Lawe Lawe transitive verb [ See 2d Lawing .] To cut off the claws and balls of, as of a dog's fore feet. Wright.

Lawer Law"er noun A lawyer. [ Obsolete] Bale.

Lawful Law"ful adjective 1. Conformable to law; allowed by law; legitimate; competent.

2. Constituted or authorized by law; rightful; as, the lawful owner of lands.

Lawful age , the age when the law recognizes one's right of independent action; majority; -- generally the age of twenty-one years.

» In some of the States, and for some purposes, a woman attains lawful age at eighteen. Abbott.

Syn. -- Legal; constitutional; allowable; regular; rightful. -- Lawful , Legal . Lawful means conformable to the principle, spirit, or essence of the law, and is applicable to moral as well as juridical law. Legal means conformable to the letter or rules of the law as it is administered in the courts; conformable to juridical law. Legal is often used as antithetical to equitable , but lawful is seldom used in that sense.

-- Law"ful*ly , adverb -- Law"ful*ness , noun

Lawgiver Law"giv`er noun One who makes or enacts a law or system of laws; a legislator.

Lawgiving Law"giv`ing adjective Enacting laws; legislative.

Lawing Law"ing noun Going to law; litigation. Holinshed.

Lawing Law"ing noun [ So called because done in compliance with an English forest law .] Expeditation. Blackstone.

Lawless Law"less adjective 1. Contrary to, or unauthorized by, law; illegal; as, a lawless claim.

He needs no indirect nor lawless course.

Shak.

2. Not subject to, or restrained by, the law of morality or of society; as, lawless men or behavior.

3. Not subject to the laws of nature; uncontrolled.

Or, meteorlike, flame lawless through the void.

Pope.

-- Law"less*ly , adverb -- Law"less*ness , noun

Lawmaker Law"mak`er noun A legislator; a lawgiver.

Lawmaking Law"mak`ing (la"mā`kĭng) adjective Enacting laws; legislative. -- noun The enacting of laws; legislation.

Lawmonger Law"mon`ger noun A trader in law; one who practices law as if it were a trade. Milton.

Lawn Lawn (lan) noun [ Middle English laund , launde , French lande heath, moor; of Celtic origin; confer W. llan an open, clear place, llawnt a smooth rising hill, lawn, Armor. lann or lan territory, country, lann a prickly plant, plural lannou heath, moor.] 1. An open space between woods. Milton.

"Orchard lawns and bowery hollows."

Tennyson.

2. Ground (generally in front of or around a house) covered with grass kept closely mown.

Lawn mower , a machine for clipping the short grass of lawns. -- Lawn tennis , a variety of the game of tennis, played in the open air, sometimes upon a lawn, instead of in a tennis court. See Tennis .

Lawn Lawn noun [ Earlier laune lynen , i. e., lawn linen ; probably from the town Laon in France.] A very fine linen (or sometimes cotton) fabric with a rather open texture. Lawn is used for the sleeves of a bishop's official dress in the English Church, and, figuratively, stands for the office itself.

A saint in crape is twice a saint in lawn .

Pope.

Lawnd Lawnd (land) noun [ Obsolete] See Laund .

Lawny Lawn"y (lan"ȳ) adjective Having a lawn; characterized by a lawn or by lawns; like a lawn.

Musing through the lawny park.

T. Warton.

Lawny Lawn"y adjective Made of lawn or fine linen. Bp. Hall.

Lawsonia Law·so"ni·a noun (Botany) An Asiatic and North African shrub ( Lawsonia inermis ), with smooth oval leaves, and fragrant white flowers. Henna is prepared from the leaves and twigs. In England the shrub is called Egyptian privet , and in the West Indies, Jamaica mignonette .

Lawsuit Law"suit` noun An action at law; a suit in equity or admiralty; any legal proceeding before a court for the enforcement of a claim.

Lawyer Law"yer noun [ From Law , like bowyer , from bow .] 1. One versed in the laws, or a practitioner of law; one whose profession is to conduct lawsuits for clients, or to advise as to prosecution or defence of lawsuits, or as to legal rights and obligations in other matters. It is a general term, comprehending attorneys, counselors, solicitors, barristers, sergeants, and advocates.

2. (Zoology) (a) The black-necked stilt. See Stilt . (b) The bowfin ( Amia calva ). (c) The burbot ( Lota maculosa ).

Lawyerlike, Lawyerly Law"yer·like`, Law"yer·ly adjective Like, or becoming, a lawyer; as, lawyerlike sagacity. " Lawyerly mooting of this point." Milton.

