Leg-of-mutton adjective Having the general shape or outline of a leg of mutton; as, a leg-of- mutton , or shoulder-of-mutton, sail.

Legislatress (-trĕs), Leg"is*la`trix (-trĭks) noun A woman who makes laws. Shaftesbury.

Legislature (lĕj"ĭs*lā`tur; 135) noun [ Confer French législature .] The body of persons in a state or kingdom invested with power to make and repeal laws; a legislative body.

Without the concurrent consent of all three parts of the legislature , no law is, or can be, made.

Sir M. Hale.

» The legislature of Great Britain consists of the Lords and Commons, with the king or queen, whose sanction is necessary to every bill before it becomes a law. The legislatures of most of the United States consist of two houses or branches; but the sanction or consent of the governor is required to give their acts the force of law, or a concurrence of two thirds of the two houses after he has refused his sanction and assigned his objections.

Legislature noun -- The legislatures of some of the more important states having constitutional government are as follows, the general name (or a translation of it) of the legislative body collectively being given under the heading legislature , or parliament :

Legist (lē"jĭst) noun [ French légiste , Late Latin legista , from Latin lex , legis , law. See Legal .] One skilled in the laws; a writer on law. Milman. J. Morley.

Legitim (le*jĭ"ĭm) noun [ See Legitimate , adjective ] (Scots Law) The portion of movable estate to which the children are entitled upon the death of the father.

Legitimacy (-ĭ*mȧ*sȳ) noun [ See Legitimate , adjective ] The state, or quality, of being legitimate, or in conformity with law; hence, the condition of having been lawfully begotten, or born in wedlock.

The doctrine of Divine Right, which has now come back to us, like a thief from transportation, under the alias of Legitimacy .

Macaulay.

Legitimate (-mat) adjective [ Late Latin legitimatus , past participle of legitimare to legitimate, from Latin legitimus legitimate. See Legal .]
1. Accordant with law or with established legal forms and requirements; lawful; as, legitimate government; legitimate rights; the legitimate succession to the throne; a legitimate proceeding of an officer; a legitimate heir.

2. Lawfully begotten; born in wedlock.

3. Authorized; real; genuine; not false, counterfeit, or spurious; as, legitimate poems of Chaucer; legitimate inscriptions.

4. Conforming to known principles, or accepted rules; as, legitimate reasoning; a legitimate standard, or method; a legitimate combination of colors.

Tillotson still keeps his place as a legitimate English classic.

Macaulay.

5. Following by logical sequence; reasonable; as, a legitimate result; a legitimate inference.

Legitimate (-māt) transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Legitimated (- mā`tĕd); present participle & verbal noun Legitimating (-mā`tĭng).] To make legitimate, lawful, or valid; esp., to put in the position or state of a legitimate person before the law, by legal means; as, to legitimate a bastard child.

To enact a statute of that which he dares not seem to approve, even to legitimate vice.

Milton.

Legitimately (-mat*lȳ) adverb In a legitimate manner; lawfully; genuinely.

Legitimateness noun The state or quality of being legitimate; lawfulness; genuineness.

Legitimation (-mā"shŭn) noun [ Confer French légitimation .]

1. The act of making legitimate.

The coining or legitimation of money.

East.

2. Lawful birth. [ R.] Shak.

Legitimatist (le*jĭt"ĭ*mȧ*tĭst) noun See Legitimist .

Legitimatize (-tīz) transitive verb To legitimate.

Legitimism (-mĭz'm) noun The principles or plans of legitimists.

Legitimist (-mĭst) noun [ Confer French légitimiste .]
1. One who supports legitimate authority; esp., one who believes in hereditary monarchy, as a divine right.

2. Specifically, a supporter of the claims of the elder branch of the Bourbon dynasty to the crown of France.

Legitimize (le*jĭt"ĭ*mīz) transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Legitimized (-mīzd); present participle & verbal noun Legitimizing .] To legitimate.

Legless (lĕg"lĕs) adjective Not having a leg.

