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Knights Errant In France, from 768 to 987, the land was encumbered with fortified castles; in England this was not the case
till the reign of Stephen. The lords of these castles used to carry off females and commit rapine, so that a class of men sprang
up, at least in the pages of romance, who roamed about in full armour to protect the defenceless and aid the oppressed.
And the Knights Arrant were the ones who committed the rapes.
I remember learning the word "arrant" from R.L.Stevenson poem "My Shadow"
the last stanza being:
One morning, very early, before the sun was up,
I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup;
But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy-head,
Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed.
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Lachesis [Lak'-e-sis ]. The Fate who spins life's thread, working into the woof the sundry events destined
to occur. Clotho held the distaff, and Atropos cut off the thread when life was to be ended. (Greek,
klótho, to draw thread from a distaff; Lachesis from lagchano, to assign by lot; and Atropos = inflexible.)
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Dr. Bill:
How knights of you to bring up this topic. For some strange reason, your mentioning that word reminded me of one of the least-known knights of the Round Table, Sir Humphrey, little known because he had little money. How poor was he? He was so poor that he didn't have a charger on which to gad about. He had to make do with a cart pulled by a pair of Toggenburgs, hence his sometimes moniker: Sir Humprey Goatcart.
One day King Abdul remarked that he hadn't seen Sir Humprey around the old camel lot in some time (and here you thought this was about King Arthur;s round table, didn't you?) No one else had seen him in weeks, but it was reported that his goats had returned without him, dragging the cart behind them.
So King Abdul decided to send someone out looking for Sir Humphrey. All of the other knights were busy on various quests, so Lady Pamela volunteered. At first old Abdul wasn't too happy, but finally he relented. So Lady Pamela, suitably clad in a slinky two piece suit of fe-mail, set out on her pretty grey mare to find the errant knight.
Some weeks later, after many adventures which may be read about elsewhere, she found Sir Humphrey, who had been captured by a fierce magical dragon and imprisoned, grievously wounded, in the dank confines of a cave. Lady Pamela engaged the dragon in combat and cut off its head with her trusty sewing scissors. As she was binding up Humphrey's wounds, he saw over her shoulder that the dragon, a magical beast, had raised itself from the dead and was creeping up behind her.
So Sir Humphrey shouted to his would-be rescuer, "Slay it again, Pam."
TEd
TEd
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Laconic Very concise and pithy. A Spartan was called a Lacon from Laconia, the land inwhich he dwelt.
The Spartans were noted for their brusque and sententious speech. When Philip of Macedon wrote to the
Spartan magistrates, “If I enter Laconia, I will level Lacedæmon to the ground,” the ephors wrote word
back the single word, “If.”
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Lady A woman of wealth, of station, or of rank. Verstegan says, “It was anciently written Hleafdian [?
hlæfdige], contracted first into Lafdy, and then into Lady. Laf or Hláf (loaf) means food in general or
bread in particular, and dig-ian or dug-an, to help, serve, or care for; whence lady means the
`bread-server.' The lord (or loaf-ward supplied the food, and the lady saw that it was properly served, for
the ladies used to carve and distribute the food to the guests.”
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Ladies' Smocks Garden cress, botanically called Cardamine, a diminutive of the Greek kardamon, called
in Latin nasturtium, sometimes called Nose-smart (Kara-damon, head-afflicting); so nasturtium is
Nasi-tortium (nose-twisting), called so in consequence of its pungency.
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Lager Beer A strong German beer. Lager means a “storehouse,” and lager beer means strong beer made
(in March) for keeping.
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Laissez Faire, Laissez Passer Lord John Russell said: “Colbert, with the intention of fostering the
manufactures of France, established regulations limiting the webs woven in looms to a particular size. He
also prohibited the introduction of foreign manufactures Then the French vine-growers, finding they could
no longer get rid of their wine, began to grumble. When Colbert asked a merchant what relief he could
give, he received for answer, `Laissez faire, laissez passer;' that is to say, Don't interfere with our mode
of manufactures, and don't stop the introduction of foreign imports.”
The laissez-faire system. The let-alone system.
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So Sir Humphrey shouted to his would-be rescuer, "Slay it again, Pam."
The piano player stopped dead in his tracks. A sudden patter of feet and the barman was beside them, clearing away the glasses.
