| Words | Parts of Speech | Meaning/Definition/Similar Words |
|---|---|---|
| leach | noun | See 3d Leech., A quantity of wood ashes, through which water passes, and thus imbibes the alkali., A tub or vat for leaching ashes, bark, etc., To remove the soluble constituents from by subjecting to the action of percolating water or other liquid; as, to leach ashes or coffee., To dissolve out; — often used with out; as, to leach out alkali from ashes., To part with soluble constituents by percolation., See Leech, a physician. |
| leady | adjective | Resembling lead. |
| leafy | superl | Full of leaves; abounding in leaves; as, the leafy forest., Consisting of leaves. |
| leaky | superl. | Permitting water or other fluid to leak in or out; as, a leaky roof or cask., Apt to disclose secrets; tattling; not close. |
| leant | of Lean | |
| leany | adjective | Lean. |
| leapt | of Leap | |
| learn | verb t. | To gain knowledge or information of; to ascertain by inquiry, study, or investigation; to receive instruction concerning; to fix in the mind; to acquire understanding of, or skill; as, to learn the way; to learn a lesson; to learn dancing; to learn to skate; to learn the violin; to learn the truth about something., To communicate knowledge to; to teach., To acquire knowledge or skill; to make progress in acquiring knowledge or skill; to receive information or instruction; as, this child learns quickly. |
| lease | verb i. | To gather what harvesters have left behind; to glean., To grant to another by lease the possession of, as of lands, tenements, and hereditaments; to let; to demise; as, a landowner leases a farm to a tenant; — sometimes with out., To hold under a lease; to take lease of; as, a tenant leases his land from the owner., A demise or letting of lands, tenements, or hereditaments to another for life, for a term of years, or at will, or for any less interest than that which the lessor has in the property, usually for a specified rent or compensation., The contract for such letting., Any tenure by grant or permission; the time for which such a tenure holds good; allotted time. |
| leash | noun | A thong of leather, or a long cord, by which a falconer holds his hawk, or a courser his dog., A brace and a half; a tierce; three; three creatures of any kind, especially greyhounds, foxes, bucks, and hares; hence, the number three in general., A string with a loop at the end for lifting warp threads, in a loom., To tie together, or hold, with a leash. |
| least | adjective | Smallest, either in size or degree; shortest; lowest; most unimportant; as, the least insect; the least mercy; the least space., In the smallest or lowest degree; in a degree below all others; as, to reward those who least deserve it., See Lest, conj. |
| leasy | adjective | Flimsy; vague; deceptive. |
| leave | verb i. | To send out leaves; to leaf; — often with out., To raise; to levy., Liberty granted by which restraint or illegality is removed; permission; allowance; license., The act of leaving or departing; a formal parting; a leaving; farewell; adieu; — used chiefly in the phrase, to take leave, i. e., literally, to take permission to go., To withdraw one’s self from; to go away from; to depart from; as, to leave the house., To let remain unremoved or undone; to let stay or continue, in distinction from what is removed or changed., To cease from; to desist from; to abstain from., To desert; to abandon; to forsake; hence, to give up; to relinquish., To let be or do without interference; as, I left him to his reflections; I leave my hearers to judge., To put; to place; to deposit; to deliver; to commit; to submit — with a sense of withdrawing one’s self from; as, leave your hat in the hall; we left our cards; to leave the matter to arbitrators., To have remaining at death; hence, to bequeath; as, he left a large estate; he left a good name; he left a legacy to his niece., To depart; to set out., To cease; to desist; to leave off. |
| leavy | adjective | Leafy. |
| leban | noun | Alt. of Lebban |
| leche | noun | See water buck, under 3d Buck. |
| leden | noun | Alt. of Ledden |
| ledge | noun | A shelf on which articles may be laid; also, that which resembles such a shelf in form or use, as a projecting ridge or part, or a molding or edge in joinery., A shelf, ridge, or reef, of rocks., A layer or stratum., A lode; a limited mass of rock bearing valuable mineral., A piece of timber to support the deck, placed athwartship between beams. |