Lego-literary (lē"go- lĭt"ẽr*a*rȳ) adjective [ See Legal , and Literary .] Pertaining to the literature of law.

Leguleian (lē`gu*lē"y a n) adjective [ Latin leguleius pettifogger, from lex , legis , law.] Lawyerlike; legal. [ R.] " Leguleian barbarism." De Quincey. -- noun A lawyer.

Legume (lĕg"um or le*gūm") noun [ French légume , Latin legumen , from legere to gather. So called because they may be gathered without cutting. See Legend .]
1. (Botany) A pod dehiscent into two pieces or valves, and having the seed attached at one suture, as that of the pea.

» In the latter circumstance, it differs from a siliqua , in which the seeds are attached to both sutures. In popular use, a legume is called a pod , or cod ; as, pea pod , or peas cod .

2. plural The fruit of leguminous plants, as peas, beans, lupines; pulse.

Legumen (le*gū"mĕn) noun ; plural Latin Legumina (- mĭ*nȧ), English Legumens (-mĕnz). [ Latin ] Same as Legume .

Legumin (-mĭn) noun [ Confer French légumine .] (Physiol. Chem.) An albuminous substance resembling casein, found as a characteristic ingredient of the seeds of leguminous and grain-bearing plants.

Leguminous (-mĭ*nŭs) adjective [ Confer French légumineux .]
1. Pertaining to pulse; consisting of pulse.

2. (Botany) Belonging to, or resembling, a very large natural order of plants ( Leguminosæ ), which bear legumes, including peas, beans, clover, locust trees, acacias, and mimosas.

Leiger (lē"jẽr) noun [ See Leger , and Ledger .] See Leger , noun , 2. [ Obsolete] Shak.

Leiotrichan (li*ŏt"rĭ*k a n) adjective Of or pertaining to the Leiotrichi. - - noun One of the Leiotrichi.

Leiotrichi (-kī) noun plural [ New Latin , from Greek lei^os smooth + qri`x , tricho`s , hair.] (Anthropol.) The division of mankind which embraces the smooth-haired races.

Leiotrichous (-kŭs) adjective [ See Leiotrichi .] (Anthropol.) Having smooth, or nearly smooth, hair.

Leipoa (li*pō"ȧ) noun [ New Latin ] (Zoology) A genus of Australian gallinaceous birds including but a single species ( Leipoa ocellata ), about the size of a turkey. Its color is variegated, brown, black, white, and gray. Called also native pheasant .

» It makes large mounds of sand and vegetable material, in which its eggs are laid to be hatched by the heat of the decomposing mass.

Leipothymic (lī`po*thĭm"ĭk) adjective See Lipothymic .

Leister, Lister (lĭs"tẽr) noun A spear armed with three or more prongs, for striking fish. [ Scotland]

Leisurable (lē"zhur*ȧ*b'l; 135) adjective [ See Leisure .]

1. Leisurely. [ Obsolete] Hooker.

2. Vacant of employment; not occupied; idle; leisure; as leisurable hours. [ Obsolete] Sir T. Browne.

Leisurably adverb At leisure. [ Obsolete]

Leisure (lē"zhur; 135) noun [ Middle English leisere , leiser , Old French leisir , French loisir , orig., permission, from Latin licere to be permitted. See License .]
1. Freedom from occupation or business; vacant time; time free from employment.

The desire of leisure is much more natural than of business and care.

Sir W. Temple.

2. Time at one's command, free from engagement; convenient opportunity; hence, convenience; ease.

He sighed, and had no leisure more to say.

Dryden.

At leisure . (a) Free from occupation; not busy . (b) In a leisurely manner; at a convenient time.

Leisure adjective Unemployed; as, leisure hours.

Leisured (lē"zhurd) adjective Having leisure. "The leisured classes." Gladstone.

Leisurely (lē"zhur*lȳ) adjective Characterized by leisure; taking abundant time; not hurried; as, a leisurely manner; a leisurely walk.

