latent 
as to the meaning of a document, not apparent on the 
face of the document, but raised by evidence of some ex- 
trinsic fact. Thus, a legacy "to my cousin John Doe " is 
not ambiguous until it appears that the testator had two 
cousins of the same name ; and the doubt raised by this 
fact is called a latent ambvjmty, as distinguished from 
one that is patent or obvious on the mere reading of the 
document. Latent fault, in law, a blemish or defect in 
goods purchased which was concealed from or not observ- 
able by the buyer before acceptance of the goods. La- 
tent function, a function formed by subtracting the 
same variable from every constituent of the principal di- 
agonal of a matrix, and then forming the determinant 
of the resulting matrix. Latent heat. See heat, 2. 
Latent hypermetropia. See hypermetropia. Latent 
Idea, In psychol., an unconscious mental modification, as 
an idea having a tendency to reproduce itself in con- 
sciousness. Latent period of a disease, the period 
that elapses before the presence of the disease is mani- 
fested by symptoms. Thus, the latent period of smallpox, 
measles, etc. , is the time that elapses from the moment of 
infection to the appearance of the symptoms. Also called 
period of incubation. Latent roots Of a matrix, in 
math,, the roots of the equation formed by subtracting an 
unknown quantity from each of the constituents of the 
principal diagonal of the matrix, and then regarding it as a 
determinant. = Syn. 1. Covert, Occult, etc. See secret. 
latently (la'tent-li), adv. In a latent manner. 
later (la'ter), adv. At a subsequent time or 
period; afterward; hereafter: also used with 
(redundant) on : as, I will see you later; it may 
be done later on. 
But when the wreath of March has blossom'd, . . . 
Or later, pay one visit here. 
Tennyson, To F. D. Maurice. 
latera, . Plural of latus. 
laterad (lat'e-rad), adv. [< L. latus (later-) + 
-ad.] In zool., to or toward the side ; lateral- 
ly in direction. 
3364 
of the cerebral hemispheres. Lateral vibration, in 
acoustics, a vibration in a plane at right angles to the 
length of the vibrating body, as in a violin-string ; a trans- 
verse vibration : opposed to longitudinal vibration. 
II. n. 1. In conch.: (a) A lateral or admedian 
tooth of a bivalve, as distinguished from a car- 
dinal tooth. See cut under bivalve, (b) One 
of the uncini, or uncinal teeth of the radula. 
For the uncini he [E. R. Lankester] adopts the termtai- 
erals, which I venture to think is undesirable. 
W. a. Datt, Science, IV. 81. 
2. A side branch or division of anything; a 
part projecting from one side ; specifically, in 
a grape-vine, one of the side shoots which 
spring from the axils of the leaves of a main 
shoot. 
These stocks were budded in the main stem, not on lat- 
erals as now. Quarterly Rev., CXLV. 359. 
A symmetric pair of perfect laterals spring from its [the 
moraine's] graceful curve like the tangent from its chord. 
Amer. Jour. Set., XXIX. 888. 
laterality (lat-e-ral'i-ti), n. [< lateral + -ity.] 
1. The quality of being lateral. 2. The state 
or condition of having sides. 
We may as reasonably conclude a right and left lateral- 
ity in the ark or naval edifice of Noah. 
Sir T. Browne, Vulg. Err., iv. 6. 
laterally (lat'e-ral-i), adv. In a lateral man- 
ner, direction, or position; laterad; sidewise. 
lateral-temporal (lat'e-ral-tem'po-ral), a. An 
epithet applied to one of three principal fossa? 
-*,.. .iii _ T ,.!.- ^ s i tuate d between the 
latescence 
Running sidewise, as a spider ; pertaining to 
the Laterigra&B, or having their characters. 
The Thomisidse, or laterigrade spiders. 
Amer. Nat., XXI. 966. 
