Emily Dickinson Lexicon

LAR'UM, n. [G. larm, bustle, noise; Dan. id.]

Alarm; a noise giving notice of danger. [See Alarm, which is generally used.]

LAR-VA, or LARVE, n. [L. larva, a mask; Sw. larf; Dan. and G. larve.]

An insect in the caterpillar or grub state; the first stage after the egg in the metamorphoses of insects, preceding the pupa or chrysalis and perfect insect. Linn.

LAR'VA-TED, a.

Masked; clothed as with a mask.

LA-RYN'GE-AN, a. [See Larynx.]

Pertaining to the larynx.

LAR-YN-GI'TIS, n.

An inflammation of the larynx of any sort.

LAR-YN-GOT'O-MY, n. [larynx and Gr. {foreign}, to cut.]

The operation of cutting into the larynx; the making of an incision into the larynx for assisting respiration when obstructed, or for removing foreign bodies. Coxe. Quincy.

LAR'YNX, n. [Gr. {foreign}.]

In anatomy, the upper part of the windpipe or trachea, a cartilaginous cavity, which modulates the voice in speaking and singing. Quincy.

LAS'CAR, n.

In the East Indies,a native seaman, or a gunner.

LAS-CIV'I-EN-CY, or LAS-CIV'I-ENT, [Not used. See the next words.]

LAS-CIV'I-OUS, a. [Fr. lascif; It. and Sp. lascivo; from L. lascivus, from laxus, laxo, to relax, to loosen. Class Lg.]

1. Loose; wanton lewd; lustful; as, lascivious men; lascivious desires; lascivious eyes. Milton.
2. Soft; wanton; luxurious. He capers nimbly in a lady's chamber, To the lascivious pleasing of a lute. Shak.

LAS-CIV'I-OUS-LY, adv.

Loosely; wantonly; lewdly.

LAS-CIV'I-OUS-NESS, n.

1. Looseness; irregular indulgence of animal desires; wantonness; lustfulness. Who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lasciviousness. Eph. iv.
2. Tendency to excite lust, and promote irregular indulgences. The reason pretended by Augustus was, the lasciviousness of his Elegies and his Art of Love. Dryden.

LASH, n. [This may be the same word as leash, Fr. laisse, or it may be allied to the G. lasche; a slap, laschen, to lash or slap, and both may be from one root.]

1. The thong or braided cord of a whip. I observed that your whip wanted a lash to it. Addison.
2. A leash or string.
3. A stroke with a whip, or any thing pliant and tough. The culprit was whipped thirty-nine lashes.
4. A stroke of satire; a sarcasm; an expression or retort that cuts or gives pain. The moral is a lash at the vanity of arrogating that to ourselves which succeeds well. L'Estrange.

LASH, v.i.

To ply the whip; to strike at. To laugh at follies, or to lash at vice. Dryden. To lash out, is to be extravagant or unruly. Feltham.

LASH, v.t.

1. To strike with a lash or any thing pliant; to whip or scourge. We lash the pupil and defraud the ward. Dryden.
2. To throw up with a sudden jerk. He falls; and lashing up his heels, his rider throws. Dryden.
3. To beat, as with something loose; to dash against. And big waves lash the frighted shores. Prior.
4. To tie or bind with a rope or cord; to secure or fasten by a string; as, to lash any thing to a mast or to a yard; to lash a trunk on a coach.
5. To satirize; to censure with severity; as, to lash vice.

LASH'ED, pp.

Struck with a lash; whipped; tied; made fast by a rope.

LASH'ER, n.

One that whips or lashes.

LASH'ER, or LASH'ING, n.

A piece of rope for binding or making fast one thing to another. Mar. Dict.

LASH'FREE, a.

Free from the lash of satire. Ben Jonson.

LASH'ING, n.

Extravagance; unruliness. South.

LASS, n. [Qu. from laddess, as Hickes suggests.]

A young woman; a girl. Philips.

LAS'SI-TUDE, n. [Fr. from L. lassitudo, from lassus, and this from laxus, laxo, to relax.]

1. Weakness; dullness; heaviness; weariness; languor of body or mind, proceeding from exhaustion of strength by excessive labor or action, or other means.
2. Among physicians, lassitude is a morbid sensation of languor which often precedes disease.

LASS'-LORN, a.

Forsaken by his lass or mistress. Shak.

LAS'SO, n. [Fr. laisse; L. lassus.]

In South America, a rope or cord, with a noose, used for catching wild horses.

LAST, a. [contracted from latest; Sax. last, from latost; G. letzt; D. laatst, from laat, late. Qu. is the Gr. {foreign} from the same root. See Late and Let.]

1. That comes after all the others; the latest; applied to time; as, the last hour of the day; the last day of the year.
2. That follows all the others; that is behind all the others, in place; hindmost; as, this was the last man that entered the church.
3. Beyond which there is no more. Here, last of Britons, let your names be read. Pope.
4. Next before the present; as, the last week; the last year.
5. Utmost. Their last endeavors bend, T'outshine each other. Dryden. It is an object of the last importance. Ellicott.
6. Lowest; meanest. Antilochus Takes the last prize. Pope. At last, at the last, at the end; in the conclusion. Gad, a troop shall overcome him; but he shalt overcome at the last. Gen. xlix. To the last, to the end; till the conclusion. And blunder on in business to the last. Pope. In the phrases, “you are the last man I should consult,” “this is the last place in which I should expect to find you,” the word last implies improbability; this is the most improbable place, and therefore I should resort to it last.