LEV 



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LEV 



LZU'CADE.NPRON, the silver-tree. A ge- 

 nus of trees. Di&cia Pentnndria. Name 

 from Xiuxo;, white, and SffSjcn, a tree, 

 in allusion to the silvery foliage of some 

 species. 



Lrrc'jETHiop, from ).ivxt;. white, and 

 et,iGi6'3f, black. An albino, or white man 

 of a black race. 



LEC'CE, from \tvz.o;, white A disease 

 characterised by white patches on the 

 skin, on which the hairs turn white and 

 silky. It is peculiar to warm climates, as 

 the East Indies. 



LED'CITE, from Xtvzos, white. A mine- 

 ral of a white colour, found in volcanic 

 rocks. It is a silicate of ammonia and 

 potash, and occurs regularly crystallised 

 in granular concretions, and in roundish 

 grains. 



LEUCO'MA (Lat.), from Xtvxo;, white. 

 A white opacity of the cornea of the eye ; 

 often synonymous with albugo. 



LEUCOPE'TRIANS. In ecclesiastical history, 

 a sect of fanatics who sprung up in the 

 twelfth century, and spent their whole 

 time in prayer. 



LECCOPHLEGMA/SIA (Lat.), from Xtuxo;, 

 white, and pAtytta, phlegm. A state of 

 the body in which there is a redundancy of 

 serum in the blood, symptomatic of 

 dropsy. 



LEC'THRITE, i A mineral of a grayish 



LEUT'TRITE. j white colour, tinged in 

 places with an ochreous brown ; thus 

 named from its being found at Leuthra or 

 Leuttra in Saxony. It is a recomposed 

 rock. 



LEVAN'TINE. 1. An epithet for things 



pertaining to the Levant. 2. The name 



of a particular kind of silk manufacture. 



LEVA'TOR, Lat., from lei-o, to lift up. A 

 term common to several muscles, the of- 

 fice of which is to elevate the parts into 

 which they are inserted. 



LEVA'RI FA'CIAS. In laic, a writ directed 

 to the sheriff, to levy money upon the 

 estate of a person who has forfeited his 

 recognizance. 



LEV'EE (Fr.l, from lever, to raise. 1. A 

 bank, especially along a river, to prevent 

 inundation. 2. A concourse of gentle- 

 men, paying their respects to some great 

 personage in the morning. A similar 

 visit of ladies, or ladies and gentlemen, is 

 called a drawing -room. 



LEV'EE- EN -MASSE, a military expression 

 for the patriotic rising of a whole people 

 to oppose an enemy : called in Germany 

 the landsturm, in distinction from the 

 landtcehr, or militia. 



LEV'EL. The term level is applied pri- 

 marily to designate a horizontal plane or 

 line, and hence a canal, or any particular 

 portion of one, a tract of low marshy land 

 or morass, a gallery in a coal-mine, &c. 



are, by nnalocry. termed levels. There are 

 also various instruments called levels, for 

 finding a horizontal line. A spirit level con- 

 sists essentially of 

 BUl a glass tube, her- 

 .z.i^' metically sealed 

 at both ends, and 

 nearly full of some liquid, as spirit of wine ; 

 it contains a bubble of air, which, when 

 the tube is exactly horizontal, remains at 

 the middle of the tube, but, under all other 

 circumstances, is found at the higher end. 

 This is fitted into a stock, adjusted with 

 great care, and the instrument is then 

 complete for the purposes of the mechanic. 

 But for the purposes of the surveyor it is 

 affixed to a telescope, with micrometer 



screws to adjust it, and the whole instru- 

 ment, so fitted up, is termed a level. The 

 Y level is the oldest instrument of this 

 sort ; Troughton's improved is the same 

 somewhat improved ; and Gravatt's level, 

 the favourite instrument among civil en- 

 gineers, has some advantages over the 

 others. The plumb-level is used by ma- 



sons, &c., and shows the horizontal line, 

 by means of another line perpendicular to 

 that described by a plummet. The prin- 

 ciple is, that, as all bodies cravitate 

 towards the centre of the earth, the 

 plumb-line being a truly vertical line, any 

 line perpendicular to it must be a truly 

 horizontal line. These lines are, in fact, 

 the radii of a sphere. 



LEVELLING, the finding of a line parallel 

 to the horizon, at one or more stations, to 

 determine the height or depth of on* 



