Indo-European *lendʰ- (“land, heath”). Akin to Breton lann (“heath”), Old Norse & Old English land. Doublet of land and lande. Pronunciation: /lɔːn/, /loːn/, /lɔn/, /lɑn/, /lɑːn/ 1. Ground (generally in front of or around a house) covered with grass kept closely mown. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path[…]. It twisted and turned,[…]and opened out into a big clear space like a lawn. And, back of the lawn, was a big, old-fashioned house, with piazzas stretching in front of it, and all blazing with lights. 'Twas the house I'd seen the roof of from the beach. Example: (1) Higher rates for land uses which are a significant source of nutrient inputs to the Lakes, eg. turf farms. Or again, other things equal, high density housing with less lawn would be preferred to estates with medium density and rates structure could be adjusted accordingly. 2. An open space between woods. Labels: England, countable, historical, regional, uncountable 3. An overgrown agar culture, such that no separation between single colonies exists. Labels: countable, uncountable
Word: lawn Part of Speech: verb Etymology: Early Modern English laune (“turf, grassy area”), alteration of laund (“glade”), from Middle English launde, from Old French lande (“heath, moor”), of Germanic or Gaulish origin, from Proto-Germanic *landą (“land”) or Proto-Celtic *landā, both from Proto-Indo-European *lendʰ- (“land, heath”). Akin to Breton lann (“heath”), Old Norse & Old English land. Doublet of land and lande. Pronunciation: /lɔːn/, /loːn/, /lɔn/, /lɑn/, /lɑːn/ 1. To furnish with a lawn. Labels: transitive Example: By opening all the arches of the several apartments […], by lawning the area within, and by a judicious use of ivy where any blank spaces require to be broken, or any deformities concealed, this might be made a beautiful and singular scene; […]
Word: lawn Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Apparently from Laon, a French town known for its linen manufacturing, from Old French Lan, from Latin Laudunum, a Celtic name cognate with Lugdunum. Pronunciation: /lɔːn/, /loːn/, /lɔn/, /lɑn/, /lɑːn/ 1. A type of thin linen or cotton fabric tightly woven of fine threads. (Traditionally expensive and luxurious in centuries past.) Labels: uncountable Example: Two hundred Sempſtreſſes were employed to make me Shirts, and Linen for Bed and Table, all of the ſtrongeft and coarſeſt kind they could get; which, however, they were forced to quilt together in ſeveral Folds, for the thickeſt was ſome degrees finer than Lawn. Example: The stream had trickled over her chin and stained the purity of her lawn death robe. 2. Pieces of this fabric, especially as used for the sleeves of a bishop. Labels: countable, in-plural, uncountable 3. A piece of clothing made from lawn. Labels: countable, obsolete Example: […] she was as the wild yoncopin to the calla lily. Marjie knew how to dress. To-day, shaded by the buggy-top, in her dainty light blue lawn, with the soft pink of her cheeks and her clear white brow and throat, she was a most delicious thing […]
Word: leech Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English leche (“blood-sucking worm”), from Old English lǣċe (“blood-sucking worm”), akin to Middle Dutch lāke ("blood-sucking worm"; > modern Dutch laak). Pronunciation: /ˈliːt͡ʃ/, [ˈlɪi̯t͡ʃ] 1. A typically aquatic blood-sucking annelid of the subclass Hirudinea, especially Hirudo medicinalis. Example: The leech on his leg had swelled to more than five inches long, puffed and swollen on his blood. 2. A person who derives advantage from others in a parasitic fashion. Labels: figuratively Example: 'Wrecked his body and his mind, no use to hisself or his family or nobody, just a leech on society'. Example: At this point, I felt this man was a leech. I suspected that he had spent a lifetime living off the good will of women that he met. 3. A glass tube designed for drawing blood from damaged tissue by means of a vacuum. Labels: dated
Word: leech Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English leche (“blood-sucking worm”), from Old English lǣċe (“blood-sucking worm”), akin to Middle Dutch lāke ("blood-sucking worm"; > modern Dutch laak). Pronunciation: /ˈliːt͡ʃ/, [ˈlɪi̯t͡ʃ] 1. To apply a leech medicinally, so that it sucks blood from the patient. Labels: literally, transitive Example: This had to be leeched, and lanced, and doctored with ointments and poultices for several weeks, till I was almost driven to despair, - for the weather was at length fine, and I was tantalized by seeing grand butterflies flying past my door, and thinking of the twenty or thirty new species of insects that I ought to be getting every day. Example: The poppy made him sleep and while he slept they leeched him to drain off the bad blood. 2. To drain (resources) without giving back. Labels: figuratively, transitive Example: Near-synonyms: mooch, suck down Example: Bert leeched hundreds of files from the BBS, but never uploaded anything in return.