Lax Lax (lăks) adjective [ Compar. Laxer (-ẽr); superl. Laxest .] [ Latin laxus Confer Laches , Languish , Lease , transitive verb , Leash .] 1. Not tense, firm, or rigid; loose; slack; as, a lax bandage; lax fiber.

The flesh of that sort of fish being lax and spongy.

Ray.

2. Not strict or stringent; not exact; loose; weak; vague; equivocal.

The discipline was lax .

Macaulay.

Society at that epoch was lenient, if not lax , in matters of the passions.

J. A. Symonds.

The word "æternus" itself is sometimes of a lax signification.

Jortin.

3. Having a looseness of the bowels; diarrheal.

Syn. -- Loose; slack; vague; unconfined; unrestrained; dissolute; licentious.

Lax Lax noun A looseness; diarrhea.

Laxation Lax·a"tion noun [ Latin laxatio , from laxare to loosen, from laxus loose, slack.] The act of loosening or slackening, or the state of being loosened or slackened.

Laxative Lax"a·tive adjective [ Latin laxativus mitigating, assuaging: confer French laxatif . See Lax , adjective ] 1. Having a tendency to loosen or relax. Milton.

2. (Medicine) Having the effect of loosening or opening the intestines, and relieving from constipation; -- opposed to astringent . -- noun (Medicine) A laxative medicine. See the Note under Cathartic .

Laxativeness Lax"a·tive·ness noun The quality of being laxative.

Laxator Lax·a"tor noun [ New Latin , from Latin laxare , laxatum , to loosen.] (Anat.) That which loosens; -- esp., a muscle which by its contraction loosens some part.

Laxity Lax"i·ty (lăks"ĭ*tȳ) noun [ Latin laxitas , from laxus loose, slack: confer French laxité , See Lax , adjective ] The state or quality of being lax; want of tenseness, strictness, or exactness.

Laxly Lax"ly adverb In a lax manner.

Laxness Lax"ness noun The state of being lax; laxity.

Lay Lay imperfect of Lie , to recline.

Lay Lay adjective [ French lai , Latin laicus , Greek ... of or from the people, lay, from ..., ..., people. Confer Laic .] 1. Of or pertaining to the laity, as distinct from the clergy; as, a lay person; a lay preacher; a lay brother.

2. Not educated or cultivated; ignorant. [ Obsolete]

3. Not belonging to, or emanating from, a particular profession; unprofessional; as, a lay opinion regarding the nature of a disease.

Lay baptism (Eccl.) , baptism administered by a lay person. F. G. Lee. -- Lay brother (R. C. Ch.) , one received into a convent of monks under the three vows, but not in holy orders. -- Lay clerk (Eccl.) , a layman who leads the responses of the congregation, etc., in the church service. Hook. -- Lay days (Com.) , time allowed in a charter party for taking in and discharging cargo. McElrath. -- Lay elder . See 2d Elder , 3, note.

Lay Lay noun The laity; the common people. [ Obsolete]

The learned have no more privilege than the lay .

B. Jonson.

Lay Lay noun A meadow. See Lea . [ Obsolete] Dryden.

Lay Lay noun [ Old French lei faith, law, French loi law. See Legal .] 1. Faith; creed; religious profession. [ Obsolete]

Of the sect to which that he was born
He kept his lay , to which that he was sworn.

Chaucer.

2. A law. [ Obsolete] "Many goodly lays ." Spenser.

3. An obligation; a vow. [ Obsolete]

They bound themselves by a sacred lay and oath.

Holland.

Lay Lay adjective [ Old French lai , lais , probably of Celtic origin; confer Ir. laoi , laoidh , song, poem, OIr. laoidh poem, verse; but confer also Anglo-Saxon lāc play, sport, German leich a sort of poem (cf. Lake to sport). ....] 1. A song; a simple lyrical poem; a ballad. Spenser. Sir W. Scott.

2. A melody; any musical utterance.

The throstle cock made eke his lay .

Chaucer.

Lay Lay (lā) transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Laid (lād); present participle & verbal noun Laying .] [ Middle English leggen , Anglo-Saxon lecgan , causative, from licgan to lie; akin to Dutch leggen , German legen , Icelandic leggja , Goth. lagjan . See Lie to be prostrate.] 1. To cause to lie down, to be prostrate, or to lie against something; to put or set down; to deposit; as, to lay a book on the table; to lay a body in the grave; a shower lays the dust.

A stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den.

Dan. vi. 17.

