Lexicon: labor – ladder

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labor (-s), n. [OFr labor; NW says L. < labo, to fail.] (webplay: childbirth, day, done, exactness, great, life, look, play, right, strive, sweet, wish, work).

  1. Calling; mission; endeavor; purpose.
  2. Work; travail; arduous effort; physical exertion; (see Exodus 20:9).
  3. Industry; diligent activity; [fig.] buzzing; flying; pollen-gathering.
  4. Sacrifice; exercise; discipline; restraint; rigor; ordeal; effort to control oneself.
  5. Task; chore; housekeeping.

labor (-ed, -eth, -ing), v. [Fr. labourer.] (webplay: act, come, hill, journey, lands, little, sea, six, strive, till).

Work; struggle; exert energy; put forth an effort; [fig.] accept death.

laborious, adj. [Fr. laborieux.] (webplay: day).

Busy; tireless; diligent; industrious; hard-working.

lace (-s), n. [OFr las, laz, net, noose, snare.]

Netting; gauze; needlework; intricate tissue; point-work fabric; delicate white material; fine threads woven together in a dainty pattern; decorative adornment of fibers in women's apparel, especially for a bride.

lacerating, verbal adj. [L. lacerāre.]

Cutting; tearing; mangling; [fig.] jangling; discordant; cacophonous; unpleasantly noisy.

lack, n. [ME lac, deficiency, fault, blame.] (webplay: God, little).

Absence; want; desire; being without.

lack (-ed), v. [see lack, n.] (webplay: ask, blame, little).

  1. Need; want; be without something.
  2. Phrase. “Lack of”: need; be without; be in need of.

laconic, adj. [Gk < L. Lacōnicus, of or pertaining to Laconia.]

Brief; concise; to the point; after the manner of the Spartans or Laconians; [fig.] severe; drastic; unsparing.

lad (-s), n. [ME ladde.] (webplay: boy).

Boy; youthful male.

ladder (-s, -'s), n. [OE hlædder.] (webplay: leader).

  1. Exit frame; means to get out.
  2. Access structure; tiers of ascent.
  3. Climbing aid; apparatus with rungs for stepping up and down.