Lapithee 
the descendants of Lapithes, son of Apollo, 
celebrated for their wars with the Centaurs, 
and especially for their chastisement, with tin- 
aid of Theseus, of the Centaurs for au attempt 
t,<> curry ol)' lli]>pod:inn>ia and other women 
from the (Vast at her marriage with Pirithous, 
ruler of the Ltipithiu. The word is of frequent oc- 
currence in treatises on Greek art, combats between 
LapitliEO uml Centaurs having been a favorite subject 
with (ireek artists. 
lap-joint (lap' joint), n. A joint in which one 
edge of a board, plunk, or plate overlaps the 
edge of another piece, the edges being partly 
cut away so that the pieces are in parallel rela- 
tion with each other. The term Is used In contradis- 
tinction to txiifiii!! joint The joints of weather-boarding 
In house-building and the Bo-called "clincher build "of 
boats are familiar examples. Also lappedjoint. Half- lap 
joint, In couplings, a joint formed by making the ends of 
shafts semi-cylindrical and putting them together so that 
the tongue of one tits into the recess of the other. The 
joint is then covered with a thimble or ring In which It Is 
secured by a key. See cut under coupling. 
lap-jointed (lap'join'ted), a. Having joints 
formed by edges (as of plates) overlapping, as 
steam-boilers, iron ships.etc. Lap-jointed work. 
Same as clincher-work. 
Laplace's coefficients, equation, function, 
theorem, etc. See coefficient, etc. 
Laplacian (lii-pla'si-au), a. (X Laplace (see 
del.) + -Jan.] Pertaining to Pierre Simon de 
Laplace, a great French astronomer and mathe- 
matician (1749-1827). 
This primitive Kantian and Laplacian evolutionism, this 
nebular theory of such exquisite couclnnity, . . . has re- 
ceived many hard knocks from astronomers. 
Pop. Sci Mo., XXXII. 640. 
Laplander (lap'lan-der), . [= Sw. Lapplcinder 
= Dan. Laplander; as Lapland (see def.) + 
-er 1 .] A native of Lapland, a region forming 
the northernmost part of the Scandinavian pen- 
insula, and divided between Norway, Sweden, 
and Russia. See Lapp. 
Lapland finch. See jtncfci. 
Laplandish (lap'lan-dish), a. [< Lapland + 
-/ >//'. | Pertaining to Lapland or the Lapland- 
ers; Lappish. 
Lapland rose-bay. See rose-bay. 
laming (lap'ling), . [< lap* + -Iin0i.] One 
who is nursed, as it were, in the lap of ease and 
luxury: a term of contempt. [Bare.] 
Yon must not stream out your youth In wine, and live 
a lapling to the silk and dainties. 
Hewyt, Sermons (1668), p. 7. 
Laportea (la-por'te-a), n. [NL. (Gaudichaud- 
Beaupre', 1$26), named after M. Laporte, of 
whom the author gives no account.] A genus 
of urtioaceous plants of the tribe Urticeai and 
subtribe TJrerea. They much resemble nettles, and, 
like them, are provided with stinging hairs. They differ, 
however, from the genus Urtica in the oblique achenium, 
connate stipules, and alternate leaves. There are about 
25 species, widely dispersed throughout the warmer regions 
of both hemispheres, especially in the Old World, but also 
in Mexico and further northward, being absent in South 
America. They are perennial herbs, shrubs, or even trees, 
with ample, usually toothed, leaves and minute monoecious 
or dioecious flowers clustered in loose cymes or glomerules. 
/, Canadmnt, the wood-nettle, is a common plant through- 
out the eastern United States. L. gigat of Australia is a 
large tree 80 feet In height, with extremely light, open- 
grained wood, and leaves from 12 to 16 inches broad. Its 
native name is goo-inaii-nut, and its colonial name nettle- 
tree. It yields a valuable fiber. 
Lapp (lap), n. [< Sw. Lapp = Dan. Lap. a 
Lapp; a name of Lappish origin.] A member 
of the race from which Lapland takes its name, 
but which forms only a portion of its popula- 
tion. The Lapps are an inferior branch of the Finnic 
race, physically dwarfish and weak, and low in the scale 
of civilization. 
lappaceous (la-pa'shius), a. [< L. lappa-cfus, 
bur-like, < luppa, a bur.] In hot., pertaining 
to or resembling a bur. 
lappet, 0. and n. An obsolete form of lap. 
lappel, H. See lapel. 
lapperMlap'er), . [<fa;>i + -!.] 1. One who 
laps with me tongue. Johnson. 2. Inentom., 
one of the trophi or mouth-organs which are used 
for lapping honey or other food, as the tongue 
of a bee. Kirby. 
lapper- (lap'er), . [< 7/,3 4- -erl.] 1. One 
WOO laps. 
as, a clotn-to 
3353 
fleece upon the surface of a roller called a lap- 
rdller. This lap or fleece, when It acquires the proper 
thickness, is torn across, and removed from the lap-roller 
Specifically (a) One who wraps or folds : 
They may be latiper* of linen, and bailiffs of the manor. 