Soft on the flowery herb I found me laid .

Milton.

2. To place in position; to establish firmly; to arrange with regularity; to dispose in ranks or tiers; as, to lay a corner stone; to lay bricks in a wall; to lay the covers on a table.

3. To prepare; to make ready; to contrive; to provide; as, to lay a snare, an ambush, or a plan.

4. To spread on a surface; as, to lay plaster or paint.

5. To cause to be still; to calm; to allay; to suppress; to exorcise, as an evil spirit.

After a tempest when the winds are laid .

Waller.

6. To cause to lie dead or dying.

Brave Cæneus laid Ortygius on the plain,
The victor Cæneus was by Turnus slain.

Dryden.

7. To deposit, as a wager; to stake; to risk.

I dare lay mine honor
He will remain so.

Shak.

8. To bring forth and deposit; as, to lay eggs.

9. To apply; to put.

She layeth her hands to the spindle.

Prov. xxxi. 19.

10. To impose, as a burden, suffering, or punishment; to assess, as a tax; as, to lay a tax on land.

The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Is. liii. 6.

11. To impute; to charge; to allege.

God layeth not folly to them.

Job xxiv. 12.

Lay the fault on us.

Shak.

12. To impose, as a command or a duty; as, to lay commands on one.

13. To present or offer; as, to lay an indictment in a particular county; to lay a scheme before one.

14. (Law) To state; to allege; as, to lay the venue. Bouvier.

15. (Mil.) To point; to aim; as, to lay a gun.

16. (Rope Making) To put the strands of (a rope, a cable, etc.) in their proper places and twist or unite them; as, to lay a cable or rope.

17. (Print.) (a) To place and arrange (pages) for a form upon the imposing stone. (b) To place (new type) properly in the cases.

To lay asleep , to put sleep; to make unobservant or careless. Bacon. -- To lay bare , to make bare; to strip.

And laid those proud roofs bare to summer's rain.

Byron.

-- To lay before , to present to; to submit for consideration; as, the papers are laid before Congress. -- To lay by . (a) To save. (b) To discard .

Let brave spirits . . . not be laid by .

Bacon.

-- To lay by the heels , to put in the stocks. Shak. -- To lay down . (a) To stake as a wager. (b) To yield; to relinquish; to surrender; as, to lay down one's life; to lay down one's arms . (c) To assert or advance, as a proposition or principle. -- To lay forth . (a) To extend at length; (reflexively) to exert one's self; to expatiate. [ Obsolete] (b) To lay out (as a corpse). [ Obsolete] Shak. -- To lay hands on , to seize. -- To lay hands on one's self , or To lay violent hands on one's self , to injure one's self; specif., to commit suicide. -- To lay heads together , to consult. -- To lay hold of , or To lay hold on , to seize; to catch. -- To lay in , to store; to provide. -- To lay it on , to apply without stint. Shak. -- To lay on , to apply with force; to inflict; as, to lay on blows. -- To lay on load , to lay on blows; to strike violently. [ Obsolete or Archaic] -- To lay one's self out , to strive earnestly.

No selfish man will be concerned to lay out himself for the good of his country.

Smalridge.

-- To lay one's self open to , to expose one's self to, as to an accusation. -- To lay open , to open; to uncover; to expose; to reveal. - - To lay over , to spread over; to cover. - - To lay out . (a) To expend. Macaulay. (b) To display; to discover . (c) To plan in detail; to arrange; as, to lay out a garden . (d) To prepare for burial; as, to lay out a corpse . (e) To exert; as, to lay out all one's strength. -- To lay siege to . (a) To besiege; to encompass with an army. (b) To beset pertinaciously. -- To lay the course (Nautical) , to sail toward the port intended without jibing. -- To lay the land (Nautical) , to cause it to disappear below the horizon, by sailing away from it. -- To lay to (a) To charge upon; to impute. (b) To apply with vigor . (c) To attack or harass . [ Obsolete] Knolles. (d) (Nautical) To check the motion of (a vessel) and cause it to be stationary. -- To lay to heart , to feel deeply; to consider earnestly. -- To lay under , to subject to; as, to lay under obligation or restraint. -- To lay unto . (a) Same as To lay to (above). (b) To put before . Hos. xi. 4. -- To lay up . (a) To store; to reposit for future use. (b) To confine; to disable . (c) To dismantle, and retire from active service, as a ship. -- To lay wait for , to lie in ambush for. -- To lay waste , to destroy; to make desolate; as, to lay waste the land.