Word: leech Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English leche (“physician”), from Old English lǣċe (“doctor, physician”), from Proto-West Germanic *lākī, from Proto-Germanic *lēkijaz (“doctor”), of disputed origin, but usually thought to be connected with Proto-Celtic (compare Old Irish líaig (“doctor, physician”)); perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- (“to collect, gather”). Cognate with Old Frisian lētza (“physician”), Old Saxon lāki (“physician”), Old High German lāhhi (“doctor, healer”), Danish læge (“doctor, surgeon”), Gothic 𐌻𐌴𐌺𐌴𐌹𐍃 (lēkeis, “physician”). Slavic words such as Serbo-Croatian ljèkār, Polish lekarz (“physician, doctor”) are usually considered to be borrowings from Germanic. Pronunciation: /ˈliːt͡ʃ/, [ˈlɪi̯t͡ʃ] 1. A physician. Labels: archaic Example: Many skillful leeches him abide to salve his hurts. Example: The word Physitian we do vulgarly abuse (as we doe very many other(s)) for a Leech , or Medicus. 2. A healer. Labels: Germanic Example: Their functions are threefold, those of the medicine-man (the leech, or healer by supernatural means); of the soothsayer (the prophet through communion with the invisible world); and of the priest, especially in his capacity as exorcist Example: In ancient times runesters were a specialized class separate from that of the witch or ordinary spell caster (much as the other specialists such as the leech or healer and the seithkona were different from a witch), and even today many believe it takes years of training to become adept at using the runes in spell work.
Word: leech Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English lechen (“to cure, heal, treat”), from Middle English leche (“doctor, physician”). Compare Swedish läka (“to heal”). Pronunciation: /ˈliːt͡ʃ/, [ˈlɪi̯t͡ʃ] 1. To treat, cure or heal. Labels: archaic, rare Example: 1564, Accounts of Louth Corporalː Paid for leeching.. my horses very sick. Example: 1566–74, Accounts of the Treasurer of Scotlandː To one man (that) broke his leg in Strivelin … Item to the man that leecheth him.
Word: leech Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English lek, leche, lyche, from Old Norse lík (“leechline”), from Proto-West Germanic *līk, from Proto-Germanic *līką (compare West Frisian lyk (“band”), Dutch lijk (“boltrope”), Middle High German geleich (“joint, limb”)), from Proto-Indo-European *leyǵ- ‘to bind’ (compare Latin ligō (“tie, bind”), Ukrainian нали́гати (nalýhaty, “to bridle, fetter”), Albanian lidh (“to bind”), Hittite link- (caus. linganu-) ‘to swear’ (with -n- infix). Pronunciation: /ˈliːt͡ʃ/, [ˈlɪi̯t͡ʃ] 1. The vertical edge of a square sail. Example: To help combat these problems, almost all sailmakers trim the leeches of their headsails to a hollow or concave profile and enclose a LEECHLINE within the leech tabling. 2. The aft edge of a triangular sail. Example: Trim the leech of the jib parallel to the main by watching the slot between the mainsail and the jib.
Word: leach Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English leche (“leachate; sluggish stream”), from Old English *lǣċ, *lǣċe (“muddy stream”), from Proto-Germanic *lēkijō (“a leak, drain, flow”) (compare Proto-Germanic *lekaną (“to leak, drain”)), from Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- (“to leak”). Cognate with Old English leċċan (“to water, moisten”), Old English lacu (“stream, pool, pond”). More at leak, lake. Pronunciation: /liːt͡ʃ/ 1. A quantity of wood ashes, through which water passes, and thus imbibes the alkali. 2. A tub or vat for leaching ashes, bark, etc. Example: "This is the leach," said Kitty, pointing to a large, yellowish, upright wooden cylinder, which rested on some slanting boards, down the surface of which ran a brownish liquid that dripped into a trough. 3. Alternative spelling of leech. Labels: alt-of, alternative 4. A jelly-like sweetmeat popular in the fifteenth century.
Word: leach Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English *lechen, *lecchen, from Old English leċċan, from Proto-Germanic *lakjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- (“to leak”). Pronunciation: /liːt͡ʃ/ 1. To purge a soluble matter out of something by the action of a percolating fluid. Labels: transitive Example: Heavy rainfall can leach out minerals important for plant growth from the soil. Example: [T]he very wet winter will have washed much of the goodness out of the soil. Homemade compost and the load of manure we get from a friendly farmer may not be enough to compensate for what has leached from the ground. 2. To part with soluble constituents by percolation. Labels: intransitive Example: The gangue was leached to recover minerals left behind by the original technology. 3. To bleed; to seep. Labels: figuratively, intransitive Example: A more generic geography, one where the suburb uneasily abuts the commercial and industrial, or leaches out to a nonurban frontier. Example: There's a second half to each video. He remembers now. He watched it passively, over and over, and never saw it. Something comes through. It's been leaching into the background of the world this whole time, in plain sight, and he never saw it, and it's here now—
Word: leak Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English leken (“to let water in or out”), from Old English *lecan (“to leak”), Middle Dutch leken (“to leak, drip”) or Old Norse leka (“to leak, drip”); all from Proto-Germanic *lekaną (“to leak, drain”), from Proto-Indo-European *leg- (“to leak”). Cognate with Dutch lekken (“to leak”), German lechen, lecken (“to leak”), Danish lække (“to leak”), Swedish läcka (“to leak”), Norwegian Bokmål lekke (“to leak”), Faroese, Icelandic, and Norwegian Nynorsk leka (“to leak”). Related also to Old English leċċan (“to water, wet”), Albanian lag, lak (“to damp, make wet”). See also leach, lake. (divulgation, disclosure of information): Compare typologically Bulgarian изтичане (iztičane), Polish przeciek, Russian уте́чка (utéčka) (akin to течь impf or f (tečʹ)). Pronunciation: /liːk/ 1. A crack, crevice, fissure, or hole which admits water or other fluid, or lets it escape. Example: a leak in a roof Example: a leak in a boat 2. The entrance or escape of a fluid through a crack, fissure, or other aperture. Example: The leak gained on the ship's pumps. Example: The babies' diapers had big leaks. 3. A divulgation, or disclosure, of information previously held secret. Example: The leaks by Chelsea Manning showed the secrets of the US military. 4. The person through whom such divulgation, or disclosure, occurs. Example: […] so even if he was the leak, we would never know. Example: I was the leak. That the government didn't like our advice, and so I decided to leak it to 'bounce' them into having to follow it. 5. A loss of electricity through imperfect insulation, or the point where it occurs. 6. The gradual loss of a system resource caused by failure to deallocate previously reserved portions. Example: resource leak Example: memory leak 7. An act of urination. Labels: especially, mildly, slang, vulgar Example: I have to take a leak.
