lecturer 
or curates, chosen in some parishes by the ves- 
try or chief inhabitants of the parish, with the 
consent of the incumbent, and supported by 
voluntary subscriptions and legacies. Lecturers 
usually pre'ach at evening prayer on Sunday, and sometimes 
officiate on some stated day during the week. 
If there had been no Lecturers (which succeed the 
Friers in their way), the Church of England might have 
stood and llourisht at this day. Selden, Table-Talk, p. 51. 
I am not altogether so rustick, and nothing so irreli- 
gious, but as farre distant from a Lecturer as the meerest 
Laick, for any consecrating hand of a Prelat that shall 
ever touch me. Milton, Apology for Smectymnuus. 
3. In English and American colonial history, 
a person appointed by municipal or parish au- 
thority to deliver a periodical lecture, usually 
on Sundays or market-days. 
lecture-room (lek'tur-rom), n. A room in 
which lectures are delivered, as at a university 
or in a church. 
lectureship (lok'tur-ship), re. [< lecture + -ship.] 
The office of a lecturer. 
He got a lectureship in town of sixty pounds a-year, 
where he preached constantly in person. Swift. 
lecturess (lek'tur-es), n. [< lecture + -ess.] A 
female lecturer, 
lecturize (lek'tur-iz), v. i. ; pret. and pp. lectur- 
ised, ppr. lecturizing. [< lecture + -ize.~] To 
deliver lectures ; preach. [Bare.] 
We must preserve mechanics now 
To lecturise and pray. 
A. Drome, Saint's Encouragement. 
lecturnt, An obsolete form of lectern. 
lecus (le kus), M. In hot., same as corm. Gray, 
Structural Botany, Glossary. 
lecyth (le'sith), . [< NL. Lecytliis.'] A plant 
of the order Lcci/thidacea; : usually in the plural, 
as an Eaglish equivalent for the name of the 
order. Lindley. 
lecythi. . Plural of lecytlms. 
Lecythidaceae (les"i-thi-da'se-e), n. pi. [NL. 
(Lindley, 1845), < Lecytliis (-id-) + -aceai.'] In 
Lindley's later system, an order of plants un- 
der his " alliance" Myrtales, typified by the ge- 
nus Lecytkis, nearly equivalent to the present 
tribe Lecythiileee. 
Lecythideae (les-i-thid'e-e), n.pl. [NL. (Rich- 
ard, 1825 ),<.Lecytliif/(-id-) + -ea.~\ Atribeofmyr- 
taceous plants, typified by the genus Lecytliis. 
It embraces 10 genera and about 135 species, chiefly tropi- 
cal American trees. It was regarded by Lindley (1833) as 
an order, by Endlicher and others as a suborder. 
Lecytliis (les'i-this), w. [NL., so called in al- 
lusion to the shape of the seed-vessels, < LL. 
lecythus, < Or. "Ai/imOos, an oil-vase.] A genus of 
South American trees of the order Myrtacece, 
tribe Lecythideic. It is distinguished by the woody and 
opercurate subglobose fruit, and the thick and fleshy entire 
embryo. About 65 species are known, trees of large size, 
80 feet or more in height. The Sapucaia-nuts of the mar- 
ket are the seeds of L. Zabucajo.thoae of L. Ollana being 
sometimes called by the same name. The seed-vessels of 
several species are known as monkey-pots, and are sometimes 
used in turnery. The thin layers of the bark of L. Ollaria 
are used by the Indians, under the name of kakarali, as wrap- 
pers for cigarettes. See Sapucaia-nut and kajcarali. 
lecythoid (les'i-thoid), a. [< Or. Aj/ K v6o(, an 
oil-vase, + elfof, shape.] Resembling a lecy- 
thus in any way. Sometimes lekytlioid. 
lecythus (les'i-thus), n. ; pi. lecythi ( -thi). [LL. 
lecythns, < Gr. AT/KvOos, an oil-vase. ] In areliteol. . 
a small oil- or 
perfume -vase 
of ancient 
Greece, of tall 
and graceful 
proportions 
and naiTow 
neck, used in 
the toilet. 
Vasesof thisform 
abound, decorat- 
ed In the usual 
styles with black 
or red figures. In 
Attica a particu- 
lar class of the le- 
cythus was used, 
especially in fu- 
neral rites. The 
neck and the foot 
of these Attic lecythi are covered with a brilliant black 
varnish, and the intervening part has a clear white ground, 
upon which are drawn with a brown outline figures and de- 
signs, often of remarkable delicacy and elegance, which, 
unlike nearly all other examples of Greek vase-painting 
are frequently filled out with bright and naturalistic colors. 
Also lekythos. 
led 1 (led). Preterit and past participle of 
lead 1 . 
led 1 (led), p. a. Under leading or control : as, 
a led captain, friend, horse (see phrases below) : 
specifically applied to a landed possession not 
occupied by the owner or by the person who 
3396 
rents it, or a district ruled over by deputy: as, 
a led farm, etc. 
He transferred the Markgraf dom to Brandenburg, prob- 
ably as more central in his wide lands ; Salzweilel is hence- 
forth the led Markgrafdom or Marck, and soon falls out 
of notice in the world. Carlyle, Frederick the Great, I. iv. 
Led captaint, an obsequious attendant ; a favorite that 
follows as if led by a string ; a henchman. 
They will never want some creditable led-captain to at- 
tend them at a minute's warning to operas, plays, etc. 