Sictfl. 
(6) One who uses a lup, as in a lapidary's work. 
The tapper produces the plain and diamond-shaped sur- 
faces by the rotary action of the lapidary's wheel. 
Ooldmith't Handbook, p. 178. 
2. In cottfin-inaiiuf., a machine which receives 
the scutched cotton from the batting- and blow- 
ing-machine, and compacts it into a lap or 
Lapper. 
to be fed to a carding-machine, into which It Is carried by 
the action of feed-rolls and the first card-roller or llcker- 
in. Also called tpreader or blower, and lap-machine or lap- 
pinff-machine. 
lapper 3 (lap'er), v. t. and . A Scotch form of 
topper*. 
lapper-milk (lap'er-milk), M. Loppered milk; 
clabber. [Scotch.] 
There's a soup nan-Itch for ye it will set ye better to 
be slaistering at them and the lapper milk. 
Scott, Antiquary, x. 
lappet (lap'et), n. [< ME. lappet; < lap? + 
-etT] 1. A little lap, flap, or pendant, especially 
on a coat or a head-dress. 
When I cut-off this lappet from thy Coat, 
Could I not then as well haue cut thy throat? 
Sylvetter, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, 11., The Trophies. 
Half a dozen squeezed plaits of linnen, to which dangled 
behind two unmeaning pendants, called lappett, not half 
covering their strait-drawn hair. 
Walpole, Anecdotes of Painting, IV. i. 
The dalmatic . . . has full sleeves reaching only to the 
elbows, but prolonged in broad lappet* of moderate length. 
Encyc. Brit., VI. 467. 
2. In ornitk., a wattle or other fleshy process 
hanging from a bird's head. 3. One of cer- 
tain bombycid moths, as Lasiocampa gticrcifo- 
lia : an English book-name. The small lappet 
is /.. Hiri fni in. 
lappet (lap'et), v. t. [< lappet, n.] To cover 
with or as with a lappet. Landor. 
lappeted (lap'et-ed), a. [< lappet + -cd 2 .] In 
ornitk., wattled; having fleshy lappets at the 
base of the beak: as, the lappeted lapwing, 
Hoplopterus tectus or Sarciophorus pileatus. 
lappet-end (lap'et-end), n. 1. The free end of 
a lappet, as of fine lawn or lace, frequently 
very rich in decoration. Hence 2. A piece 
of lace or embroidery suitable for making a lap- 
pet. Art Jour., N. 8., XIX. 8. 
lappet-frame (lap'et-fram), n. In lappet-wear- 
ing, a sliding bar carrying needles, each with 
a separate thread, for producing the pattern. 
The bar is raised and lowered as required by the action 
on it of a wheel grooved according to the pattern to be pro- 
duced. Sometimes two or more such bars are employed 
simultaneously. The device Is a somewhat old one, still 
much used In Scotland. A. Barlow, Weaving, p. 188. 
lappet-head (lap'et-hed), n. A head-dress 
made with lappets or lace pendants. 
He beheld his . . . friend dressed up in a lappet-head 
and petticoat Goldsmith, Voltaire. 
And sails with lappet-head and mincing airs 
Duly at chink of Dell to morning pray'rs. 
Covper, Truth, L 189. 
lappet-moth (Iap'et-m6th), n. Same as lap- 
pet, 3. 
lappet-weaving (lap'et-we'ving), n. A sys- 
tem of weaving used for producing figures on 
the surface of cloth by means of needles placed 
in a sliding frame. A. Barlotc, Weaving, p. 188. 
Lappic (lap'ik), a. and n. [< Lapp + -/V.] Same 
as Ltffftk. 
lapping 1 (lap'ing), n. [Verbal n. of topi, .] 
1. The act of licking up with the tongue. 2. 
The motion and sound of rippling wator. 
lapping'-' (lap'ing), n. [Verbal n. of lap*, .] 1. 
The act of wrapping or folding. 2. The act 
of superimposing the margin of a piece of any 
material upon the margin of another piece, as 
in making a lap-joint. 3. In textile ninnuf.. the 
lapse 
process of forming a lap or fleece of fibrous ma- 
terial suitable for presctitati> r delivery to 
the cardiug-machinc. In cotton-manufactura the laps 
are formed by compacting the cotton upon rollera, whence 
the fleece Is detached after It has acquired the proper 
thickness. Laps are also formed by uniting slivers, as in 
the preparation of tow for spinning. 
4. In ordnance, a process for slightly increas- 
ing the bore of a rifled gun by wearing away 
the lands, or metal between the rifle-grooves. 