Word: leak Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English leken (“to let water in or out”), from Old English *lecan (“to leak”), Middle Dutch leken (“to leak, drip”) or Old Norse leka (“to leak, drip”); all from Proto-Germanic *lekaną (“to leak, drain”), from Proto-Indo-European *leg- (“to leak”). Cognate with Dutch lekken (“to leak”), German lechen, lecken (“to leak”), Danish lække (“to leak”), Swedish läcka (“to leak”), Norwegian Bokmål lekke (“to leak”), Faroese, Icelandic, and Norwegian Nynorsk leka (“to leak”). Related also to Old English leċċan (“to water, wet”), Albanian lag, lak (“to damp, make wet”). See also leach, lake. (divulgation, disclosure of information): Compare typologically Bulgarian изтичане (iztičane), Polish przeciek, Russian уте́чка (utéčka) (akin to течь impf or f (tečʹ)). Pronunciation: /liːk/ 1. To allow fluid or gas to pass through an opening that should be sealed. Labels: transitive Example: The wells are believed to have been leaking oil for decades, long after the operating company ceased to exist. 2. (of a fluid or gas) To pass through an opening that should be sealed. Labels: intransitive Example: The faucet has been leaking since last month. Example: No one realized that propane gas was leaking from a rusty tank in the concession area, slowly filling the unventilated room. 3. To disclose secret information surreptitiously or anonymously. Labels: ambitransitive Example: Someone must have leaked it to our competitors that the new product will be out soon. Example: That's another of those irregular verbs, isn't it? I give confidential press briefings; you leak; he's being charged under section 2(A) of the Official Secrets Act. 4. To pass through when it would normally or preferably be blocked. Labels: broadly, figuratively, intransitive Example: A target that is not detected would not be intercepted and thus would leak through the single defensive layer. 5. To allow anything through that would normally or preferably be blocked. Labels: broadly, figuratively, transitive Example: England were leaking penalties as Scotland played with pace and variety. Russell was starting to find his range and when he threaded through a grubber to Sean Maitland the winger did well to gather and keep the ball in play. Unfortunately, his pass inside just eluded Russell. 6. To urinate. Labels: euphemistic, slang, sometimes Example: I had to leak in the woods since there were no toilets around. Example: Why, you will allow vs ne're a Iourden, and then we leake in your Chimney: and your Chamber-lye breeds Fleas like a Loach. 7. To bleed. Labels: US, slang Example: He shanked him, now he's leaking.
Word: leak Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From Middle English leken (“to let water in or out”), from Old English *lecan (“to leak”), Middle Dutch leken (“to leak, drip”) or Old Norse leka (“to leak, drip”); all from Proto-Germanic *lekaną (“to leak, drain”), from Proto-Indo-European *leg- (“to leak”). Cognate with Dutch lekken (“to leak”), German lechen, lecken (“to leak”), Danish lække (“to leak”), Swedish läcka (“to leak”), Norwegian Bokmål lekke (“to leak”), Faroese, Icelandic, and Norwegian Nynorsk leka (“to leak”). Related also to Old English leċċan (“to water, wet”), Albanian lag, lak (“to damp, make wet”). See also leach, lake. (divulgation, disclosure of information): Compare typologically Bulgarian изтичане (iztičane), Polish przeciek, Russian уте́чка (utéčka) (akin to течь impf or f (tečʹ)). Pronunciation: /liːk/ 1. Leaky. Labels: obsolete Example: Yet is the bottle leake, and bag so torne, / That all which I put in fals out anon […].
Word: lease Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English *lesen, from Anglo-Norman *leser, Old French lesser, laisier (“to let, let go”), partly from Latin laxō (“to loose”) and partly from Old High German lāzan (“to let, let go, release”) (German lassen), cognate with Old English lǣtan (“to allow, let go, leave, rent”) whence let. Pronunciation: /liːs/ 1. An interest in land granting exclusive use or occupation of real estate for a limited period; a leasehold. Labels: formal 2. An interest granting exclusive use of any thing, such as a car or boat. 3. The contract or deed under which such an interest is granted. 4. The document containing such a contract or deed. 5. The period of such an interest. Example: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all too short a date: 6. Short for DHCP lease The temporary assignment of an IP address to a networked device. Labels: abbreviation, alt-of
Word: lease Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English *lesen, from Anglo-Norman *leser, Old French lesser, laisier (“to let, let go”), partly from Latin laxō (“to loose”) and partly from Old High German lāzan (“to let, let go, release”) (German lassen), cognate with Old English lǣtan (“to allow, let go, leave, rent”) whence let. Pronunciation: /liːs/ 1. To grant a lease as a landlord; to let. Labels: formal, transitive 2. To hold a lease as a tenant; to rent. Labels: informal, transitive Example: I'm leasing a small apartment in Runcorn for a month while I'm there for work. 3. To assign a temporary IP address to (a networked device). Labels: transitive 4. To accept such an assignment of (an IP address). Labels: transitive
Word: lease Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English lesen, from Old English lesan (“to collect, pick, select, gather”), from Proto-West Germanic *lesan, from Proto-Germanic *lesaną (“to gather”). Pronunciation: /liːs/ 1. To gather. Labels: dialectal, transitive 2. To pick, select, pick out; to pick up. Labels: dialectal, transitive 3. To glean. Labels: dialectal, transitive 4. To glean, gather up leavings. Labels: dialectal, intransitive
Word: lease Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English lesen, from Old English lēasian (“to lie, tell lies”), from lēas (“falsehood, lying, untruth, mistake”). Pronunciation: /liːs/ 1. To tell lies; tell lies about; slander; calumniate. Labels: UK, ambitransitive, dialectal
Word: lease Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English lese, from Old English lǣs (“meadow”), from Proto-West Germanic *lāsu (“meadow”). See also leasow. Pronunciation: /liːs/ 1. An open pasture or common. Labels: dialectal Example: Since as a child I used to lie Upon the leaze and watch the sky, Never, I own, expected I That life would all be fair.