| ledgy | adjective | Abounding in ledges; consisting of a ledge or reef; as, a ledgy island. |
| leech | noun | See 2d Leach., See Leach, v. t., The border or edge at the side of a sail., A physician or surgeon; a professor of the art of healing., Any one of numerous genera and species of annulose worms, belonging to the order Hirudinea, or Bdelloidea, esp. those species used in medicine, as Hirudo medicinalis of Europe, and allied species., A glass tube of peculiar construction, adapted for drawing blood from a scarified part by means of a vacuum., To treat as a surgeon; to doctor; as, to leech wounds., To bleed by the use of leeches. |
| leede | noun | A caldron; a copper kettle. |
| leeme | verb & noun | See Leme. |
| leere | noun | Tape or braid; an ornament. |
| leese | verb t. | To lose., To hurt. |
| leful | adjective | See Leveful. |
| legal | adjective | Created by, permitted by, in conformity with, or relating to, law; as, a legal obligation; a legal standard or test; a legal procedure; a legal claim; a legal trade; anything is legal which the laws do not forbid., According to the law of works, as distinguished from free grace; or resting on works for salvation., According to the old or Mosaic dispensation; in accordance with the law of Moses., Governed by the rules of law as distinguished from the rules of equity; as, legal estate; legal assets. |
| leger | noun | Anything that lies in a place; that which, or one who, remains in a place., A minister or ambassador resident at a court or seat of government., A ledger., Lying or remaining in a place; hence, resident; as, leger ambassador., Light; slender; slim; trivial. |
| legge | verb t. | To lay., To lighten; to allay. |
| leggy | adjective | Having long legs. |
| leman | noun | A sweetheart, of either sex; a gallant, or a mistress; — usually in a bad sense. |
| lemma | noun | A preliminary or auxiliary proposition demonstrated or accepted for immediate use in the demonstration of some other proposition, as in mathematics or logic. |
| lemon | noun | An oval or roundish fruit resembling the orange, and containing a pulp usually intensely acid. It is produced by a tropical tree of the genus Citrus, the common fruit known in commerce being that of the species C. Limonum or C. Medica (var. Limonum). There are many varieties of the fruit, some of which are sweet., The tree which bears lemons; the lemon tree. |
| lemur | noun | One of a family (Lemuridae) of nocturnal mammals allied to the monkeys, but of small size, and having a sharp and foxlike muzzle, and large eyes. They feed upon birds, insects, and fruit, and are mostly natives of Madagascar and the neighboring islands, one genus (Galago) occurring in Africa. The slow lemur or kukang of the East Indies is Nycticebus tardigradus. See Galago, Indris, and Colugo. |
| lends | noun pl. | Loins. |
| lento | adjective & adverb | Slow; in slow time; slowly; — rarely written lente. |
| lepal | noun | A sterile transformed stamen. |
| lepas | noun | Any one of various species of Lepas, a genus of pedunculated barnacles found attached to floating timber, bottoms of ships, Gulf weed, etc.; — called also goose barnacle. See Barnacle. |
| leper | noun | A person affected with leprosy. |
| lepid | adjective | Pleasant; jocose. |
| lepra | noun | Leprosy. |
| lepre | noun | Leprosy. |
| lepry | noun | Leprosy. |
| lered | verb t. | Learned. |
| lerot | noun | A small European rodent (Eliomys nitela), allied to the dormouse. |
| letch | verb & noun | See Leach., Strong desire; passion. (Archaic). |
| leten | p. p. of Lete. | |
| lethe | noun | Death., A river of Hades whose waters when drunk caused forgetfulness of the past., Oblivion; a draught of oblivion; forgetfulness. |
| lethy | adjective | Lethean. |
| lette | verb t. | To let; to hinder. See Let, to hinder. |
| letts | noun pl. | An Indo-European people, allied to the Lithuanians and Old Prussians, and inhabiting a part of the Baltic provinces of Russia. |
| leuc- | Same as Leuco-., A combining form signifying white, colorless; specif. (Chem.), denoting an extensive series of colorless organic compounds, obtained by reduction from certain other colored compounds; as, leucaniline, leucaurin, etc. | |
| leuke | noun | Alt. of Leukeness |
| levee | noun | The act of rising., A morning assembly or reception of visitors, — in distinction from a soiree, or evening assembly; a matinee; hence, also, any general or somewhat miscellaneous gathering of guests, whether in the daytime or evening; as, the president’s levee., To attend the levee or levees of., An embankment to prevent inundation; as, the levees along the Mississippi; sometimes, the steep bank of a river., To keep within a channel by means of levees; as, to levee a river. |
