law-officer 
law-officer (li'i/ofi-scr), H. Anoflicrrof tholaw; 
one vested with legal authority in respect totho 
administration of justice. 
law-piece (lu'j>es), . In fishery, an addition 
to the leader of a pound. [Local, U. 8.] 
Some' fishermen hnil an cxcessof 25 feet to the end of the 
loader, which addition was known as the law-pitcr, and, 
when it w:w hrailed up, it left the leader as complete and 
effectual for guiding the Ilsh into the pound as before. 
Conn. Rep., 1871, p. 30. 
law-pudderingt (la'pud*6r-ing), n. Meddling 
or " pottering ' in the law. [Rare.] 
Declaring his capacity nothing refined since hla law-pud- 
dering, but still the same It was In the pantry and at the 
dresser. Milton, Colasterion. 
lawrencite (la'ren-sit), . [Named after Dr. 
J. Lawrence Smith (1818-83) of Louisville, Ken- 
tucky.] Native iron protochlorid, a substance 
not uncommon in meteoric irons. 
laws (lax), iitterj. See laic*. 
law-sheep (la'shep), n. See law-binding. 
lawson-evet, . An obsolete form of Low Sun- 
day eve. See low 2 . Hampson, Med. Kalend., ii. 
236. (Halliwell.) 
Lawsonia (la-so'ni-ft), . [NL. (Linnteus), 
named after John Lawson, M. D., author of "A 
New Voyage to Carolina" (1709).] A genus of 
pplypetalous shrubs, consisting of a single spe- 
cies, L. iiiermis, the celebrated henna-plant of 
the East. See henna. The genus belongs to the nat- 
ural order Lythrariece, or Lythracete, the loosestrife fam- 
ily, and to the tribe Lythrem, being closely related to the 
crape-myrtle. (See Laijerntrasmia.) It has a 4-parted calyx, 
4 petals, 8 stamens, a globose 4-cellcd capsule bursting 
irregularly, opposite, short-petioled, ovate-lanceolate, en- 
tire leaves, and white flowers crowded in fascicles or short 
axillary corymbs. The plant is probably indigenous to 
northern Africa, Arabia, and the East Indies, but is culti- 
vated and naturalized throughout the tropics. In England 
it is often called Egyptian privet, and in the West Indies 
it goes by the name of Jamaica mignonette. 
Lawson's cypress, n. See cypress, 1 (6). 
law-stationer (la'sta'shon-er), n. A sta- 
tioner who keeps on sale the articles required 
by lawyers, such as parchment, tape, foolscap, 
brief-paper, etc., and who sometimes, in Eng- 
land, takes in drafts or writings to be fairly 
copied or engrossed for lawyers. 
lawsuit (la'sut), n. A suit at law or in equity ; 
an action or a proceeding in a civil court ; a pro- 
cess in law instituted by one party to compel 
another to do him justice. 
law-wortht (la'werth), a. Law-worthy. 
We therefore command you, . . . upon the oath of good 
and laic-worth men of your bailiwick. 
English Oilda (E. E. T. s.l, p. 243. 
law-wqrthyt (la'wer'Tiii), a. Possessing full 
legal rights. 
The law worthy man could give evidence in a court of 
justice, in his own favour or that of another, and could 
call upon his neighbour and his friends to Justify him. 
Loftie, Hist London. 
law-writer (la'ri'ter), . 1. A writer on law; 
one who writes law-books. 2. A copier or en- 
grosser of legal papers. 
lawyer (la'yer), n. [< ME. lawyer (also lower, 
lawere: see lawcr) ; < law 1 + -ier*, -yer.~\ 1. One 
who is versed in the law, or is a practitioner of 
law ; one whose profession is to prosecute or de- 
fend suits in courts, or advise clients as to their 
legal rights, and aid them in securing those 
rights. It is a general term, comprehending attorneys, 
counselors, solicitors, proctors, barristers, Serjeants, and 
advocates. 
ge legistres and laipyfre* holdeth this for treuthe, 
That if I lye Mathew is to blame. 
Piers Plowman (BX viL 69. 