Word: lease Part of Speech: verb Pronunciation: /liːs/ 1. Alternative form of leese (“to release”) Labels: alt-of, alternative, dialectal
Word: lease Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From leash. Pronunciation: /liːs/ 1. The place at which the warp-threads cross on a loom. Labels: dialectal
Word: leash Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English leesshe, leysche, lesshe, a variant of more original lease, from Middle English lees, leese, leece, lese, from Old French lesse (modern French laisse), either from Latin laxa, feminine form of laxus (“loose”) or, more probably, from a deverbal of Old French lesser, laissier, from Latin laxāre (“loose”); compare lax. Doublet of laisse. Pronunciation: /liːʃ/ 1. A strap, cord or rope with which to restrain an animal, often a dog. Example: A stout woman upholstered in velvet, her flabby cheeks too much massaged, swirled by with her poodle straining at its leash Example: like a fawning greyhound in the leash 2. A brace and a half; a tierce. Labels: obsolete 3. A set of three animals (especially greyhounds, foxes, bucks, and hares;) Labels: obsolete 4. A group of three. Labels: obsolete Example: Sirrah, I am sworn brother to a leash of drawers; and can call them all by their Christian names, as, Tom, Dick, and Francis. Example: [I] kept my chamber a leash of days. 5. A string with a loop at the end for lifting warp threads, in a loom. 6. A leg rope. Example: Probably the idea was around before that, but the first photo of the leash in action was published that year 7. A kind of metrical construct in Skeltonics.
Word: leash Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English leesshe, leysche, lesshe, a variant of more original lease, from Middle English lees, leese, leece, lese, from Old French lesse (modern French laisse), either from Latin laxa, feminine form of laxus (“loose”) or, more probably, from a deverbal of Old French lesser, laissier, from Latin laxāre (“loose”); compare lax. Doublet of laisse. Pronunciation: /liːʃ/ 1. To fasten or secure with a leash. 2. to curb, restrain Labels: figuratively Example: Man is brow-beaten, leashed, muzzled, masked, and lashed by boards and councils, by leagues and societies, by church and state.
Word: ledge Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English legge, from Old English leċġ (“bar, crossbeam”), from Proto-West Germanic *laggju (“layer, strip, ledge, rung, bar”), from Proto-Germanic *lagjō (“layer, stratum”), from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- (“to lie, recline”). Cognate with West Frisian lêch (“a layer of sheaves on a threshing floor”), Dutch leg (“layer”), German Low German Legg (“wrinkle, fold, flat layer, stratum”), Middle High German legge, lecke (“position, layer, stratum, tier; pleat, hem”). Related to Middle English leggen (“to lay, apply”), from Old English leċġan (“to lay”); and Old English *ġeleċġ (“positioning, arrangement, layout”) as in Old English limġeleċġ (“the disposition of the limbs, form, shape”). More at lay. Pronunciation: /lɛd͡ʒ/, /led͡ʒ/ 1. A narrow surface projecting horizontally from a wall, cliff, or other surface. Example: Let me help you tie the rope around your neck / Let me help to talk you the wrong way off the ledge / Let me help you hold the Glock against your head Example: There's something inside this / Confusion we face / We marvel in silence / As time ticks away / Where's the ledge? / I can't touch it / But I feel it's so close 2. A shelf on which articles may be laid. 3. A shelf, ridge, or reef, of rocks. 4. A layer or stratum. 5. A lode; a limited mass of rock bearing valuable mineral. 6. A (door or window) lintel. 7. A cornice. 8. A piece of timber to support the deck, placed athwartship between beams.
Word: ledge Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English legge, from Old English leċġ (“bar, crossbeam”), from Proto-West Germanic *laggju (“layer, strip, ledge, rung, bar”), from Proto-Germanic *lagjō (“layer, stratum”), from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- (“to lie, recline”). Cognate with West Frisian lêch (“a layer of sheaves on a threshing floor”), Dutch leg (“layer”), German Low German Legg (“wrinkle, fold, flat layer, stratum”), Middle High German legge, lecke (“position, layer, stratum, tier; pleat, hem”). Related to Middle English leggen (“to lay, apply”), from Old English leċġan (“to lay”); and Old English *ġeleċġ (“positioning, arrangement, layout”) as in Old English limġeleċġ (“the disposition of the limbs, form, shape”). More at lay. Pronunciation: /lɛd͡ʒ/, /led͡ʒ/ 1. To cause to have, or to develop, a ledge (during mining, canal construction, building, etc). Labels: uncommon Example: [...] preparation must not remove excess dentine from the canal, and care must be taken not to ledge the canal walls. Example: Length Longer canals are more prone to ledging than shorter canals. Careful attention to maintaining patency is required to prevent ledging. Initial Size Smaller-diameter canals are more easily ledged than larger-diameter canals. In summary ...