He glared sharply at TEd, and with a slight sneer said,
"That's it, mate. You're bard."
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Lake School (The). The school of poetry introduced by the Lake poets Wordsworth, Coleridge, and
Southey, who resided in the Lake district of Cumberland and Westmoreland, and sought inspiration in the
simplicity of nature. The name was first applied in derision by the Edinburgh Review to the class of poets
who followed the above-named trio.
N.B. Charles Lamb, Lloyd, and Professor William (Christopher North) are sometimes placed among
the “Lakers.”
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Lampoon Sir Walter Scott says, “These personal and scandalous libels, carried to excess in the reign of
Charles II., acquired the name of lampoons from the burden sung to them: Lampone, lampone, camerada
lampone'- Guzzler, guzzler, my fellow guzzler.” (French, lamper, to guzzle.) Sir Walter obtained his
information from Trevoux.
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Land-lubber An awkward or inexpert sailor on board ship. (Lubber, the Welsh llob, a dunce.)
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Land of Nod (The). To go to the land of Nod is to go to bed. There are many similar puns and more in
French than in English. Of course, the reference is to Gen. iv. 16, “Cain went ... and dwelt in the land of
Nod;” but where the land of Nod is or was nobody knows. In fact, “Nod” means a vagrant or vagabond,
and when Cain was driven out he lived “a vagrant life,” with no fixed abode, till he built his “city.” (See
Needham .)
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Langue d'Oc The Provencal branch of the Gallo-Romaic idiom; so called from their oc (yes).
Langue d'Oil Walloon or Germanised Gallo-Romaic; so called from their pronouncing our yes as oil
(o.e) These Gauls lived north of the Loire; the Provencals dwelt south of that river.
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Larboard now called port (q.v.). (Starboard is from Anglo-Saxon steorabord, the steer-board, or right
side of a ship.) Larboard is the French bâbord, the left-hand side of a ship looking towards the prow;
Anglo-Saxon boec-bord
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strong beer made
(in March) for keeping.
Why would you keep beer? I merely rent mine.
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Ah, chemeng, you really know the answer.. (oops, maybe not, its as much biology as chemistry.)
there are two basic yeast used to make beer, one like colder tempertures, one warmer.. German beer uses the cold yeast, and beer can not be brewed till it get cold enough (late september..and 4 to 6 weeks later, the first new beer is available, and you have an OctoberFest... in late spring, (say March) beer is made for keeping.. (higher alcohol content) since it starts getting too warm to brew..
that "strong beer" has to last till October.. (only it never does, and there is a dry spell in early fall..)
with modern refridgeration, beer can be brewed year round..
do we have any home brewers on the board? its small hobby here, but my understanding is it is more popular in UK. they might know the names of the different yeasts.
(in US, each household can brew up to 50 gallons of wine or beer for home use with no taxes added. over 50 gallons is considered commercial production and is taxed-- but it is always illegal to distill.. )
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Dear chemeng1992: Many alcoholic beverages have flavour improve with age, if stored
properly. And with the beer it was desirable to have some surplus stored, possibly because
seasonal temperature changes had undesirable effects. My ignorance of beer making is
total. I wonder how well things like hops could have been stored in the old days.
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Lars The overking of the ancient Etruscans, like the Welsh “pendragon.” A satrap, or under-king, was a lucumo. Thus the
king of Prussia is the German lars, and the king of Bavaria is a lucumo.
There be thirty chosen prophets,
The wisest of the land,
Who always by Lars Porsena
, Both morn and evening stand.”
Macaulay: Lays of Ancient Rome,
(Horatius, ix.)
So the "Lars" in Lars Porsena is his title, not his first name.
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Larvae Mischievous spectres. The larva or ghost of Caligula was often seen (according to Suetonius) in his palace.
I never heard this word used this way before. Since it must be older than our use of the word to mean
very immature form of an organism, that use seems poorly chosen.
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Lateran The ancient palace of the Laterani, given by the Emperor Constantine to the popes. Lateran,
from lateo, to hide, and rana, a frog. It is said that Nero ... on one occasion vomited a frog covered with
blood, which he believed to be his own progeny, and had it hidden in a vault. The palace which was built
on the site of this vault was called the “Lateran,” or the palace of the hidden frog. (Buckle: History of
Civilisation.)