II. n. A spider of the group Laterigrada^, as 
a thomisid. 
laterinerved (lat'e-ri-nervd), a. [< L. latus 
(later-), side, + ne'rvus, nerve, + E. -ed%.] In 
bot., having lateral nerves: applied to leaves. 
laterite (lat'e-rit), n. [< L. later, a brick, a 
tile, + -ite?.] A rock of peculiar character, 
found in India and some parts of southwestern 
Asia. Its essential features are that it is highly ferru- 
ginous and that it forms the superficial covering of the 
country. In its normal form it is a porous argillaceous 
rock, largely impregnated with the peroxid of iron, some 
kinds containing as much as 25 or 30 per cent, of metallic 
iron. Although the laterite is in process of formation at 
the present time, some of it dates back to the Tertiary, and 
perhaps as far back as the Eocene. There are two rather 
distinct forms of this rock. One is extensively developed 
on the west coast of India, where it forms the surface-rock 
of the country over wide tracts of the low lands near the 
sea. This, which is called the low-level laterite, is clearly of 
detrital origin, and it rests indifferently on various older 
rocks. The iron it contains appears to be due to the fact 
that it is formed, in part at least, from the debris of the 
high-level laterite, and in part to the large quantity of 
iron ore present in the old volcanic rocks of the region 
The origin of the high-level laterite, which is found exten- 
sively on the highlands of central and western India, is 
more difficult to explain. It appears, beyond doubt, to 
have resulted in considerable part from the decomposi- 
tion in situ, by atmospheric agencies, of the volcanic rock 
Caudad the cells were connected with the postero-lat- 
eral column, while cephalad and laterad they could be seen 
to be connected with the direct cerebellar tract. 
Amer. Jour. Psychol., I. 492. 
lateral (lat'e-ral), a. and . [= F. lateral = 
Pg. Sp. lateral "= It. laterale, < L. lateralis, be- 
longing to the side, < latus (later-), a side. Cf. 
collateral, bilateral, trilateral, quadrilateral, 
etc.] I. a. 1. Of or pertaining to the side; 
situated at, proceeding from, or directed to a 
side : as, a lateral projection; lateral snoots or 
branches; a lateral view. 
Thwart of these, as fierce, 
Forth rush the Levant and the Ponent winds 
Eurus and Zephyr, with their lateral noise. 
Milton, P. L., x. 705. 
I at length found my way to a lateral portal, which was 
the every-day entrance to the mansion. 
Irving, Sketch-Book, p. 334. 
The central aisle is twice the width, and more than 
twice the height, of the lateral aisles, and has a well-de- 
fined clerestory. J. Fergusson, Hist Arch., I. 508. 
2. In anat. and zool., situated on either side of 
the median vertical longitudinal plane of the 
body; lying laterad of the meson: as, the lat- 
eral ventricles of the brain ; the lateral line of 
quadratojugal ligament below. Huxley. 
Lateran (lat'e-ran), a. [< L. Lateranus, a Ro- 
man family name : see def.] Pertaining to or 
connected with a locality in Rome called the 
Lateran: as, the Lateran palace or basilica; the 
Lateran councils. The site so named belonged in the 
first century to the family Lateranus, was confiscated by 
Nero, and was given by Constantine to the Bishop of Rome 
together with the palace and the basilica built upon it. 
This Lateran basilica, originally called the Church of Christ 
the Saviour, has since the tenth century borne the name of 
St. John Lateran, from the adjoining monastery of St. John, 
and is the Pope's cathedral church, officially styled "mother 
and head of all churches of the City [Rome] and the world. " 
It was consecrated in A. D. 324, and has been rebuilt several 
times, the present structure, which dates from the four- 
teenth century.having been modernized in theseventeenth. 
The Lateran palace was the residence of the popes for nearly 
a thousand years (till 1309), was afterward burned and re- 
built, and is now used as a museum, containing both class! 
stantine was baptized. Lateran councils, eleven 'coun- 
cils held in the Lateran basilica, including an important 
synod convened against the Monothelites in 649, and five 
general councils of the Western Church (1123, 1139 1179 
1215, and 1612-1617), regarded by Roman Catholics as ecu- 
menical, the fourth being the most important. 