Word: ledge Part of Speech: noun Pronunciation: /lɛd͡ʒ/, /led͡ʒ/ 1. Alternative form of lege (“a legend; a person held in high regard”). Labels: alt-of, alternative, slang Example: http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/pete-jenson-adebayors-fresh-start-means-hard-work-short-hair-ndash-and-vital-goals-2263767.html, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/wimbledon/8605605/Andy-Murray-v-Feliciano-Lopez-at-Wimbledon-2011-as-it-happened.html, https://web.archive.org/web/20121109021139/http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/19083758 Example: Catrin: Tell your dad I said he’s a ledge.
Word: ledge Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Shortening of legislature. Pronunciation: /lɛd͡ʒ/, /led͡ʒ/ 1. A provincial or territorial legislature building. Labels: Canada, slang Example: Known to Edmontonians as "the Ledge", the Alberta Legislature Building is a marvel of marble pillars, carved oak, beautiful Beaux-Arts architecture and stunning grounds. 2. A provincial or territorial legislative assembly. Labels: Canada, slang
Word: leisurely Part of Speech: adj Etymology: Etymology tree English leisure Proto-Indo-European *leyg-der. Proto-Germanic *līkąder. Proto-Germanic *-līkaz Proto-West Germanic *-līk Old English -līċ Middle English -ly English -ly English leisurely From leisure + -ly. Pronunciation: /ˈlɛʒɜli/, /ˈliʒɚli/ 1. Characterized by leisure; taking plenty of time; unhurried. Example: He goes about his business in a leisurely manner Example: As we had a free morning, we went on a leisurely walk around the city.
Word: leisurely Part of Speech: adv Etymology: From earlier leisurelily, by haplology, equivalent to leisurely + -ly. Pronunciation: /ˈlɛʒɜli/, /ˈliʒɚli/ 1. In a leisurely manner. Example: For some minutes he walked leisurely but uncollectedly, along the line of stalls; as if contemplating the rich display of summer fruits still remaining unsold. Example: Sunset Crescent Drive curved leisurely north from Sunset Boulevard, well beyond the Bel-Air Country Club golf-course.
Word: lest Part of Speech: conj Etymology: c. 1200, contracted from Middle English les te (“less that”), from Old English þȳ lǣs þe (“whereby less that”), from þȳ (instrumental case of demonstrative article þæt (“that”)) + lǣs (“less”) + þe (“that,” relative particle). The þȳ was dropped and the remaining two words contracted into leste. Pronunciation: /lɛst/, /liːst/, /lɛːst/ 1. For fear that; that not; in order to prevent something from happening; in case. Labels: formal, literary Example: He won't go outside, lest he be eaten by those ravenous eagles. Example: I brought my notes lest faulty memory lead me astray. 2. that (without the negative particle; introduces the reason for an emotion.) Labels: formal, literary Example: There was danger/alarm lest the plan become known. Example: I am afraid lest I revealed too much.
Word: lethal Part of Speech: adj Etymology: Learned borrowing from Latin lētālis (“deadly, mortal, fatal”), improperly written lēthālis, from lētum (“death”), improperly written as lēthum, from a supposed connection with Ancient Greek λήθη (lḗthē, “oblivion, forgetfulness”). Pronunciation: /ˈliː.θəl/ 1. Of, pertaining to, or causing death; deadly; mortal; fatal. Example: Whether modern, industrial man is less or more warlike than his hunter-gatherer ancestors is impossible to determine. The machine gun is so much more lethal than the bow and arrow that comparisons are meaningless.
Word: lethal Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Learned borrowing from Latin lētālis (“deadly, mortal, fatal”), improperly written lēthālis, from lētum (“death”), improperly written as lēthum, from a supposed connection with Ancient Greek λήθη (lḗthē, “oblivion, forgetfulness”). Pronunciation: /ˈliː.θəl/ 1. Any weapon that causes death. 2. An allele that causes the death of the organism that carries it.
Word: lethal Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Abbreviation of “lauric acid ethereal salt”, so called because it occurs in the ethereal salt of lauric acid. Pronunciation: /ˈliː.θəl/ 1. One of the higher alcohols of the paraffine series obtained from spermaceti as a white crystalline solid. Labels: uncountable
Word: liable Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From Old French lier (“to bind”), from Latin ligō, ligāre (“to bind, to tie”). Compare typologically Russian обя́занный (objázannyj), обяза́тельный (objazátelʹnyj) (akin to вяза́ть (vjazátʹ)). Pronunciation: /ˈlaɪ̯əbəl/, [ˈlaɪ̯əbɫ̩], [ˈlaɪ̯əbəɫ] 1. Bound or obliged in law or equity; responsible; answerable. Example: The surety is liable for the debt of his principal. 2. Subject; susceptible; prone. Example: This crime is liable to imprisonment for life. Example: A man liable to heart disease. 3. Exposed to a certain contingency or causality, more or less probable. Example: Electronic devices are liable to malfunction when exposed to extreme heat. 4. Likely. Labels: predicative Example: Someone is liable to slip on your icy sidewalk.