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Lavender From the Spanish lavandera (a laundress), the plant used by laundresses for scenting linen.
The botanical name is Lavandula, from the Latin lavo, to wash. It is a token of affection.
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There are several guys that I work with that brew their own - I've tried a little but can't say that I prefer it. I guess one grows accustomed to the 'commercial' stuff. That home brewed kind is stout and mean to the head!
We also have a nifty little microbrewery in downtown Montgomery - interestingly it's the only place in central Alabama where you can get beer 'on tap'. Apparently the Bible Belt thinks beer from the tap is worse fer ya. Anyhoo - their beer seems to be a happy medium between the usual Miller or Busch product and the home swill. Much more interesting taste with only a little more on the headache scale.
Anyone have any knowledge on why draft beer would be outlawed and bottled allowed??
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Lawn Fine, thin cambric bleached on a lawn, instead of the ordinary bleaching grounds. It is used for the
sleeves of bishops, and sometimes for ladies' handkerchiefs.
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When it comes to yeast, you need to go to Kentucky for the correct answers. Jackie may not know this, but most horse breeders do.
There are in Kentucky a variety of hummingbirds that builds their nests of hair from the manes of horses. So they sometimes actually build their nests in the horses' manes. Anyway, the Kentucky breeders have discovered that the cheeping sound made by the chicks has a detrimental effect on their breeding program. Basically, the particular frequencies increase miscarriages.
Someone though, discovered that a yeat paste discouraged the birds from their building the nests on the horses' necks. Yep, yeast is yeast and nest is nest, but never the manes shall tweet.
TEd
TEd
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Left in the Lurch Left to face a great perplexity. In cribbage a lurch is when a player has scored only
thirty holes, while his opponent has made sixty-one, and thus won a double.
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Legend means simply “something to be read” as part of the divine service. The narratives of the lives of
saints and martyrs were so termed from their being read, especially at matins, and after dinner in the
refectories. Exaggeration and a love for the wonderful so predominated in these readings, that the word
came to signify the untrue, or rather, an event based on tradition.
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Lemures (3 syl.). The spirits of the dead. Good lemures were called Lares, but bad ones Larvae, spectres
who wandered about at night-time to terrify the living. (Ovid. Fasti, v.)
I wonder if this is where the name for a very small primate comes.
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Lens (Latin, a lentil or bean). Glasses used in mathematical instruments are so called because the double
convex one, which may be termed the perfect lens, is of a bean shape.
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Lent (Anglo-Saxon, lencten). Lenctentid (spring-tide) was the Saxon name for March, because in this
month there is a manifest lengthening of the days. As the chief part of the great fast falls in March, this
period of fast received the name of the Lencten-fæsten, or Lent. It is from Ash Wednesday to Easter.
The Fast of thirty-six days was introduced in the fourth century. Felix III. added four more days in
487, to make it correspond with our Lord's fast in the wilderness.
Galeazzo's Lent. A form of torture devised by Galeazzo Visconti, calculated to prolong the unfortunate
victim's life for forty days.
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Leth'e (2 syl.), in Greek mythology, is one of the rivers of Hades, which the souls of all the dead are
obliged to taste, that they may forget everything said and done in the earth on which they lived. (Greek
letho, latheo, lanthano, to cause persons not to know.)
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Letters Patent So denominated because they are written upon open sheets of parchment, with the seal of
the sovereign or party by whom they were issued pendent at the bottom. Close letters are folded up and
sealed on the outside. (Sir Thomas Duffus Hardy.)
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Larvae Mischievous spectres. The larva or ghost of Caligula was often seen (according to Suetonius) in his palace.
I never heard this word used this way before. Since it must be older than our use of the word to mean
very immature form of an organism, that use seems poorly chosen.
Dr. Bill, in one of my Mary Stewart books, a little girl is being shown things in nature by her cousin, a "wise woman". They see a larva pupate, and the little girl mishears "a nymph", and says it is "an imp". It took me a while to remember that much detail; at first I was thinking that I'd read that larvae really were called imps. So I tried looking it up, and look what I found:
[Old English impa "young shoot, scion" and impian "to graft," both ultimately from Greek emphuein , literally "to emplant," from phuein "to grow, plant"] There really does seem to be a connection!