Leisurely adverb In a leisurely manner. Addison.

Leitmotif (līt"mo*tef") noun [ G.] (Mus.) See Leading motive , under Leading , adjective

Leman (lē"m a n or lĕm" a n; 277) noun [ Middle English lemman , lefman ; Anglo-Saxon leóf dear + mann man. See Lief , and Man .] A sweetheart, of either sex; a gallant, or a mistress; -- usually in a bad sense. [ Archaic] Chaucer. Spenser. Shak.

Leme (lēm) noun [ Middle English leem , leme , leam , Anglo-Saxon leóma light, brightness; akin to English light , noun √122.] A ray or glimmer of light; a gleam. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Leme intransitive verb To shine. [ Obsolete] Piers Plowman.

Lemma (lĕm"mȧ) noun ; plural Latin Lemmata (-mȧ*tȧ), English Lemmas (-mȧz). [ Latin lemma , Greek lh^mma anything received, an assumption or premise taken for granted, from lamba`nein to take, assume. Confer Syllable .] A preliminary or auxiliary proposition demonstrated or accepted for immediate use in the demonstration of some other proposition, as in mathematics or logic.

Lemman (lĕm"m a n) noun A leman. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Lemming (lĕm"mĭng) noun [ Nor. lemming , lemende ; confer Swedish lemel , Lapp. lummik .] (Zoology) Any one of several species of small arctic rodents of the genera Myodes and Cuniculus , resembling the meadow mice in form. They are found in both hemispheres.

» The common Northern European lemming ( Myodes lemmus ) is remarkable for making occasional devastating migrations in enormous numbers from the mountains into the lowlands.

Lemnian (lĕm"nĭ* a n) adjective [ Latin Lemnius , from Lemnus , Greek Lh^mnos .] Of or pertaining to the isle of Lemnos.

Lemnian bole , Lemnian earth , an aluminous earth of a grayish yellow color; sphragide; -- formerly sold as medicine, having astringent properties. -- Lemnian reddle , a reddle of firm consistence and deep red color; -- used by artificers in coloring.

Lemniscata (lĕm`nĭs*kā"tȧ), Lem*nis"cate (lĕm*nĭs"kat) noun [ Latin lemniscatus adorned with ribbons, from lemniscus a ribbon hanging down, Greek lhmni`skos .] (Geom.) A curve in the form of the figure 8, with both parts symmetrical, generated by the point in which a tangent to an equilateral hyperbola meets the perpendicular on it drawn from the center.

Lemniscus (lĕm*nĭs"kŭs) noun ; plural Lemnisci (- sī). [ Latin See Lemniscata .] (Zoology) One of two oval bodies hanging from the interior walls of the body in the Acanthocephala.

Lemon (lĕm"ŭn) noun [ French limon , Persian līmūn ; confer Arabic laimūn , Spanish limon , Italian limone . Confer Lime a fruit.]

1. (Botany) An oval or roundish fruit resembling the orange, and containing a pulp usually intensely acid. It is produced by a tropical tree of the genus Citrus , the common fruit known in commerce being that of the species C. Limonum or C. Medica (var. Limonum ). There are many varieties of the fruit, some of which are sweet.

2. The tree which bears lemons; the lemon tree.

Lemon grass (Botany) , a fragrant East Indian grass ( Andropogon Shœnanthus , and perhaps other allied species), which yields the grass oil used in perfumery. - - Lemon sole (Zoology) , a yellow European sole ( Solea aurantiaca ). -- Salts of lemon (Chemistry) , a white crystalline substance, inappropriately named, as it consists of an acid potassium oxalate and contains no citric acid, which is the characteristic acid of lemon; -- called also salts of sorrel . It is used in removing ink stains. See Oxalic acid , under Oxalic . [ Colloq.]

Lemonade (lĕm`ŭn*ād") noun [ French limonade ; confer Spanish limonada , Italian limonata . See Lemon .] A beverage consisting of lemon juice mixed with water and sweetened.