Emily Dickinson Lexicon

LICK'ER-ISH, a. [D. Dan. lekker, G. lecker, Sw. läcker, nice, dainty, delicate. This seems to be connected with D. lekken, G. lecken, Dan. lekker, Sw. läcka, to leak, for in D. the verb signifies also to make sleek or smooth, and in G. to lick, which unites the word with lick, and perhaps with like. In Sax. liccera is a glutton, and this is the Italian lecco, a glutton, a lecher; leccardo, greedy; leccare, to lick. The Arm. has lickez, lickerish. The phrase, the mouth waters for a thing, may throw light on this word, and if the first syllable of delight, delicious and delicate, is a prefix, these are of the same family, as may be the Gr. γλυκυς, sweet. The senses of watery, smooth, sweet, are allied; likeness is often connected with smoothness, in radical sense, and sleek is probably from the root of lick, like.]

1. Nice in the choice of food; dainty; as, a lickerish palate. – L'Estrange.
2. Eager; greedy to swallow; eager to taste or enjoy; having a keen relish. – Sidney. Dryden. Locke.
3. Dainty; tempting the appetite; as, lickerish baits. – Milton.

LICK'ER-ISH-LY, adv.

Daintily.

LICK'ER-ISH-NESS, n.

Niceness of palate; daintiness.

LICK'ING, ppr.

Lapping; taking in by the tongue.

LIC'O-RICE, n. [It. liquirizia; L. glycyrrhiza; Gr. γλυκυρῥιζα, γλυκυς, sweet, and ῥιζα, root.]

A plant of the genus Glycyrrhiza. The root of this plant abounds with a sweet juice, much used in demulcent compositions. – Encyc.

LIC'O-ROUS, or LIC'O-ROUS-NESS, a. [or n.; for Lickerish, &c.]

[Not used.]

LIC'TOR, n. [L. Qu. lick, to strike.]

An officer among the Romans, who bore an ax and fasces or rods, as ensigns of his office. The duty of a lictor was to attend the chief magistrates when they appeared in public, to clear the way and cause due respect to be paid to them. A dictator was attended by twenty-four lictors, a consul by twelve, and a master of the horse by six. It was also the duty of lictors to apprehend and punish criminals. – Encyc. Johnson.

LID, n. [Sax. hlid, a cover; hlidan, to cover; ge-hlid, a roof; D. Dan. lid; L. claudo, cludo; Gr. κλειω, contracted from κληιδοω; Heb. לאט or לוט, to cover, Ar. لَطَّ latta. Class Ld, No. 1, 8, 9.]

A cover; that which shuts the opening of a vessel or box; as, the lid of a chest or trunk; also, the cover of the eye, the membrane which is drawn over the eyeball of an animal at pleasure, and which is intended for its protection; the eyelid.

LID'LESS, n.

Having no lid.

LIE, n.¹

Water impregnated with alkaline salt, is written lye, to distinguish it from lie, a falsehood.

LIE, n.² [Sax. lig or lyge; Sw. lögn; Dan. lögn; D. leugen; G. lug, lüge; Russ. loj. The verb is probably the primary word.]

1. A criminal falsehood; a falsehood uttered for the purpose of deception; an intentional violation of truth. Fiction, or a false statement or representation, not intended to deceive, mislead or injure, as in fables, parables and the like, is not a lie. It is willful deceit that makes a lie. A man may act a lie, as by pointing his finger in a wrong direction, when a traveler inquires of him his road. – Paley.
2. A fiction; in a ludicrous sense. – Dryden.
3. False doctrine. 1 John ii.
4. An idolatrous picture of God, or a false god. Rom. i.
5. That which deceives and disappoints confidence. Micah i. To give the lie, to charge with falsehood. A man's actions may give the lie to his words.

LIE, v.i.¹ [Sax. ligan, leogan; Dan. lyver; Sw. liuga; G. lügen; D. leugenen; Russ. lgu.]

1. To utter falsehood with an intention to deceive, or with an immoral design. Thou hast not lied to men, but to God. Acts v.
2. To exhibit a false representation; to say or do that which deceives another, when he has a right to know the truth, or when morality requires a just representation.

LIE, v.i.² [pret. lay; pp. lain, lien, obs. Sax. ligan or licgan; Goth. ligan; Sw. liggia; Dan. ligger; D. liegen; Russ. leju; Gr. λεγομαι. The Gr. word usually signifies to speak, which is to utter or throw out sounds. Hence to lie down is to throw one's self down, and probably lie and lay are of one family, as are jacio and jaceo, in Latin.]