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do we have any home brewers on the board?Have done, Helen, and know many people who make their own wine and beer. Generally speaking it's pretty good stuff, not to mention stronger and cheaper than most of the commercial products. As you say, it's quite popular in the UK. Fairly high tax on booze probably accounts for that, although we've a long and proud tradition of DIY wherever possible - and also of heroically failing at DIY..  To be honest I'm unaware of the distinction between hot-weather and cold-weather yeasts. I know that brewers have their favourite strains of yeast, which they've kept going for - literally - centuries, and I know it's a good idea to get yeast from your favourite brewery, as it's such a fundamental ingredient. Well, yeast is the essence of the whole process, really. Over here, "lager" has always meant continental (European) style beer, which first arrived here in the 70s. It's more pale than English beer (hereafter called "ale" and assumed to be cask-conditioned stuff rather than the 'orrible "keg beers" that used to be prevalent), amber coloured at the darkest. It's also always been mechanically chilled, whereas ale is cellar temperature, coolish but definitely not chilled. Lagers always have gas (nitrogen I think) added as they're piped up from the cellar, and thus a definite "head"; ale has a natural gental froth produced by the yeast. You may just detect some bias here.   I think real ale is the best drink on the planet. I also happen to think that Harvey's, my locally brewed ale, is the best real ale ever - but all real ale afficiandos (sp?) love the local stuff best, as it's a living product and doesn't always travel well. Actually there are some continental beers that are a cut above the rest, with no nasty chemical additives etc. The German "purity law" lagers such as Beck's, and (especially) the Czech Budwar (original Budweiser) spring to mind. You can drink loads of them without getting a hangover, which ain't bad really! You should always drink these bottled, never the draught versions. DrinkonaBikeHmmm. It used to be that all threads eventually turned into food threads; but recently (for some strange reason) they've started turning into drink threads. Curious. [innocence]
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Hmmm. It used to be that all threads eventually turned into food threads; but recently (for some strange reason)
they've started turning into drink threads. Curious.Ah'llll that to dhrink!
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Leucothea [White Goddess]. So Ino was called after she became a seanymph. Her son Palæmon, called
by the Romans Portunus, or Portumnus, was the protecting genius of harbours.
No to be confused with leucorrhea, often a harbinger of gono rrhea.
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The Queen's Levée. It was customary for the queens of France to receive at the hour of their levé - i.e.
while making their toilet- the visits of certain noblemen. This custom was afterwards demanded as a right
by the court physicians, messengers from the king, the queen's secretary, and some few other gentlemen,
so that ten or more persons were often in the dressing-room while the queen was making her toilet and
sipping her coffee. The word is now used to express that concourse of gentlemen who wait on the queen
on mornings appointed. No ladies except those attached to the court are present on these occasions.
Kings and some nobles have their levées sometimes of an evening.
Not to be confused with levee meaning an embankment to prevent river flooding.
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Level Best To do one's level best. To exert oneself to the utmost.
Firmly entrenched but seems to me poorly chosen.
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Lewd (Anglo-Saxon, leóde) simply means folk in general, verb leod-an. The present meaning refers to
the celibacy of the clergy.
How the meaning has changed.
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Lewkner's Lane Now called “Charles Street,” Drury Lane, London, always noted for ladies of the
pavement.
Not the protégées of the the Muffin Man of Drury Lane, Oh.
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Leyden Jar or Phial. A glass vessel partly coated, inside and out, with lead-foil, and used in electrical
experiments to receive accumulated electricity; invented by Vanleigh, of Leyden.
It was such a jar that Ben Franklin used to capture a charge from his kite string. A special
Providence having preserved him from electrocution.
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Lia-fail (of Ireland). The Fatalé Marmor or Stone of Destiny. On, this stone the ancient Irish kings sat at
their coronation, and according to tradition, wherever that stone might be the people there would be
dominant. It was removed to Scone; and Edward removed it from Scone Abbey to London. It is kept in
Westminster Abbey under who royal throne, on which the English sovereigns sit at their coronation. (See
Coronation Chair, Scone .)
The Stone of Scone has since been returned to Scotland. I still don't know how "Scone" is pronounced
Dear jmh was going to find out for me, but so far has not done so.
