L A T 



420 



L A U 



TOR PAPER. The same as lath-floated and 

 *e* fair. 



LATH'YRUS, the retch; an extensive ge- 

 nus of herbaceous plants. Diadeli>liiaJje- 

 eandria. Name adopted from Theophras- 

 tus, whose >.et6v{6f appears like ours to 

 be something of the pea or vetch kind. 

 There are seven indigenous species. 



LAT'ICLAVE, Lat. laticlavium. The orna- 

 ment of dress worn by the Roman sena- 

 tors : from latus, broad, and clatus, a stud. 

 It is supposed to have been a broad stripe 

 of purple on the forepart of the tunic, set 

 with knobs or studs. 



LATIF'OLIATE, ) from latus, broad, and 



LATIF'OLIOUS, I folium, a leaf. Broad- 

 leaved : applied to plants. 



LATIS'SIMUS DORSI. A broad muscle of 

 the back which acts upon the os humeri. 



LAT'ITAT. In laic, a writ which pre- 

 supposes that the defendant lurks (latitat) , 

 and cannot be found in the county of 

 Middlesex, but is gone to some other 

 county to the sheriff whereof the writ is 

 directed. 



LAT'ITUDE, breadth, from latus, broad. 

 1. In geography, the distance of any place 

 on the globe north or south of the equa- 

 tor; a particular degree reckoned from 

 the equator either north or south. The 

 small circles parallel to the equator are 

 hence called parallels of latitude, and show 

 the latitude of places by their intersections 

 with the meridians. The difference of lati- 

 tude is an arc of the meridian, or the near- 

 est distance between the parallels of lati- 

 tude of two places. 2. In astronomy, 



the latitude of a star is its distance from 

 the ecliptic, being an arc of latitude of a 

 circle of the same, reckoned from the 

 ecliptic towards the poles, either north or 

 south. The circle of latitude is a great 

 circle passing through the poles of the 

 ecliptic, and consequently perpendicular 

 to it. Latitude of the moon: this is called 

 north ascending when she proceeds from 

 the ascending node towards her northern 

 limit or greatest elongation ; and north 

 descending when she returns from her 

 northern limits towards the descending 

 node. It is similarly called south descend- 

 ing when she proceeds from her descend- 

 ing node towards her southern limit ; and 

 south ascending when she returns from 

 her southern limit towards her ascending 

 node. The same is applicable to the 

 planets. The heliocentric latitude of a 

 planet is its distance from the ecliptic, 

 such as it would appear from the sun, in 

 contradistinction to its geocentric latitude, 

 which is its latitude as seen from the earth. 



LATITUDINA'RIASS. In ecclesiastical his- 

 tory, a sect of divines in the time of 

 Charles II., opposed equally to high 

 churchmen and dissenters. It is now ap- 

 plied to those who dp not adopt the more 



rigid interpretation of Scripture, or merely 

 as a party term. 



LAT'RIA. Among Catholia, the higher 

 worship, or that paid to God. as distin- 

 guished from dulia, which ia paid to 

 saints. 



LAT'TEN , Fr. leton, or laiton. A name 

 sometimes given to tin-plates, that is, thin 

 plates of iron tinned over. See TIN. 



LAT'TEN-BRASS, plates of milled brass, 

 reduced to differentthicknesses, according 

 to the uses they are intended for. 



L.VT'TER-MATH. In agriculture, the 

 second math or mowing. 



LA'TUS RECTUM. In conic sections, the 

 parameter. Latus traversum, the trans- 

 verse axis. 



LAUD'ANUM, Lat., from laudare, to 

 praise. A pharmaceutical preparation, 

 thus named on account of its valuable pro- 

 perties. It is simply a spirituous tincture 

 of opium. 



LAUDS, Lat. laudes, praise. In Roman 

 Catholicism, the prayers formerly used at 

 day-break. They are now confounded 

 with matins. 



LAUNCE. In ichthyology, a name com- 

 mon to two species of ammodytes ,or sand- 

 eels. (1.) The A. lancea, Yarr., called also 

 the riggle, or small-mouthed launce. (2.) 

 The A. tobianus. Yarr., called also homer, 

 or wide-mouthed lauuce. These inhabit 

 the British coasts, in sandy localities. 

 They are much valued by fishermen fosr 

 bait. 



LAUNCH. 1. A particular kind of long- 

 boat. 2. The movement by which * 



ship or boat descends from the stocks into 

 the water : hence to launch. 



LAUNCH Ho, the order to let go the top- 

 rope when the top-mast is ndded. 



LAUNDER, a name given in metal- 

 lurgy to a long shallow trough, which re- 

 ceives the powdered ore after it comes out 

 of the stamping-mill. 



LAU'REATE, Lat. laureatus, laurelled. 

 The poet-laureate was formerly an officer 

 of the royal household, whose business 

 was to compose a birth-day ode for the 

 monarch, and another for the new-year ; 

 but these obligations are now dispensed 

 with. The title was conferred by Ed- 

 ward IV. 



LAUREA'TION, the act of taking a degree 

 in a university. The symbol used to be a 

 wreath of laurel, and the grand distinc- 

 tion, excellence in writing verse ! 



LAU'RIN, a peculiar acrid and bitter ve- 

 getable principle, obtained from the ber- 

 ries of the Laurus nobilis, a beautiful 

 evergreen shrub, a native of Italy, but 

 much cultivated in the shrubberies of this 

 country. Laurin is insoluble in water, 

 and but slightly soluble in alcohol. It 

 crystallises in needles resembling asbestos. 



LAURUS, thelaurel or bay tree. Agenus 

 of trees of about twenty species. nn*- 