Why may not that be the skull of a lawyer I Where be 
his quiddities now, his quillets, his cases, his tenures, and 
his tricks? Shak., Hamlet. T. 1. 107. 
2. In the New Testament, an interpreter or ex- 
pounder of the Mosaic law. 
And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Phari- 
sees, saying. Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day? 
Luke xiv. 3. 
3. The mudfish or bowfln, Amia calva; also, 
the burbot, Lota, macxloxa : both more fully 
callotl Inh-Iinryer. [Local, U. S.] 4. The 
black-necked stilt, Himtint/>/is tti(/ricollis. De 
Kay. [Local, U. S.] 5. An old thorny stem 
of a brier or bramble, as of Rosa canina or Ru- 
lui* fi'iitirii.iit.t. [Provincial.] Canon lawyer, 
crown lawyer, etc. See the qualifying words. High 
lawyer*, a mounted robber or highwayman. Also called 
hightray lawyer. [Thieves' cant.] 
The legerdemaine of . . . high Lawyers. 
Greene, Oroats-worth of Wit (ed. Dyce), Int, p. xxix. 
lawyerly (la'yer-li), o. [< lawyer + -Iy 1 .] Like 
a lawyer; befitting a lawyer. 
To which and other Law-tnictats I referr the more Latr- 
yerlie mooting of this point. Milton. Eikonoklastes, v. 
lax 1 (laks), a. and . [= OF. lasche, F. l,i<-li> . 
loose, slack, lax, sluggish, cowardly, = Sp. Pg. 
3379 
lain = It. lasso, slack, lax, loose, lasro, lazy, idle, 
sluggish, < L. laxus (ML. also transposed *las- 
ciu, > OF. lasche, F. I4che, etc., > E. lath*, la.-/- 1, 
wide, open, loose, lax, slack; akin to languere, 
be languid (see languid^, languish), and to K. 
lii(/i and lack 1 . Hence ult. lask 2 , lache 2 , lash 2 , 
laches, etc., lease 2 , release, relax, etc.] I. a. 1. 
Slack ; loose ; soft ; not firm in texture, consis- 
tency, or tension ; readily yielding to touch or 
pressure: as, lax flesh or fiber; a lax cord. 
The flesh of that sort of flsh being lax, and spungy, and 
nothing so firm, solid, and weighty as that ox the bony 
fishes. Kay, Works of Creation, ii. 
And think, if his lot were now thine own, 
To grope with terrors nor named nor known. 
How laxer muscle and weaker nerve 
And a feebler faith thy need might serve. 
Wh&tier, Double- Headed Snake. 
2f. Loose ; free ; being at ease. 
Meanwhile inhabit lax [that Is, dwell at ease], ye powers 
of heaven. Millun, r. L., vii. 162. 
3. Relaxed; not retentive: as, lax bowels. 
4. Loose as regards force or energy; wanting 
vigor; weak; remiss; lacking in strictness : as, 
lax discipline; he is {ax in his duty. 
Under his lax administration, abuses of every kind bad 
multiplied to an alarming extent. 
Pracott, Ferd. and Isa,, U. 8. 
It was a prejudice against a man of lax principle and 
lax life. George Eliot, Mai on the Floss, vi. 12. 
6. Loose in construction or application ; not 
rigidly exact or precise; vague; equivocal. 
The word " raternus " itself is sometimes of a lax signifi- 
cation. Fortin, Christian Religion, vi. 
The conventuals had been countenanced in their lax 
interpretation of the rules of their order by many of their 
own superiors. Prcfcott, Ferd. and Isa., ii. 6. 
6. In Jot., loose or open; not compact: said of 
some panicles. 
II. n. If. A loosing; relief. 
O wharefore should I tell my grief. 
Since lax I canna find? 
Bonny Baby Livingston (Child's Ballads, IV. HI. 
2. A looseness; diarrhea. 
lax 1 1 (laks), v. t. [< L. laxare, loosen, relax, < 
laxwi, loose : see lax 1 , a. Cf . lease 2 , ult. the same 
word.] To relax. 