Word: liberate Part of Speech: verb Etymology: Learned borrowing from Latin līberātus (“freed, liberated; absolved, acquitted; released”); see English -ate (suffix forming verbs, and used as the ending of participial adjectives and obsolete past participles from Latin). Līberātus is the perfect passive participle of līberō (“to free, liberate; to absolve, acquit; to release”), from līber (“free, unrestricted”), + -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs); and līberō is ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁léwdʰeros (“free”), from *h₁lewdʰ- (“to grow; people”) + *-teros (contrastive or oppositional adjectival suffix) (*h₁léwdʰeros possibly originally meant ‘belonging to one’s own people’, excluding slaves who were captured from other groups of people, and thus later came to mean “free (not enslaved)”). Not related to deliberate. Pronunciation: /ˈlɪbəɹeɪt/, /ˈlɪbəɹɛjt/, /ˈlɪbəˌɹeɪt/, /ˈlɪbəɹet/, /ˈlɪbəˌɹet/ 1. Obsolete form of liberated (past participle of liberate). Labels: alt-of, obsolete, transitive
Word: liberate Part of Speech: adj Etymology: Learned borrowing from Latin līberātus (“freed, liberated; absolved, acquitted; released”); see English -ate (suffix forming verbs, and used as the ending of participial adjectives and obsolete past participles from Latin). Līberātus is the perfect passive participle of līberō (“to free, liberate; to absolve, acquit; to release”), from līber (“free, unrestricted”), + -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs); and līberō is ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁léwdʰeros (“free”), from *h₁lewdʰ- (“to grow; people”) + *-teros (contrastive or oppositional adjectival suffix) (*h₁léwdʰeros possibly originally meant ‘belonging to one’s own people’, excluding slaves who were captured from other groups of people, and thus later came to mean “free (not enslaved)”). Not related to deliberate. Pronunciation: /ˈlɪbəɹet/, /ˈlɪbəˌɹet/ 1. Freed, released; free. Labels: Scotland, not-comparable, obsolete, transitive Example: The Papiſts make advantage of the Ceremonies, and thereby confirme themſelves in Popery. […] If vve vvere liberate from the Ceremonies, then might vve doe more againſt the Papiſts, and they ſhould not inſult as they doe. Example: [I]n place of eſtablishing true Chriſtian Liberty, vvhich you ſeem here to aſſert, it is evident, that you go about plainly to ſet up, an abſolute Spiritual tyranny, over the Church of God, and ſo load it vvith the Ceremonies, and innovations, a bondage more ſevere then the old diſpenſation, from vvhich vve are liberate; […]
Word: liberate Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Late Middle English liberate (“warrant for payment of an allowance, debt, pension, etc.; warrant for delivery of property from a sheriff’s custody”, noun), from Law French liberate, from Anglo-Norman liberate, and from their etymon Late Latin liberate (“name of such a writ”), a noun use of Latin līberāte (“deliver”) (commonly the first word of such writs), the second-person plural present active imperative of līberō (“to free, liberate; to absolve, acquit; to release”): see further at etymology 1. Compare English allocate (“warrant for the payment of an allowance, debt, pension, etc.”). Pronunciation: /lɪbəˈɹeɪti/, /ˌlɪbəˈɹeɪti/, [-ɾi] 1. A writ issued out of the Chancery to authorize the Exchequer to pay a debt, pension, etc., on behalf of the Crown. Labels: UK, historical, transitive Example: Now (for an ende of Bailement) I will ſhewe you one forme of a Baile, and an other of a Liberate. Example: A Liberate is an originall writ iſſuing out of the Chancery, and is directed to ſome Officers that have of the Kings mony in his hands to pay over a penſion, debt, or duty. […] [I]t appeareth that there be two kinds of writs of Liberate, one dormant or currant and continuall, and another hac vice [for this time] and particular. […] If the Officer have ſufficient in his hands to pay, ⁊c, at the time of the Liberate delivered to him, he is become debtor (by act of law) to the party, for which he may have an action of debt: but after the Liberate ſued out, and before the delivery, the king may diſcharge the Officer of the kings money in his hands. 2. A writ issued to a jailer to release a prisoner on bail. Labels: UK, historical, transitive Example: VVith us they conſent in the Sufficiency of the Scriptures to ſalvation, in denying the Infallibility of the Church (much more of the Pope) the overplus of Merits, Service ununderſtood, Indulgencies, Liberaties out of Purgatorie, and the like. Example: For the more remote counties it was found sufficient to show the Patent to the under-sheriffs, when they came up to London to the Michaelmas law-term, and to prepare for their use a liberate, covering the prisoners in each gaol. 3. A writ issued to a sheriff to release property (goods or land) from their custody. Labels: UK, US, historical, transitive Example: Goods extended before the Party becomes a Bankrupt, and delivered by the liberate after he becomes a Bankrupt, can't be ſold by the Commiſſioners, becauſe they being extended are quaſi in Cuſtodia Legis [as if in the custody of the law], ſo as the Conuzor can't diſpoſe of them; and tho' by the Extent the Conuzor hath no abſolute Property till the Delivery upon the liberate, and at the Return of the VVrit he may refuſe them if over valued; yet that is for the Benefit of the Conuzee. Example: [G]oods taken upon an extent sued out upon a statute staple, before the bankruptcy of the debtor, through the goods are not delivered to the creditor by the sheriff upon a liberate until after the bankruptcy, may be held by the creditor against the commissioners under the bankruptcy.
