Emily Dickinson Lexicon

Lapland (-'s), proper n. [named after the Lapp people < Swedish lapp, an insult; possibly < Finnish lappalainen, border dwellers, possibly < *stela- “to spread, extend”.]

Tundra; cold desolate place; northernmost border of Scandinavia; arctic region of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia; home of sorcerers who conjure icy weather; isolated land of long winters; [synonym] New England; North America; the New World; [metonymy] mortality; life on earth; [fig.] solitude; seclusion; reticence; modesty; simplicity of motive; purity of heart; [metaphor] language; scripture; literature; lyric poetry; effective written discourse.

lapse, n. [L. lapsāre, a slip or fall.] (webplay: caution, dies, failing, faith, passing, renew, shorten, time).

1. Break; pause; cessation; reprieve; respite; time out; period of rest.
2. Passage; interval; intervening period.
3. Loss; removal; slipping off; [fig.] decay; death.

lapse (-d), v. [See lapse, n.] (webplay: imperceptible).

Dwindle; expire; subside; ebb; recede; die; pass gradually.

lapwing (-'s), n. [OE hléapewince > hleapan, to leap + winc-, to totter or waver.]

Tewit; bird of the genus Tringa named for its manner of flight; fowl that uses a skillfully deceptive means of drawing away potential enemies from its nest.

larceny, n. [Anglo Fr. larcin.] (webplay: away, circumstance, property, taking).

1. Theft; stealing; robbery; criminal act of taking away the property of another; [fig.] waste; squandering; foolish expenditure.
2. Thievery; looting; plundering; pillaging; [fig.] death; loss of life; surrendering mortal existence.

larder, n. [OFr lardier.]

Pantry; storehouse; food supply; room where food is kept.

large (-r, -st), adj. [Fr. large; NW says Sp. largar, to loosen, to slacken, as a rope.] (webplay: ample, bestowed, comprehension, crosses, equal, favorable, fully, gives, great, grow, heart, left, lives, love, many, might, much, note, present, rope, size, territory, town, tree, water, without).

1. Great in magnitude; [fig.] weighty.
2. Significant; important; substantial.
3. Intense; of great degree.
4. Accommodating; generous; capacious; ample; roomy; [fig.] liberal in giving.
5. Big; immense; prodigious; of great size.
6. Gigantic; enormous; colossal; huge; tall; broad in statue; [fig.] formidable.
7. Infinite; [fig.] glorious; heavenly.
8. Abundant; plentiful.
9. Dear; valuable; comprehensive.
10. Complex; difficult; complicated; momentous.
11. Wide; extending over a great distance.
12. Widespread; expansive.

large, adv. [see large, adj.] (webplay: grow, town).

Much; ambitiously; optimistically; hopefully; wishfully; great in amount.

large (-r), n. [see large, adj.; NW also says Basque larritu, to grow.] (webplay: grow, lives, love, mountain, size).

Greater one; more expansive thing.

lark (-s, -'s), n. [OE láferce; NW says may coincide with Dan. lover, to praise, sing, or cry out.] (webplay: bird).

1. Bird of the genus Alauda; bird that sings a beautiful song early in the morning while ascending; winged creature that flies extremely high yet builds its nest on the ground.
2. Songbird; [fig.] Savior; Jesus Christ; atoning one; one who sacrificed His own life to make forgiveness for sins possible; He who descended below and ascended above all things.