An extream fear and an cxtream ardour of courage do 
equally trouble and lax the belly. 
Cotton, tr. of Montaigne, xli. 
Iax 2 t (laks), H. [Formerly also lacks (Kilian); 
< ME. lax, < AS. leax = MB. lacks, lacks, lasche, 
lack = OHQ. MHO. lahs, G. lachs = Icel. Sw. lax 
= Dan. laks, a salmon, = Pol. loson, a salmon, 
= Russ. lososii = Lith. laszisza = Lett, limi,*, a 
salmon-trout.] A salmon. Ash. 
laxatift, a. and n. An obsolete form of laxatirc. 
laxationt (lak-sa'shon), n. [= It. lassazione, 
weariness, weakness, < L. laxatio(n-), a widen- 
ing, LL. a mitigation, < laxare, pp. laxatus, 
widen, open, unloose, relax, < laxus, wide, loose : 
see lax* and lease 2 ."] A loosing or slacking up ; 
relaxation. 
So all I wish must settle in this sum, 
That more strength from taxations come. 
W. Cartwright, A New Year's Gift to a Noble Lord. 
laxative (lak'sa-tiv), a. and . [< ME. laxatif, 
< F. laxatif = Pr. laxatiu = Sp. Pg. laxatico = 
It. lassativo, < L. laxativits, loosening, < laxare, 
pp. laxatus, loosen: see taxation.] I. a. If. 
Loose; soft; easy. 
I am of such a laxative laughter thot if the devil himself 
stood by I should laugh in his face. 
Middltton CO, The Puritan, iii. ii. 
Fellows of practised and most laxative tongues. 
B. Jonson, Poetaster, Apol. 
2. In med., having the power or quality of re- 
lieving from constipation by relaxing or open- 
ing the intestines. Compare cathartic, 1. 
II. n. A medicine that relieves from costive- 
ness by relaxing the intestines ; a gentle purga- 
tive. 
For Goddes love, as tak some laxatif. 
Chaucer, Nun's Priest's Tale, 1. 123. 
laxativeness (lak'sa-tiv-nes), n. The quality 
of being laxative. 
laxator (lak-sa'tqr), n. ; pi. laxatores (lak--.fi- 
to'rez). [NL., < t. laxare, pp. laxatus, loosen: 
see luxation.] In anat.. that which relaxes or 
loosens: the opposite of tensor Laxator tyru- 
pani, the relaxer of the tympanum, a part of the anterior 
ligament of the malleus, once supposed to be muscular. 
laxiflorous (lak-si-flo'rus), a. [< L. lasnx, lax, 
+ flos (flor-), flower, + -ous.] Having loose or 
scattered flowers. [Rare.] 
laxifolious (lak-si-fo'li-us), a. [< L. laxus, lax. 
+ folium, leaf, + -oiw.] Having the leaves 
loosely disposed. [Rare.] 
laxist (lak'sist), n. [< laxi + -t**.] One who 
favors or allows a lax or loose interpretation 
lay 
or application of moral law; sp. citicnlly, one of 
a school of casuists who hold that even slightly 
probable opinions may be followed. The lax- 
Ists were condemned by Pope Innocent XI. 
(1079). and they form no avowed school. See 
probaoiluit. 
laxity (lak'si-ti), n. [< F. laxite (in older form 
Idclicte) = Sp. laxidad = It. laiaila, laxchila, < 
L. laxita(t-)s, laxity, < laxus, loose : see fa*l, a.] 
1. The quality of being lax ; looseness; slack- 
ness; want of material firmness, tension, or co- 
herence. 
The former causes could never beget whirlpools In a 
chaos of so great a laxity and thinnest. /:./"./ 
2. Relaxedness; want of rotentiveness: as, lax- 
ity of the bowels. 3. Slackness of force or en- 
ergy; lack of vigor or strictness; weakness; re- 
missness. 
Nothing can be more Improper than ease and butty of 
expression, when the Importance of the subject Impresses 
solicitude, or the dignity of the person exacts reverence. 
Juhnton, Rambler, No. 152. 