Syn. -- See Put , transitive verb , and the Note under 4th Lie .

Lay Lay intransitive verb 1. To produce and deposit eggs.

2. (Nautical) To take a position; to come or go; as, to lay forward; to lay aloft.

3. To lay a wager; to bet.

To lay about , or To lay about one , to strike vigorously in all directions. J. H. Newman. -- To lay at , to strike or strike at. Spenser. -- To lay for , to prepare to capture or assault; to lay wait for. [ Colloq.] Bp Hall. -- To lay in for , to make overtures for; to engage or secure the possession of. [ Obsolete] "I have laid in for these." Dryden. -- To lay on , to strike; to beat; to attack. Shak. -- To lay out , to purpose; to plan; as, he lays out to make a journey.

Lay Lay noun 1. That which lies or is laid or is conceived of as having been laid or placed in its position; a row; a stratum; a layer; as, a lay of stone or wood. Addison.

A viol should have a lay of wire strings below.

Bacon.

» The lay of a rope is right-handed or left-handed according to the hemp or strands are laid up. See Lay , transitive verb , 16. The lay of land is its topographical situation, esp. its slope and its surface features.

2. A wager. "My fortunes against any lay worth naming."

3. (a) A job, price, or profit. [ Prov. Eng.] Wright. (b) A share of the proceeds or profits of an enterprise; as, when a man ships for a whaling voyage, he agrees for a certain lay . [ U. S.]

4. (Textile Manuf.) (a) A measure of yarn; a lea. See 1st Lea (a) . (b) The lathe of a loom. See Lathe , 3.

5. A plan; a scheme. [ Slang] Dickens.

Lay figure . (a) A jointed model of the human body that may be put in any attitude; -- used for showing the disposition of drapery, etc. (b) A mere puppet; one who serves the will of others without independent volition. -- Lay race , that part of a lay on which the shuttle travels in weaving; -- called also shuttle race .

Lay reader Lay" read"er (Eccl.) A layman authorized to read parts of the public service of the church.

Lay shaft, Layshaft Lay shaft, Lay"shaft` noun (Machinery) A secondary shaft, as in a sliding change gear for an automobile; a cam shaft operated by a two- to-one gear in an internal-combustion engine. It is generally a shaft moving more or less independently of the other parts of a machine, as, in some marine engines, a shaft, driven by a small auxiliary engine, for independently operating the valves of the main engine to insure uniform motion.

Layer Lay"er noun [ See Lay to cause to lie flat.] 1. One who, or that which, lays.

2. [ Prob. a corruption of lair .] That which is laid; a stratum; a bed; one thickness, course, or fold laid over another; as, a layer of clay or of sand in the earth; a layer of bricks, or of plaster; the layers of an onion.

3. A shoot or twig of a plant, not detached from the stock, laid under ground for growth or propagation.

4. An artificial oyster bed.

Layering Lay"er·ing noun A propagating by layers. Gardner.

Layette Lay·ette" noun [ French] (Medicine) The outfit of clothing, blankets, etc., prepared for a newborn infant, and placed ready for used.

Laying Lay"ing noun

1. The act of one who, or that which, lays.

2. The act or period of laying eggs; the eggs laid for one incubation; a clutch.

3. The first coat on laths of plasterer's two-coat work.

Layland Lay"land` noun [ Lay a meadow + land .] Land lying untilled; fallow ground. [ Obsolete] Blount.

Layman Lay"man noun ; plural Laymen [ Lay , adj. + man .] 1. One of the people, in distinction from the clergy; one of the laity; sometimes, a man not belonging to some particular profession, in distinction from those who do.

Being a layman , I ought not to have concerned myself with speculations which belong to the profession.

Dryden.

2. A lay figure. See under Lay , noun (above). Dryden

Layner Lay"ner noun [ See Lanier .] A whiplash. [ Obsolete]

Layship Lay"ship noun The condition of being a layman. [ Obsolete] Milton.

Laystall Lay"stall` noun 1. A place where rubbish, dung, etc., are laid or deposited. [ Obsolete] B. Jonson.

Smithfield was a laystall of all ordure and filth.

Bacon.

2. A place where milch cows are kept, or cattle on the way to market are lodged. [ Obsolete]

Lazar La"zar noun [ Old French lazare , from Lazarus the beggar. Luke xvi . 20 .] A person infected with a filthy or pestilential disease; a leper. Chaucer.

Like loathsome lazars , by the hedges lay.

Spenser.

Lazar house a lazaretto; also, a hospital for quarantine.

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