- - ~= - -^ u . , , UD K,^, uiie or 1 **f?, df J ", [M , E ;' < S -Jf iri * de ' s , low f coun- 
a fish ; the lateral margin of a thorax, elytrum ,' , te *> slow, 'ate, + raid, counsel : see read*, 
or abdomen.-3. In conch., specifically, situ- I lY ' ] Gl 7 en to procrastination ; inclined 
otwi r-T, Q iti,o =:,i * 4-u- V:_ ..A '._,-, to delay or postpone. 
ated on either side of the hinge: contrasted 
with cardinal : as, the lateral tooth of a bivalve. 
Also admedian. 4. In bot., belonging to or 
borne upon the side of any organ : sometimes 
contrasted with terminal (as, lateral buds),some- 
times with medial (as, lateral ribs or nerves of 
a leaf or glume). 5. In physics and mech., at 
right angles to a line of motion or of strain. 
Lateral is also sometimes inaccurately used for transverse 
or at right angles to the longest axis of a body : thus 
lateral (in place of transverse) pressure and strength are 
spoken of. 
The lateral expansion of the ice from internal pressure 
explains in a clear and satisfactory manner how rock-ba- 
sins may be excavated by means of land-ice. 
J. Crott, Climate and Cosmology, p. 254. 
Lateral axes of a crystal, those axes situated in a plane 
parallel to the base. Lateral callosities of the me- 
tanotum, more or less inflated spaces on the sides of 
the metathorax, seen in many Diptera. Lateral con- 
jugation. See conjugation. Lateral cuneate funicu- 
lus. Same as funiculus of Rolando (which see, under 
/mrfiM).-Lateral curvature of the spine. See 
curvature. Lateral equatlont, a linear equation - 
Lateral eyes, eyes on the outer sides of the head, as' in 
bees. Lateral fin, one of the paired side fins of a fish 
as the pectoral and ventral : opposed to vertical fin 
Lateral force, a force at right angles to the direction of 
the motion of the particle to which the force is applied 
-Lateral foveolse. See foveola.- Lateral gemma- 
tlon. See semmafMm.-Lateral giuglymus. Same as 
cyclarthrow.- Lateral line, in ichth. See Kne2._Lat- 
eral lists. See list*.- Lateral lobes, in the Hemiptera, 
two divisions of the anterior part of the head, one on each 
side of the tylus or central lobe.-Lateral moraine, mo- 
Ion, etc. Seethe nouns. Lateral operation, in sum., 
a mode of cutting for stone, in which the prostate eland 
and neck of the bladder are divided laterally. See Kthot- 
my.-Lateral sclerosis of the spinal cord, primary 
spastic paraplegia. See paraplegia.- Lateral stress, 
a stress at right angles to the strain which produces it 
Lateral sulcus, a groove on the outer side of the cms 
cerebri, marking the boundary between the crusta and teg- 
mentum. Lateral ventricle, one of the two ventricles 
Thanne comth the synne that men clepen tarditas, as 
whan a man is to latered or tariynge er he wo) turne to 
,": ctewcer, parson's Tale, 
latenceous (lat-e-rish'us), a. [Also lateritions; 
< L. latericlus, lateritius, consisting of bricks, 
< later, a brick, tile.] Like bricks ; of the col- 
or of bricks Latericeous sediment, a sediment in 
unne resembling brick-dust, consisting of uric acid. 
_, _..,.j In ornith., the lateral 
one of the several horny pieces into which the 
sheath of the bill of some birds, as albatrosses, 
is divided. 
latericumbent (lafe-ri-kum'bent), a. [< L. la- 
tus (later-), side, + ^'cumbere, lie: see cumbent.] 
Lying on the side. 
Latericumbent, with a block transversely under the neck. 
Wilder and Gage, Anat. Tech. 
lateriflection, lateriflexion (lafe-ri-flek'- 
shon), n. [< L. latus (later-), side, -(' flexio(n-), 
a bending: see flection, flexion.] A bending 
laterad or sidewise ; curvature to either side, 
right or left : as, lateriflection of the spine. Also 
lateroflection, lateroflexion. 
laterifolipus (lat'e-ri-fo'li-us), a. [< L. latus 
(later-), side, + folium, a leaf : see foliage.] In 
bot., growing by the side of a leaf at its base: 
as, a laterifolious flower. 
