| leafed | Having (such) a leaf or (so many) leaves; used in composition; as, broad-leafed; four-leafed. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| leafet | <botany> A leaflet. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| leafiness | The state of being leafy. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| leafless | Having no leaves or foliage; bearing no foliage. "Leafless groves." . Leaflessness, Leafless plants, plants having no foliage, though leaves may be present in the form of scales and bracts. See Leaf, 1 and 2. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| leaflet | One of the ultimate segments of a compound leaf. (09 Oct 1997) |
| leafstalk | <botany> The stalk or petiole which supports a leaf. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| leafy | 1. Full of leaves; abounding in leaves; as, the leafy forest. "The leafy month of June." 2. Consisting of leaves. "A leafy bed." Origin: Leafier; . Leafiest. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| league | 1. A measure of length or distance, varying in different countries from about 2.4 to 4.6 English statute miles of 5.280 feet each, and used (as a land measure) chiefly on the continent of Europe, and in the Spanish parts of America. The marine league of England and the United States is equal to three marine, or geographical, miles of 6080 feet each. The English land league is equal to three English statute miles. The Spanish and French leagues vary in each country according to usage and the kind of measurement to which they are applied. The Dutch and German leagues contain about four geographical miles, or about 4.6 English statute miles. 2. A stone erected near a public road to mark the distance of a league. Origin: Cf. OE. Legue, lieue, a measure of length, F. Lieue, Pr. Lega, legua, It. & LL. Lega, Sp. Legua, Pg. Legoa, legua; all fr. LL. Leuca, of Celtic origin: cf. Arm. Leo, lev (perh. From French), Ir.leige (perh. From English); also Ir. & Gael. Leac a flag, a broad, flat stone, W. Llech, such stones having perh. Served as a sort of milestone (cf. Cromlech). An alliance or combination of two or more nations, parties, or persons, for the accomplishment of a purpose which requires a continued course of action, as for mutual defense, or for furtherance of commercial, religious, or political interests, etc. "And let there be 'Twixt us and them no league, nor amity." (Denham) A league may be offensive or defensive, or both; offensive, when the parties agree to unite in attacking a common enemy; defensive, when they agree to a mutual defense of each other against an enemy. The Holy League, an alliance of Roman Catholics formed in 1576 by influence of the Duke of Guise for the exclusion of Protestants from the throne of France. Solemn League and Covenant. See Covenant,2. The land league, an association, organised in Dublin in 1879, to promote the interests of the Irish tenantry, its avowed objects being to secure fixity of tenure fair rent, and free sale of the tenants' interest. It was declared illegal by Parliament, but vigorous prosecutions have failed to suppress it. Synonym: Alliance, confederacy, confederation, coalition, combination, compact, cooperation. Origin: F.ligue, LL. Liga, fr. L. Ligare to bind; cf. Sp. Liga. Cf. Ally a confederate, Ligature. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| League of Red Cross Societies | The international federation of national Red Cross and similar societies. (05 Mar 2000) |
| leak point pressure | Storage pressure in bladder at which leakage occurs passively, usually in patients with neuropathic bladder. (05 Mar 2000) |
| lean | 1. That part of flesh which consist principally of muscle without the fat. "The fat was so white and the lean was so ruddy." (Goldsmith) 2. Unremunerative copy or work. 1. Wanting flesh; destitute of or deficient in fat; not plump; meager; thin; lank; as, a lean body; a lean cattle. 2. Wanting fullness, richness, sufficiency, or productiveness; deficient in quality or contents; slender; scant; barren; bare; mean; used literally and figuratively; as, the lean harvest; a lean purse; a lean discourse; lean wages. "No lean wardrobe." "Their lean and fiashy songs." (Milton) "What the land is, whether it be fat or lean." (Num. Xiii. 20) "Out of my lean and low ability I'll lend you something." (Shak) 3. Of a character which prevents the compositor from earning the usual wages; opposed to fat; as lean copy, matter, or type. Synonym: slender, spare, thin, meager, lank, skinny, gaunt. Origin: OE. Lene, AS. Hlne; prob. Akin to E. Lean to incline. See Lean. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| leap | 1. To pass over by a leap or jump; as, to leap a wall, or a ditch. 2. To copulate with (a female beast); to cover. 3. To cause to leap; as, to leap a horse across a ditch. 1. A basket. 2. A weel or wicker trap for fish. Origin: AS. Leap. 1. To spring clear of the ground, with the feet; to jump; to vault; as, a man leaps over a fence, or leaps upon a horse. " Leap in with me into this angry flood." (Shak) 2. To spring or move suddenly, as by a jump or by jumps; to bound; to move swiftly. Also Fig. "My heart leaps up when I behold A rainbow in the sky." (Wordsworth) Origin: OE. Lepen, leapen, AS. Hleapan to leap, jump, run; akin to OS. Ahlpan, OFries. Hlapa, D. Loopen, G. Laufen, OHG. Louffan, hlauffan, Icel. Hlaupa, Sw. Lopa, Dan. Lobe, Goth. Ushlaupan. Cf. Elope, Lope, Lapwing, Loaf to loiter. 1. The act of leaping, or the space passed by leaping; a jump; a spring; a bound. "Wickedness comes on by degrees, . . . And sudden leaps from one extreme to another are unnatural." (L'Estrange) "Changes of tone may proceed either by leaps or glides." (H. Sweet) 2. Copulation with, or coverture of, a female beast. 3. <chemical> A fault. 4. A passing from one note to another by an interval, especially by a long one, or by one including several other and intermediate intervals. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| leapfrog position | A stooping position, such as that taken by children in playing leapfrog, assumed for rectal examination. (05 Mar 2000) |
| leaping | From Leap, to jump. Leaping house, a brothel. Leaping pole, a pole used in some games of leaping. <zoology> Leaping spider, a jumping spider; one of the Saltigradae. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| Lear complex | A father's libidinous fixation on a daughter. Origin: Lear, Shakespearean character (05 Mar 2000) |