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Libel means a little book (Latin, libellus). A lampoon, a satire, or any defamatory writings. Originally it
meant a plaintiff's statement of his case, which usually “defames” the defendant.
The greater the truth, the greater the libel. The dictum of William Murray, Earl of Mansfield
(1704-1793).
Let us all abstain from libel.
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Liberals A political term first employed in 1815, when Lord Byron and his friends set on foot the
periodical called The Liberal, to represent their views in politics, religion, and literature. The word,
however, did not come into general use till about 1831, when the Reform Bill, in Lord Grey's Ministry,
gave it prominence.
“Influenced in a great degree by the philosophy and the politics of the Continent, they [the
Whigs] endeavoured to substitute cosmopolitan for national principles, and they baptised the
new scheme of politics with the plausible name of “Liberalism.”- Disraeli, June 24, 1872.
A liberal is a politician willing to give away your money.
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Liberia An independent republic of western Africa settled by free negroes.
Notice how few chose to take advantage of this opportunity.
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Lictors Binders (Latin, ligo, to bind or tie). These Roman officers were so called because they bound the
hands and feet of criminals before they executed the sentence of the law. (Aulus Gellius.)
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Lie (Anglo-Saxon, lige, a falsehood.)
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Lie (Anglo-Saxon, licgan, to `bide or rest; but lie, to deceive, is the Anglo-Saxon verb leog-an.)
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Liege The word means one bound, a bondsman (Latin, ligo, to bind); hence, vassals were called
liege-men- i.e. men bound to serve their lord. The lord was called the liege-lord, being bound to protect
the vassals.
“Unarmed and bareheaded, on his knees, and with his hands placed between those of his lord,
he [the military tenant] repeated these words:`Hear, my lord, I have become your liegeman of
life and limb, and earthly worship; and faith and truth I will bear to you to live and die.”-
Lingard: History of England, vol. ii. chap. i. p. 27.
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re: Notice how few chose to take advantage of this opportunity
How true it is, you can never go home again.. for people 100 years removed from africa to return, the problems were compounded.
how simple minded to think large numbers would flock to liberia . Africa is a huge continent, yet the western world treats it like nothing.. Europe, 1/4 the size is divided up into many different countries/ethic groups, that are recognized.. (france, italy, germany, etc)
slaves came from places as different as france, italy and germany, so its not surprizing they didn't flock to create a new country in a place as different from where they came from as ireland is from italy!
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Ligan Goods thrown overboard, but tied to a cork or buoy in order to be found again. (Latin ligare, to tie
or bind.)
Flotsam. The débris of a wreck which floats on the surface of the sea, and is often washed ashore.
(Latin flotare, to float.)
Jetson or jetsam. Goods thrown overboard in a storm to lighten the vessel. (Latin jacere, to cast forth,
through the French jeter.
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The fable of Lilis or Lilith was invented to reconcile Gen. i. with Gen. ii. Genesis i. represents the
simultaneous creation of man and woman out of the earth; but Genesis ii. represents that Adam was
alone, and Eve was made out of a rib and was given to Adam as a helpmeet for him.
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Lilli-Burlero or Lilli-Bullero and Bullen-a-lah. Said to have been the words of distinction used by the
Irish Papists in their massacres of the Protestants in 1641. A song with the refrain of “Lilli-burlero,
bullen-a-la!” was written by Lord Wharton, which had a more powerful effect than the philippics of either
Demosthenes or Cicero, and contributed not a little to the great revolution of 1688. Burnet says, “It made
an impression on the [king's] army that cannot be imagined. ... The whole army, and at last the people,
both in city and country, were singing it perpetually ... never had so slight a thing so great an effect.” The
song is in Percy's Reliques of Ancient English Poetry, series ii. bk. 3. (See Sterne: Tristram Shandy,
chap. ii.)
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ily of France. The device of Clovis was three black toads, but an aged hermit of Joye-en-valle saw a
miraculous light stream one night into his cell, and an angel appeared to him holding a shield of wonderful
beauty; its colour was azure, and on it were emblazoned three gold lilies that shone like stars, which the
hermit was commanded to give to Queen Clotilde. Scarcely had the angel vanished when Clotilde entered,
and, receiving the celestial shield, gave it to her royal husband, whose arms were everywhere victorious.