Fixed a deep stain on It by the careless laxity of their 
morals. Preteott, Kerd. and Isa., Int 
4f. Openness; roominess. [Rare.] 
The hills In Palestine generally had in their sides plenty 
of caves, and those of such laxity and receipt that ours in 
England are but conny-boroughs, if compared to the pal- 
aces which those hollow places afforded. 
Fuller, llsgah .Sight, II. v. .',. 
laxly i Inks' Ii), iii/r. In a lax manner; loosely; 
without exactness. 
laxmannite (laks 'man-it), n. [Named after 
E. Laxmann, a Swedish chemist.] In mineral., 
same as rauquclinite. 
laxness (laks'nes), n. A lax condition. 
lay 1 (la), r.; pret. and pp. laid (formerly also 
layed), ppr. laying. [< ME. leycn, Itien, Itggen 
(pret. leide, leyde, legde, pp. leid, leyd, i-leid, 
i-leyd, etc.), < AS. lecgan (pret. legde, rarely 
contr. lede, pp. qe-legcd, rarely contr. ge-led) (= 
OS. leggian = (jFries. lega, leia, Icdsa, lidsia = 
D. MLG. Icggen = OHG. leggan, lekkan, legen, 
MHG. G. legen = Icel. leggja = Dan. la-gge = 
Sw. lagga = Goth, lagjan), lay, cause to lie, a 
causal verb, < licgan (pret. la-ij), lie: see We 1 . 
Lay is thus the causal verb of He (pret. lay). 
The two verbs, entirely distinct in AS., began 
to be confused in ME"., and the admission of 
i nt runs, uses of the orig. trans, lay, the general 
freedom of change from intrans. to trans, uses 
of verbs, and the instability of E. diphthongs 
containing, as in lay and lie, an absorbed gut- 
tural, have made the distinction difficult to 
keep. Uneducated speakers very commonly, 
and in certain uses even educated speakers, 
use lay, v. and ., for lie; but rarely We for lay.] 
I. trans. 1 . To cause to lie or rest ; put or place 
in a position or situation, or as a deposit or a 
burden ; deposit ; place ; impose : as, to lay a 
thing down; to lay one's hands on a thing; to 
lay a submarine cable; to lay an embargo on 
something; to lay a tax on land. 
And In a chare they hym launr, 
And ladd hym home Into Aim 
And ladd hym home Into Almayne. 
MS. Cantab. Ft. It 88, f. 77. (Uallimll.) 
There dorst no wight bond upon him legie. 
Chaucer, Reeve's Tale, 1. 17. 
Come, now bait your hook again, and lay it into the 
water, for it rains again ; and we will even retire to the 
sycamore-tree, and there I will give yon more directions 
concerning flshlng. /. Walton, Complete Angler, p. 116. 
Her arms across her breast she laid. 
Tennyson, Beggar Maid. 
2. To put or place in some situation, state, or 
condition expressed by a qualifying adjunct, 
such as aside, away, by, down, up, etc. (see the 
phrases below): as, to Iny by money; to lay 
away one's clothes in lavender. 
The successful candidate being he who could lay his 
bowl the nearegt to the mark. 
Strvtt, Sports and Pastimes, p. SS9. 
Specifically 3. To cause to lie in a prostrate, 
reclining, or recumbent position, as in or on a 
bed or on the ground. 
Whanne he came ther he leyde hym on his bedd. 
Generyd.es (E. E. T. S.X 1- 763. 
Forwearled with my sportcs, I did alight 
From loftle steed, and downe to sleepe me layd. 
Spenser, F. Q., L ix. U. 
4. To strike down ; beat prostrate ; overthrow 
and make prostrate or level. 
Many a lifeless lud layed to the grounde, 
That the! ne stirred of the stede strife for to make. 
Aluaunder of Maeedoine (E. E. T. S.X 1. 302. 
That speare cnchaunted wag which faurf tbee on thegreene. 
Spenter, F. Q., III. I. 7. 
>li:tll we knit our powers. 
And lay this Anglers even with the ground ? 
Shak., K. John, II. 1. S. 