Word: libidinous Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From Middle English libidinous, borrowed from Latin libīdinōsus. Pronunciation: /lɪˈbɪ.dɪ.nəs/ 1. Having lustful desires; characterized by lewdness. Example: It is observed, that the red haired of both sexes are more libidinous and mischievous than the rest, whom yet they much exceed in strength and activity. Example: Stramonium seed, mixed with wine, produces, according to a seventeenth century erotologist, libidinous activity. 2. Of or relating to the libido.
Word: lictor Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Borrowed from Latin līctor. Pronunciation: /ˈlɪktə/, /ˈlɪktɚ/ 1. An officer in Ancient Rome, attendant on a consul or magistrate, who bore the fasces and was responsible for punishing criminals. Example: Hee brought-in likevvise the ancient cuſtome againe, that in vvhat moneth hee had not the Knitches of rods vvith Axes borne before him, a publique Officer called Accensvs ſhould huiſher him before, and the Serjeants or Lictours follovv after behinde. Example: “Regard not that, my brother,” answered Magdalen Græme; “the first successors of Saint Peter himself, were elected not in sunshine but in tempests—not in the halls of the Vatican, but in the subterranean vaults and dungeons of Heathen Rome—they were not gratulated with shouts and salvos of cannon-shot and of musquetry, and the display of artificial fire—no, my brother—but by the hoarse summons of Lictors and Prætors, who came to drag the Fathers of the Church to martyrdom.[…]”
Word: liege Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English liege, lege, lige, from Anglo-Norman lige, from Old French liege (“liege, free”), from Middle High German ledic, ledec (“free, empty, vacant”) (Modern German ledig (“unmarried”)) from Proto-Germanic *liþugaz (“flexible, free, unoccupied”). Akin to Old Frisian leþeg, leþoch (“free”), Old English liþiġ (“flexible”), Old Norse liðugr (“free, unhindered”), Old Saxon lethig (“idle”), Low German leddig (“empty”), Middle Dutch ledich (“idle, unemployed”) (Dutch ledig (“empty”) and leeg (“empty”)), Middle English lethi (“unoccupied, at leisure”). An alternate etymology traces the Old French word to Late Latin laeticus (“of or relating to a semifree colonist in Gaul”), from Latin laetus (“a semi-free colonist”), from Gothic *𐌻𐌴𐍄𐍃 (*lēts) (attested in derivatives such as 𐍆𐍂𐌰𐌻𐌴𐍄𐍃 (fralēts)), from Proto-Germanic *lētaz (“freeman; bondsman, serf”), from *lētaną (“to let; free; release”). Pronunciation: /liːd͡ʒ/, /liːʒ/ 1. A free and independent person; specifically, a lord paramount; a sovereign. 2. A king or lord. Example: More health and happiness betide my liege / Than can my care-tuned tongue deliver him! Example: Kings, my liege, may take a lesson from him 3. The subject of a sovereign or lord; a liegeman.
Word: liege Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From Middle English liege, lege, lige, from Anglo-Norman lige, from Old French liege (“liege, free”), from Middle High German ledic, ledec (“free, empty, vacant”) (Modern German ledig (“unmarried”)) from Proto-Germanic *liþugaz (“flexible, free, unoccupied”). Akin to Old Frisian leþeg, leþoch (“free”), Old English liþiġ (“flexible”), Old Norse liðugr (“free, unhindered”), Old Saxon lethig (“idle”), Low German leddig (“empty”), Middle Dutch ledich (“idle, unemployed”) (Dutch ledig (“empty”) and leeg (“empty”)), Middle English lethi (“unoccupied, at leisure”). An alternate etymology traces the Old French word to Late Latin laeticus (“of or relating to a semifree colonist in Gaul”), from Latin laetus (“a semi-free colonist”), from Gothic *𐌻𐌴𐍄𐍃 (*lēts) (attested in derivatives such as 𐍆𐍂𐌰𐌻𐌴𐍄𐍃 (fralēts)), from Proto-Germanic *lētaz (“freeman; bondsman, serf”), from *lētaną (“to let; free; release”). Pronunciation: /liːd͡ʒ/, /liːʒ/ 1. Sovereign; independent; having authority or right to allegiance. Labels: not-comparable Example: a liege lord Example: She look'd as grand as doomsday and as grave: / And he, he reverenced his liege lady there; 2. Serving an independent sovereign or master; bound by a feudal tenure; obliged to be faithful and loyal to a superior, such as a vassal to his lord; faithful. Labels: not-comparable Example: a liege man; a liege subject 3. Full; perfect; complete; pure. Labels: not-comparable, obsolete Example: it was a release by Katherine de Ros in her liege widowhood to Sir Thomas de Stirkeland
Word: lifelike Part of Speech: adj Etymology: Etymology tree English life Proto-Indo-European *leyg-der. Proto-Germanic *līkąder. Proto-Germanic *-līkaz Proto-West Germanic *-līk Old English -līċ Middle English -like English -like English lifelike From life + -like. First attested in the 1610s. Pronunciation: /ˈlaɪflaɪk/ 1. Likely to live. Labels: obsolete 2. Like a living being; resembling life; being an accurate representation. Example: a lifelike portrait Example: The robot was so lifelike, Jack could hardly tell it apart from his sister.