(See Les Petits Bollandistes, vol. vi. p. 426.)
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Limbo A waste-basket; a place where things are stowed, too good to destroy but not good enough to use.
In School theology unbaptised infants and good heathens go to Limbo. (Latin, limbus, the edge.) They
cannot go to heaven, because they are not baptised, and they cannot go to the place of torment, because
they have not committed sin at all, or because their good preponderates. (
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Limner A drawer, a painter, an artist. A contraction of illuminator, or rather lumenier (one who
illuminates manuscripts).
“The limner, or illuminer ... throws us back on a time when the illumination of MSS, was a
leading occupation of the painter.”- Trench: On the Study of Words, lecture iv. p. 171.
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Lina The Goddess Flax.
“Inventress of the woof, fair Lina flings
The flying shuttle through the dancing strings.
Darwin: Loves of the Plants, canto ii.
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Linen Goods In 1721 a statute was passed imposing a penalty of 5 upon the wearer, and 20 upon the
seller of, a piece of calico. Fifteen years later this statute was so far modified that calicoes manufactured
in Great Britain were allowed, “provided the warp thereof was entirely of linen yarn.” In 1774 a statute
was passed allowing printed cotton goods to be used on the payment of threepence a yard duty; in 1806
the duty was raised to threepence halfpenny. This was done to prevent the use of calicoes from
interfering with the demand for linen and woollen stuffs. The law for burying in woollen was of a similar
character. The following extracts from a London news-letter, dated August 2nd, 1768, are curious. [Note
- chintz is simply printed calico. ]
“Yesterday three tradesmen's wives of this city were convicted before the Rt. Hon. the Lord
Mayor for wearing chintz gowns on Sunday last, and each of them was fined 5. These make
eighty who have been convicted of the above offence within twelve months past ... There
were several ladies in St. James's Park on the same day with chintz gowns on, but the persons
who gave informas of the above three were not able to discover their names or places of
abode. ... Yesterday a waggon loaded with 2,000 worth of chintz was seized at Dartford in
Kent by some custom-house officers. Two post-chaises loaded with the same commodity got
off with their goods by swiftness of driving.”
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like an arrant sleepy-head,
Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed
Bill, I only just read this properly - and sleepily realise that I really like it. Is all Stevenson's stuff similar? And any recommended collections of his?
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Oh yes, Fishona, I Have a Little Shadow is one of the poems i still know by heart, i learned it age 7 or so for a recertation piece.. (my sibling and i were expected to sing or other wise perform for our suppers on holidays..)
the Childrens Garden of Verses was my very first book of poetry. it came complete with several full color plates (i remember thinking "plates" an odd word to use for the illustrations.)
Edward Lear is wonder full too, i had a set of his complete works.. his botanicals were delightful , not to mentions his poems!
and a hundred million years ago, (or so it seems, but it was just circa 1970) i recieved a Penguin Books series Junior Voices a set of 4 slim volumes of poetry, songs, riddles and art for children.. and i was almost an adult at the time, but i still haven't grown to old for the books, and think fondly of David Sedgely, who gave them to me.
Volume II, has a two page spread illustrating Bernini's Apollo and Daphne, a sculpture that took my breath away, and stole a piece of my heart when i first saw it in the Borghese Gallery.
it such a set is still available, i recommend them.. your children will enjoy them too, when they finally pry them out of your hands!
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Lisbon A corruption of' Ulyssippo (Ulysses' polis or city). Said by some to have been founded by Lusus, who visited Portugal
with Ulysses, whence “Lusitania” (q.v.); and by others to have been founded by Ulysses himself This is Camoens' version. (See
above.)
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Liturgy originally meant public work, such as arranging the dancing and singing on public festivals, the torch-races, the equipping
and manning of ships, etc. In the Church of England it means the religious forms prescribed in the Book of Common Prayer.
(Greek, litourgia.)
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Livered As, white-livered, lily-livered. Cowardly. In the auspices taken by the Greeks and Romans before battle, if the liver of
the animals sacrificed was healthy and blood-red, the omen was favourable; but if pale, it augured defeat.
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Livery What is delivered. The clothes of a man-servant delivered to him by his master. The stables to which your horse is
delivered for keep. During the Merovingian and Carlovingian dynasties, splendid dresses were given to all the members of the
royal household; barons and knights gave uniforms to their retainers, and even a duke's son, serving as a page, was clothed in the
livery of the prince he served. (French, livrer.)