5. In metal-tcorking, the smoothing of metal 
surfaces by rubbing them with a plate of metal 
rendered abrasive by the application of oil and 
powdered corundum, or by the application of 
a revolving disk similarly prepared. 6. That 
which is lapped ; a flap or pendant. 
As those casual lappings and flowing streamers were 
Imitated from nothing, they seldom have any folds or 
chiaro scuro. Walpole, Anecdotes of Painting, IV. L 
lapping-engine (lap'ing-en'jin), n. In metal- 
vorkiixj, a machine for turning over the two laps 
which are later joined by the operation of weld- 
ing. 
lapping-machine (lap'ing-ma-shen'), n. Same 
as tapper"*, 2. 
Lappish (lap'ish), a. and n. [ = Sw. Lappsk = 
Dan. Lappish; as Lapp + -ts/ii.] I. a. Pertain- 
ing to Lapland or the Lapps. 
The Bible record would lead us to regard the earlier and 
gigantic men as antediluvian, and the smaller or Lapfiith 
race as postdiluvian. Dawton, Origin of World, p. ML 
II. n. The language of the Lapps, which is 
akin to the Finnic. 
Also Lappic. 
lap-plate (lap 'plat), n. In metal-working, a 
plate which covers the line or joint where two 
other plates abut against each other, and is 
soldered, riveted, or bolted to both, thus con- 
necting them. 
Lapponian (la-po'ni-an), a. [< ML. Lapponia, 
Lapland: see Lapp."] Same as Lajtpish. 
lapp-OWl (lap'oul), n. The great gray owl, Strir 
lapponica, of Lapland and other northerly re- 
gions. 
lappyt (lap'i), a. [< /api + -yi.] In liquor; 
drunk. Bailey, 1731. [Cant.] 
lap-ring (lap'ring), n. An open ring in which 
the ends overlap each other without touching. 
It Is analogous to a split-ring, and, like It, is used to 
form a convenient connecting-link. The lap-ring, how- 
ever, Is made of such heavy material that it cannot, like 
the split-ring, be elastic. K. H. Knight. 
lap-roller (lap'ro'ler), n. In cotton-manuf., the 
roller of a lapping-machine which receives the 
fiber after the processes of batting and scutch- 
ing, and upon which the lap or fleece is built 
up and compacted to a thickness suitable for 
delivery to the carding-machine. 
lapsable (lap'sa-bl), a. [< lapse + -able.] Ca- 
pable of lapsing, falling, or relapsing. 
Lapsana, Lampsana (lap'-, lamp' sa-nft), . 
[NL. Lapsana (Linneus), Lampnana (Tourne- 
fort), < L. lapsana, lampsana, < Gr. 7.a\j>Avjj, %a[t- 
V*>vv, the charlock.] A genus of composite plants 
of the ligulifiorous tribe Cichoriacea, type of the 
subtribe Lapsanea', having a glabrous involucre 
and naked receptacle, oblong, somewhat com- 
pressed, many-ribbed achenes, small, loosely 
panicled heads, and yellow corollas. Nine very 
closely related species, perhaps reducible to three or four, 
occur, widely distributed throughout the northern hemi- 
sphere In the Old World, one of them also occurring in 
North America. They are annual erect, branching herbs, 
sometimes hairy or glandular- viscid, with coarsely toothed 
or plnnatifld leaves, and long-peduncled heads. /.. com- 
TNiinu, the nipplewort, is a common hedge-weed In Europe, 
and occurs in the I'nlted States and Canada, perhaps only 
naturalized. 
Lapsaneae, Lampsaneae ( lap-, lamp-sa'ne-e),n. 
/'/. [XL.. < Lapsana, Lamp/tana, + -m .] A 
subtnbe of composite plants of the tribe C- 
choriacece, typified by the genus Lapsana, and 
containing also the genera Hixpidella and .(/>- 
gon, annual leafy herbs with chiefly naked in- 
volucres of nearly equal scales, and glabrous 
achenes, obtuse or rounded at the apex, 
lap-scale (lap'skal), . An apparatus used in 
weighing out the quantity of wool or cotton 
which is to be spread upon the feeding-apron 
of a lapper or a carding-machine. . H. Knight. 
lapse (laps). H. [= F. laps = Sp. Pg. lapso = 
It. lasso, < L. lapsus, a falling, slipping, < labi. 
slip: see labent, //<-.] 1. A failing; a con- 
tinued falling off or away; a passing or glid- 
ing along or away: as. the lapseot flowing water ; 
the lapse of time. 
About me round I saw 
Hill, dale, and shady woods, and sunny plains. 
And languid lapse of murmuring streams. 
Miltm, P. L, Till. 263. 
Through the still laptr of ages. 
Bryant, Thauatopsis. 