| level | noun | A line or surface to which, at every point, a vertical or plumb line is perpendicular; a line or surface which is everywhere parallel to the surface of still water; — this is the true level, and is a curve or surface in which all points are equally distant from the center of the earth, or rather would be so if the earth were an exact sphere., A horizontal line or plane; that is, a straight line or a plane which is tangent to a true level at a given point and hence parallel to the horizon at that point; — this is the apparent level at the given point., An approximately horizontal line or surface at a certain degree of altitude, or distance from the center of the earth; as, to climb from the level of the coast to the level of the plateau and then descend to the level of the valley or of the sea., Hence, figuratively, a certain position, rank, standard, degree, quality, character, etc., conceived of as in one of several planes of different elevation., A uniform or average height; a normal plane or altitude; a condition conformable to natural law or which will secure a level surface; as, moving fluids seek a level., An instrument by which to find a horizontal line, or adjust something with reference to a horizontal line., A measurement of the difference of altitude of two points, by means of a level; as, to take a level., A horizontal passage, drift, or adit, in a mine., Even; flat; having no part higher than another; having, or conforming to, the curvature which belongs to the undisturbed liquid parts of the earth’s surface; as, a level field; level ground; the level surface of a pond or lake., Coinciding or parallel with the plane of the horizon; horizontal; as, the telescope is now level., Even with anything else; of the same height; on the same line or plane; on the same footing; of equal importance; — followed by with, sometimes by to., Straightforward; direct; clear; open., Well balanced; even; just; steady; impartial; as, a level head; a level understanding. [Colloq.], Of even tone; without rising or falling inflection., To make level; to make horizontal; to bring to the condition of a level line or surface; hence, to make flat or even; as, to level a road, a walk, or a garden., To bring to a lower level; to overthrow; to topple down; to reduce to a flat surface; to lower., To bring to a horizontal position, as a gun; hence, to point in taking aim; to aim; to direct., Figuratively, to bring to a common level or plane, in respect of rank, condition, character, privilege, etc.; as, to level all the ranks and conditions of men., To adjust or adapt to a certain level; as, to level remarks to the capacity of children., To be level; to be on a level with, or on an equality with, something; hence, to accord; to agree; to suit., To aim a gun, spear, etc., horizontally; hence, to aim or point a weapon in direct line with the mark; fig., to direct the eye, mind, or effort, directly to an object. |
| leven | noun | Lightning. |
| lever | adjective | More agreeable; more pleasing., Rather., A rigid piece which is capable of turning about one point, or axis (the fulcrum), and in which are two or more other points where forces are applied; — used for transmitting and modifying force and motion. Specif., a bar of metal, wood, or other rigid substance, used to exert a pressure, or sustain a weight, at one point of its length, by receiving a force or power at a second, and turning at a third on a fixed point called a fulcrum. It is usually named as the first of the six mechanical powers, and is of three kinds, according as either the fulcrum F, the weight W, or the power P, respectively, is situated between the other two, as in the figures., A bar, as a capstan bar, applied to a rotatory piece to turn it., An arm on a rock shaft, to give motion to the shaft or to obtain motion from it. |
| levet | noun | A trumpet call for rousing soldiers; a reveille. |
| levin | noun | Lightning. |
| levir | noun | A husband’s brother; — used in reference to levirate marriages. |
| levo- | A prefix from L. laevus, Pertaining to, or toward, the left; as, levorotatory., Turning the plane of polarized light to the left; as, levotartaric acid; levoracemic acid; levogyratory crystals, etc. | |
| lewis | noun | Alt. of Lewisson |
| leges | plural | of Lex |