Emily Dickinson Lexicon

landing (-s), n. [see land, n.] (webplay: bank, sea).

1. Pier; dock; quay; wharf; waterside; place on the shore for exiting a sea, lake, or river; [fig.] horizon at sunset.
2. Harbor; port; entry dock for immigrants; custom station for incoming foreigners who speak other languages, such as Ellis Island.

landlord (-s), n. [compound word; see land, n. and lord, n.] (webplay: inn).

1. Host; innkeeper; tavern owner; lodge proprietor; master of a hostel for guests who travel long distances; [fig.] Creator; Maker; Master; Holy Ghost; Heavenly Father; Lord of the Universe.
2. Farmer; [fig.] Deity; God; higher power; powers that be.

landscape (-s), n. [Dutch. landschap.] (webplay: country, eye, far, picture, view).

1. Panorama; [fig.] opportunity for growth; chance for knowledge; possibilities for experience.
2. Image of an outdoor view; picture of a countryside; painting, photograph, or other artistic representation of an outdoor scene.
3. Scene; vista; visible geography of a region; territory which the eye can comprehend in a single view.
4. Compendium; epitome.

lane (-s), n. [OE lane.] (webplay: pass, road, way).

1. Route; path; passage; narrow way; private road as distinguished from a public highway.
2. Narrow band; strip in the sky that differs markedly from its immediate surroundings.

language, n. [Anglo Norman and Fr.] (webplay: distinct, hearing, tongue, two, words).

1. Tongue; speech; lexicon; vocabulary; body of words; method of communication; combination of forms used by a people to communicate.
2. Expression; manifestation of feelings.
3. Phrase. “Consent of Language”: mutual understanding; loving communication through the philological power of words; [fig.] Logos; the Word; [metaphor] Jesus Christ (see John 1:1); condescension of God to offer His Son to save humans from physical and spiritual death (John 3:16); [kenning] charity; poetry more powerful than the “tongues of men and of angels” (1 Corinthians 13:1); pure and perfect communion through the love of God (see Zephaniah 3:9 “For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent”).

languid, adj. [Fr. languide, to languish; Fr. languette, dim. of langue, tongue.]

Faint, weak.

languor, n. [OFr.] (webplay: diffuses).

Lethargy; lassitude; inanition; immobilization; [fig.] pining; empty feeling of sorrow; longing for a lost loved one.

lank, adj. [OE hlanc, flexible.]

Limp; slack; slender; easily bent.

lap (-s), n. [OE lappa, part of clothing hanging down or folded over.] (webplay: lower).

1. Upper front part of legs; place to hold something when one sits down; front portion of a skirt held in such a way as to contain or catch something.
2. Phrase. “lap of Adamant”: earth hardened by freezing temperatures; [kenning] snowbank; frozen garden.

lap (-s), v. [OE lapian.] (webplay: along, down, feed, licking, men, side, thread, tongue).

1. Take in; receive a very small amount at a time.
2. Imbibe; partake of; [fig.] breathe in little by little.
3. Slurp; lick up; consume by taking up with the tongue; drink with a quick little rhythmic motion of the tongue, like a cat or kitten; [fig.] travel quickly; traverse speedily; cover rapidly.
4. Gulp; swallow; slake the thirst by drinking; [fig.] deluge; drown; quench; extinguish; overwhelm; hit with water; flood with driving rain; [word play on “slap”] batter with sea waves; make contact with repeatedly.