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Lode The vein that leads or guides to ore. A dead lode is one exhausted.
Lode. A ditch that guides or leads water into a river or sewer.
Lodestar The leading-star by which mariners are guided; the pole-star.
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Lombard (A). A banker or moneylender, so called because the first bankers were from Lombardy, and
set up in Lombard Street (London), in the Middle Ages. The business of lending money on pawns was
carried on in England by Italian merchants or bankers as early at least as the reign of Richard I. By the 12
Edward I., a messuage was confirmed to these traders where Lombard Street now stands; but the trade
was first recognised in law by James I. The name Lombard (according to Stow) is a contraction of
Longobards. Among the richest of these Longobard merchants was the celebrated Medici family, from
whose armorial bearings the insignia of three golden balls has been derived. The Lombard bankers
exercised a monopoly in pawnbroking till the reign of Queen Elizabeth.
I; have read that the Lombards in Italy took a lot of timber as security for loans. The word "lumber"
has its origin in this. Also, the Lombards kept such an assortment of things or relatively small
value, that in England an attic storage room used to be called a "lumber room".
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Long Words Agathokakological. (Southey: The Doctor.)
Alcomiroziropoulopilousitounitapignac. The giantess. (Croquemitaine, iii. 2.) Amoronthologosphorus.
(See Hair.) (The Three Hairs.) Anantachaturdasivratakatha. (Sanskrit work.) (See Trübner's Literary
Record.)
Antipericatametanaparbeugedamphi-cribrationes Toordicantium. One of the books in the library of St.
Victor. (Rabelais: Pantagruel, ii. 7.)
Batrachomyomachia (battle of the frogs and mice). A Greek mock heroic.
Cluninstaridysarchides. (Plautus.)
Deanthropomorphisation.
Don Juan Nepomuceno de Burionago-natotorecagageazcoecha. An employe in the finance department
of Madrid (1867).
Drimtaidhvrickhilliohattan, in the Isle of Mull, Argyleshire.
Honorificabilitudinitatibus, called the longest word in the (?) English language. It frequently occurs in old
plays. (See Bailey's Dictionary.) The “quadradimensionality” is almost as long.
“Thou art not so long by the head as honorific-abilitudinitatibus.”- Shakespeare: Love's
Labour's Lost, v. 1.
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Inanthropomorphisability of deity.
Jungefrauenzimmerdurchschwind-suchttoedtungs-gegenverein (German. (See Notes and Queries, vol.
v. p. 124, first series.)
Kagwadawwacomëgishearg. An Indian chief, who died in Wisconsin in 1866.
Lepadotemachoselachogaleokraniolcip-sanodrimupotrimmatosilphioparaomelit-okatakeclummenokichlepikossuphophat-toperisteralektruonoptegkephalokigklop-eleiolagoosiraiobaletraganopterugon.
It is one of the longest words extant (179 English and 169 Greek letters and consisting of 78 syllables).
(Aristophanes: Ekklesiazousai, v. 1169.)
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrn-drobwllllandyssiliogogogoch. The name of a Welsh village in
Anglesea. In the postal directory the first twenty letters only are given as a sufficient address for practical
purposes, but the full name contains 59 letters. The meaning is, “The church of St. Mary in a hollow of
white hazel, near to the rapid whirlpool, and to St. Tisilio church, near to a red cave.”
“What, Mr. Manhound, was it not enough thus to have
morcrocastebezasteverestegrigeligoscop-apondrillated us all in our upper members with your
botched mittens, but you must also apply such
morderegrippiatabirofreluchamburdureca-quelurintimpaniments on our shin-bones with the
hard tops and extremities of your cobbled shoes.”- Rabelais, illustrated by Gustavc Dore, p.
438.
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Sorry about making screen go wide.
They morramborizeverzengirizequo-quemorgasacbaquevezinemaffretiding my poor eye. (Rabelais:
Pantagruel, iv. 15.)
Nitrophenylenediamine. A dye of an intense red colour.
“Dinitroaniline, chloroxynaphthalic acid, which may be used for colouring wool in intense red;
and nitrophenylenediamine of chromatic brilliancy.”- William Crookes: The Times, October
5th, 1868.