Laterigradae (lat-e-rig'ra-de), n. pi. [NL.: see 
laterigrade.] A group of spiders which for the 
most part run sidewise or backward, and make 
no web, but stitch leaves together to form a 
nest or retreat. The group has been rated as a family, 
tribe, and suborder of araneids. It includes the famiiv 
Thomundos. Also Laterigrada. 
laterigrade (lat'e-ri-grad), a. and n. [< L. latus 
(later-), side, + gradi, step: see grade*.] I. a. 
of Madras. 
lateritious (lat-e-rish'us), a. See latericeous. 
lateritypic (lat' ; e-ri-tip'ik), a. [< laterityp-y + 
-ic.] Characterized by Iateritypy ; bilaterally 
symmetrical. 
Iateritypy (lat'e-ri-ti-pi), n. [< L. latus (later-) 
side, + Gr. TVKOC,, type.] Same as bilateral 
symmetry (which see, under bilateral). 
latermoret, a. [< later + -more.] Se 
of less importance. Also latter-more. 
Is it mete that the carnal be first, & that thing to be 
latermore which is spiritual & gostly? 
J. Vdatt, On Mark i. 
Laternaria (lat-er-na'ri-a), n. [NL., < L. later- 
na, another form of lanterna, a lantern (see lan- 
tern), + -aria.] A Linnean genus of hemip- 
terous insects of the family Fulgoridai; the lan- 
(later-), side, + cd'uda, tail': see caudaL] In 
zool., lateral and hinder; situated on the side 
posteriorly; posterolateral. 
Latero-caudal angles of the head unarmed. 
Comstock, Introd. to Entom. (1888), p. 219. 
laterodorsal (lat"e-rd-dor'sal), a. [< L. latus 
(later-), side, + dorsum, back : see dorsal.] In 
zool. and bot., situated on the side of the upper 
surface: as, a laterodorsal spot or line on an 
insect, or the upper rows of leaves in the f oliose 
Jungerman niacece. 
lateroflection, lateroflexion (lat'e-ro-flek'- 
shpn), n. Same as lateriflection. 
laterofrontal (Iat"e-r6-fron'tal), a. [< L. latus 
(later-), side, + frons (front-'), front: see fron- 
tal.] Situated on the side in front. Encuc. 
Brit. 
lateromarginal (lafe-ro-mar'ji-nal), a. [< L. 
latus (later-), side, + margo (margin-), edge : see 
marginal.] Situated on the lateral margin or 
side edge. 
A few postero-marginal or candal, but never a continu- 
ous series of latero -marginal sette. 
W. S. Kent, Man. Infusoria, II. 792. 
lateronuchal (lafe-ro-nu'chal), a. [< L. latus 
(later-), side, + ML. nucha, nape: see nuchal.] 
Situated on the side of the nape. 
Latero-nucnal feathers elongated, rigid, with long discon- 
nected flbriUse. Coues, Key to N. A. Birds, p. 734. 
laterostigmatal (lafe-ro-stig'ma-tal), a. [< L. 
latus (later-), side, + NL.' stigmata.]' In entom., 
situated on the side, just above the stigmata or 
breathing-pores: as, laterostigmatal spines: used 
principally in describing larvae. Also latero- 
st it/ matte. 
lateroversion (lat^e-ro-ver'shon), w. [< L. latm 
(later-), side, + (ML.)W*to(n-), a turning: see 
version.] A turning to one side. 
Lates (la'tez), n. [NL., < Gr. Adi-of, a fish of the 
Nile.] 1. A genus of serranoid fishes. Latcs 
nilotica is known as the Nilepercli. 2. [1. c.] 
A fish of this genus; the Nile perch. It some- 
times grows to the length of 3 feet. 
latescence (la-tes'ens), n. [< latescen(t) + -ce.] 
The quality or condition of being latescent ; the 
state of becoming obscured or lost to view. 