1. To be in a horizontal position, or nearly so, and to rest on any thing lengthwise, and not on the end. Thus a person lies on a bed, and a fallen tree on the ground. A cask stands on its end, but lies on its side.
2. To rest in an inclining posture; to lean; as, to lie on or against a column.
3. To rest; to press on.
4. To be reposited in the grave. All the kings of the earth, even all of them, lie in glory. – Isa. xiv.
5. To rest on a bed or couch; to be prostrate; as, to lie sick. My little daughter lieth at the point of death. – Mark v.
6. To be situated. New Haven lies in the forty-second degree of north latitude. Ireland lies west of England. Envy lies between beings equal in nature, though unequal in circumstances. – Collier.
7. To be; to rest; to abide; to remain; often followed by some word denoting a particular condition; as, to lie waste; to lie fallow; to lie open; to lie hid; to lie pining or grieving; to lie under one's displeasure; to lie at the mercy of a creditor, or at the mercy of the waves.
8. To consist. He that thinks that diversion may not lie in hard labor, forgets the early rising of the huntsman. – Locke.
9. To be sustainable in law; to be capable of being maintained. An action lies against the tenant for waste. An appeal lies in this case. – Ch. J. Parsons. To lie at, to tease or importune. [Little used.] To lie at the heart, to be fixed as an object of affection or anxious desire. The Spainards have but one temptation to quarrel with us, the recovering of Jamaica, for that has ever lain at their hearts. – Temple. To lie by, to be reposited, or remaining with. He has the manuscript lying by him. #2. To rest; to intermit labor. We lay by during the heat of the day. To lie in the way, to be an obstacle or impediment. Remove the objections that lie in the way of an amicable adjustment. To lie hard or heavy, to press; to oppress; to burden. To lie on hand, to be or remain in possession; to remain unsold or undisposed of. Great quantities of wine lie on hand, or have lain long on hand. To lie on the hands, to remain unoccupied or unemployed; to be tedious. Men are sometimes at a loss to know how to employ the time that lies on their hands. To lie on the head, to be imputed. What he gets more of her than sharp words, let it lie on my head. Shak. To lie in wait, to wait for in concealment; to lie in ambush; to watch for an opportunity to attack or seize. To lie in one, to be in the power of; to belong to. As much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Rom. xii. To lie down, to lay the body on the ground or other level place; also, to go to rest. To lie in, to be in childbed; to bring forth young. To lie under, to be subject to; to suffer; to be oppressed by. To lie on or upon, to be a matter of obligation or duty. It lies on the plaintif to maintain his action. To lie with, To lodge or sleep with; also, to have carnal knowledge of. #2. To belong to. It lies with you to make amends. To lie over, to remain unpaid, after the time when payment is due; as a note in bank. To lie to, to be stationary, as a ship.

LIEF, a. [Sax. leof, loved; D. lief, G. lieb. See Love.]

Dear; beloved. [Obs.] – Spenser. Shak.

LIEF, adv. [supra. This word coincides with love, L. lubet, libet, and the primary sense is to be free, prompt, ready.]

Gladly; willingly; freely; used in familiar speech, in the phrase, I had as lief go as not. It has been supposed that had in this phrase is a corruption of would. At any rate it is anomalous.

LIE'-FRAUGHT, a.

Fraught with lies. Lamb.

LIEGE, a. [It. ligio; Fr. lige; from L. ligo, to bind; Gr. λυγοω, to bind, to bend; λυγος, a withe.]

1. Bound by a feudal tenure; obliged to be faithful and loyal to a superior, as a vassal to his lord; subject; faithful; as, a liege man. By liege homage, a vassal was bound to serve his lord against all, without excepting his sovereign; or against all excepting a former lord to whom he owed like service. – Encyc.
2. Sovereign; as, a liege lord. [See the noun.]

LIEGE, n. [supra.]

1. A vassal holding a fee by which he is bound to perform certain services and duties to his lord.
2. A lord or superior; a sovereign. Note. This is a false application of the word, arising probably from transferring the word from the vassal to the lord; the lord of liege men, being called liege lord. – Johnson.

LIEGE'-MAN, n.

A vassal; a subject. [Obs.] – Spenser. Shak.

LIEG'ER, n.

A resident embassador.

LIEN, n. [leen; supra.]

A legal claim; the right by which the possessor of property holds it against the owner, in satisfaction of a demand.

LI'EN, v.

The obsolete participle of Lie. [See Lain.]

LI-EN-TER'IC, a. [from lientery.]

Pertaining to a lientery. – Grew.

LI'EN-TER-Y, n. [Fr. lienterie; L. and It. lienteria; Gr. λειον, smooth, and εντερον, an intestine.]

A lax or diarrhea; in which the aliments are discharged undigested, and with little alteration either in color or substance. – Encyc.

LI'ER, n. [from lie.]

One who lies down; one who rests or remains; as, a lier in wait or in ambush. Josh. viii.