Polyphrasticontinomimegalondulaton.
“Why not wind up the famous ministerial declaration with `Konx Ompax' or the mystic `Om'
or that difficult expression `Polyphrasti-continomimegalondulaton?' ”- The Star.
M. N. Rostocostojambedanesse, author of After Beef, Mustard. (Rabelais: Pantagruel, ii. 7.)
Sankashtachaturthivratodyapana. (Sanskrit work.) (See Trübner's Literary Record. Forster gives one of
152 syllables.
Tetramethyldiamidobenzhydrols.
There are more of them, but perhaps to post them would be overkill.
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Loom means a utensil. (Anglo-Saxon, loma). Thus “heir-loom” means a personal chattel or household
implement which goes by special custom to the heir. The word was in familiar use in Prior's time
(1664-1721), for he says “a thousand maidens ply the purple loom.”
I never thought of "heir-loom" before. But what on earth is a "purple loom"?
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Lucus a non Lucendo An etymological contradiction. The Latin word lucus means
a “dark grove,” but is said to be derived from the verb luce o, to shine. Similarly
our word black (the Anglo-Saxon blaec) is derived from the verb blaec-an, to
bleach or whiten.
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Luff The weather-gauge. The part of a vessel towards the wind. A sailing close to the wind. (Dutch, loef,
a weather-gauge.)
To luff is to turn the head of a ship towards the wind.
Luff!- i.e. Put the tiller on the leeside. This is done to make the ship sail nearer the wind.
Luff round! Throw the ship's head right into the wind.
Luff a-lee! Same as luff round.
A ship is said to spring her luff when she yields to the helm by sailing nearer the wind.
Keep the luff. The wind side.
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Thanks Bill. Beautiful stuff. I had actually read some of Robert Louis Stevenson's stories before ( Treasure Island & Kidnapped), but have never heard him referenced by anything except his full name, so your reference threw me I'll enjoy exploring his poetry further.
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Lutetia Mud-hovels; the ancient name of Paris. The Romans call it Lutetia Parisiorum,
the mud-town of the Parisii. The former word being dropped, has left the present name Paris.
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my sibling and i were expected to sing or other wise perform for our suppers on holidays..Brilliant, Helen! Have to start doing that with my kids. several full color platesI always loved that term. "Plates" tended to be very high quality illustrations, though, didn't they? On glossy paper, often with a protective sheet of tissue-like paper over the top. In a new book you would actually need to peel that sheet away. I expect original copies of books like that would be worth a fortune now. Thanks for the references - I'll check out Amazon (recently visited for Just So Stories and Aesop's Fables ) and/or second-hand bookshops.. Found a picture of Apollo & Daphne, not brilliant, but may be helpful for passers-by: http://www.galleriaborghese.it/borghese/en/edafne.htmTalking fondly-remembered children's books, anyone out there also get pangs for Hilda Boswell's Treasury Of Poetry ?
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Lydford Law is, punish first and try afterwards. Lydford, in the county of Devon, was a fortified town, in which was an ancient castle, where were held the courts of the Duchy of Cornwall. Offenders against the stannary laws were confined before trial in a dungeon so loathsome and dreary that it gave rise to the proverb referred to. The castle was destroyed by the Danes "Stannery" sounds related to Stannum = tin. I wonder wha those laws could have been. Very interesting URL about tin: http://www.chycor.co.uk/tourism/tolgus/page2.htm
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Lynch-pin (Anglo-Saxon, lynis, an axle) A pin that held wagon wheel on axle. Very important,
so as figure of speech, a politician vital to maintaining party unity may be called the party's
linchpin
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M This letter represents the wavy appearance of water, and is called in Hebrew mem (water).
It is gems like this that make it worth the troulble of going through this long book,
which has so much crap in it.
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i read recently somewhere, that the hebrew alphabet was filled with such mnemonic divices.. aleph, is ? but beta is shaped like a door (and the hebrew word for door starts with a b, and gamel, is associated with camel (the shape, the sound.. ?) i don't know the hebrew alphabet.
just as S is sinuous, and snake like.. and snake starts with the letter S.. i don't remember learning or using mnemonics for the alphabet, (i did, and do for other things) but i have come across the idea more then once.
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