Word: likewise Part of Speech: adv Etymology: From Middle English lykewise, lykewyse, lyke wyse, lijk wise, a shortened form of Middle English in lik wise (“in like wise”); equivalent to like + -wise. Compare with otherwise. Pronunciation: /ˈlaɪkˌwaɪz/ 1. In a similar manner. Labels: not-comparable Example: Public transportation is virtually inaccessible in this country; likewise, its hospitals are also not very user-friendly. Example: Chu Li-chih in late 1941 was director of the board of trade and president of the Border Region Bank in the Shen-Kan-Ning border government. Kuo Hung-t'ao served as secretary of the Shen-Kan-Ning Party Committee, the highest party post in the area, until 1938, when he was transferred to the Shansi-Chahar-Hopeh area where he likewise became secretary of the Party Committee. After Kuo's transfer, Kao Kang replaced his rival in the top party post in Shen-Kan-Ning and thereafter steadily increased his power within the border region as the leading figure among Shensi communists. 2. also; moreover; too. Labels: conjunctive, not-comparable Example: Margaret enjoys playing tennis on Saturdays, Jeremy likewise. Example: "But it looks like the kid ain't got no appetite to git well, for they misses him from the tent in the night and finds him rootin' in the grass, and likewise a drizzle fallin'. 'G'wan,' he says, 'lemme go and die like I wanter. He said I was a liar and a fake'—McGuire says—'and I was playin' sick. Lemme alone.' 3. The same to you; used as a response. Labels: not-comparable Example: It was very nice meeting you, Samantha. ― Likewise, Mr Thompson. Example: ‘Let me know if you need any help.’ ‘Likewise.’
Word: limp Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English limpen (“to fall short”), from Old English limpan, from Proto-West Germanic *limpan, from Proto-Germanic *limpaną (“to hang down”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)lemb-, *(s)lembʰ- (“to hang loosely, hang limply”). Cognate with Low German lumpen (“to limp”), Middle High German limpfen (“to hobble, limp”), dialectal German lampen (“to hang down loosely”), Icelandic limpa (“limpness, weakness”). Pronunciation: /lɪmp/ 1. To walk lamely, as if favoring one leg. Labels: intransitive Example: Dirk Kuyt sandwiched a goal in between Carroll's double as City endured a night of total misery, with captain Carlos Tevez limping off early on with a hamstring strain that puts a serious question mark over his participation in Saturday's FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United at Wembley. 2. To travel with a malfunctioning system of propulsion. Labels: figuratively, intransitive Example: The bomber limped home on one engine. 3. To move or proceed irregularly. Labels: figuratively, intransitive Example: limping verses Example: The business limped through the recession 4. To call, particularly in an unraised pot pre-flop. Labels: intransitive, slang
Word: limp Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English limpen (“to fall short”), from Old English limpan, from Proto-West Germanic *limpan, from Proto-Germanic *limpaną (“to hang down”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)lemb-, *(s)lembʰ- (“to hang loosely, hang limply”). Cognate with Low German lumpen (“to limp”), Middle High German limpfen (“to hobble, limp”), dialectal German lampen (“to hang down loosely”), Icelandic limpa (“limpness, weakness”). Pronunciation: /lɪmp/ 1. An irregular, jerky or awkward gait. Example: She walks with a limp. 2. A scraper for removing poor ore or refuse from the sieve.
Word: limp Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From Middle English *limp, *lemp, from Old English *lemp (recorded only in compound lemphealt (“limping”), from Proto-West Germanic *limpan, from Proto-Germanic *limpaną (“to hang down”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)lemb-, *(s)lembʰ- (“to hang loosely, hang limply”). Cognate with German lampecht (“flaccid, limp”), Icelandic lempinn, lempiligur (“pliable, gentle”). See above. Pronunciation: /lɪmp/ 1. Flaccid; flabby, resembling flesh. 2. Lacking stiffness; floppy, flimsy. Example: a limp rope 3. Soft; weak, in special physically weak. Example: Another line-out was stolen, and when the ball was sent left Clerc stepped and spun through limp challenges from Wilkinson, Chris Ashton and Foden to dive over and make it 11-0. 4. Not erect. Labels: slang 5. Not having an erection. Labels: slang
Word: limp Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English *limp, *lemp, from Old English *lemp (recorded only in compound lemphealt (“limping”), from Proto-West Germanic *limpan, from Proto-Germanic *limpaną (“to hang down”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)lemb-, *(s)lembʰ- (“to hang loosely, hang limply”). Cognate with German lampecht (“flaccid, limp”), Icelandic lempinn, lempiligur (“pliable, gentle”). See above. Pronunciation: /lɪmp/ 1. To be inadequate or unsatisfactory. Labels: intransitive, stative
Word: limp Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English *limp, *lemp, from Old English *lemp (recorded only in compound lemphealt (“limping”), from Proto-West Germanic *limpan, from Proto-Germanic *limpaną (“to hang down”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)lemb-, *(s)lembʰ- (“to hang loosely, hang limply”). Cognate with German lampecht (“flaccid, limp”), Icelandic lempinn, lempiligur (“pliable, gentle”). See above. Pronunciation: /lɪmp/ 1. A scraper of board or sheet-iron shaped like half the head of a small cask, used for scraping the ore off the sieve in the operation of hand-jigging.