Chesterfield. 
Petrie, in his Essay on Good-breeding, . . . recommends 
. . . this attitude to all led-captains, tutors, dependents, 
and bottle-holders of every description. 
Scott, Abbot, x \.\i.\. 
Led friendt, a parasite ; a hanger-on. 
If you take notice, there is hardly a rich man in the 
world who has not such a led-friend of small considera- 
tion, who is a darling for his insignificancy. 
Steele, Tatler, No. 208. 
Led horse, a spare horse led by a groom or servant, to 
be used in case of emergency ; also, a sumpter-horse or 
pack-horse. 
Ied 2 ti . An obsolete form of lead 2 . 
Leda (le'da), n. [L., = Gr. A#<5<z, a fern, name 
(seedef.l).] 1. IiiGreekmyth.,theviifeof Tyn- 
dareus, king of Sparta, and mother of Clytsem- 
nestra, Helen, Castor, and Pollux. According to 
the latest of the many legends, the last three were the 
offspring of Zeus in the form of a swan, and were pro- 
duced from two eggs, Helen from one, and Castor and 
Pollux from the other. 
2. In ro67. : (n) The typical genus of Ledidte. 
Schumacher, 1817. (b) A spurious genus of 
spiders. Koch and Berendt, 1854. (c) A genus 
of amphipod crustaceans. Wrzesniowski, 1879. 
Leda-clay (le'da-kla), n. A marine deposit of 
ledger 
of a cask, the lowest part of a vessel ; from the 
verb represented by E. lie*, dial, lig: see Mel. Of. 
ledge 2 , as a var. of lay 1 , the causal form of lie 1 . 
Cf. also ledger'*-.'] 1. A shelf on which articles 
may be placed ; anything which resembles such 
a shelf ; a flat rim or projection : as, the ledge of 
a window ; a ledge of earth on the inner side of 
a parapet. 
And he made ten bases of brass ; . . . they had borders, 
and the borders were between the ledges. 1 Ki. vii. 28. 
The lowest ledge or row should be merely of stone. 
Sir H. Wotton, Reliquite, p. 18. 
Specifically (a) In arch.: (1) A small horizontal molding 
of rectangular profile. (2) A string-course. (6) In joinery, 
a piece against which something rests, as the side of a re- 
bate against which a door or shutter is stopped, or a pro- 
jecting fillet serving the same purpose as the stop of a 
door, or the fillet which confines a window-frame in its 
place, (c) In ship-building, a piece of the deck-frame of 
a ship, lying between the deck-beams, (d) A rail of a chair. 
(e) In printing, one of the pieces of furniture ; a wedge, 
used in locking up a form of type. 
2. A shelf-like ridge or elevation ; any natural 
formation somewhat resembling a shelf: as, a 
ledge at the top of a precipice ; a ledge of rock 
under water. In mining, ledge is a common name in 
the Cordilleran region for the lode, or for any outcrop sup- 
posed to be that of a mineral deposit or vein. It is fre- 
quently used, as reef is in Australia, to designate a quartz- 
vein. 
Beneath a ledge of rocks his .feet he hides ; 
Tall trees surround the mountain's shady sides : 
The bending brow above a safe retreat provides. 
Dryaen, I jiriil, i. 
Pines, that plumed the craggy ledge. 
Tennyson, (Enone. 
-. 3. A bar for fastening a gate. [Prov. Eng.] 
post-Tertiary age, occurring along the St. Law- I e dg e 2 (lej), v.; pret. and pp. ledged, ppr. ledo- 
rence valley and on the borders of Lake Cham- inffm [ A dial. var . of to/ 1 , < ME. leggen, < AS. 
lecgan, lay: see tow 1 . Cf. ledge 1 , .] I. tram. 1. 
To lay (eggs). [Prov. Eng.] 2. To " 
Attic Lecythi. 
plain. The material is a fine clay, deposited in deep 
water, and contains many molluscan remains, the species 
being chiefly those inhabiting the sea somewhat further 
north. Among the genera represented Leda is prominent ; 
hence the name. 
leddent, . See leden. 
ledder, n. An obsolete or dialectal form of 
ladder. 
leddy (led'i), n. A dialectal form of lady. 
lede't, v. A Middle English form of lead 1 . 
lede' 2 t, and r. A Middle English form of lead 2 . 
Iede 3 t, " [ME., also leede, leod, leode, a man, 
ledes, leedes, people, tenements, < AS. leod, m. , 
a man, pi. leddc, people, also leod, {., a people, 
nation, pi. leode, peoples; = OS. liitd, pi. liudi 
= OFries. liod, pi. liodc, liude = D. pi. lieden = 
MLG. lit, pi. lade = OHG. MHG. luit, OHG. pi. 
liuti. MHG. pi. liute, G. leute, pi.; in sing, a 
people, in pi. people, men; OBulg. ljudii, a 
people, pi. ljudije, people, = Bohem. lid, pi. 
tide = Pol. lud, pi. ludzie = Russ. liudu, a peo- 
ple, pi. liudi, people (cf. OBulg. Ijudinii, Russ. 
liudi, man), = OPruss. ludis, man, master, = 
Lett, laudis, people ; from the verb represented 
by AS. leodan (pret. *ledd, pi. ludon, pp. "loden) 
= OS. liodan = OHG. "liutan, in eomp. ar-liutan, 
fram-liutan = Goth, liudan, grow, whence also 
Goth, lanths, great (in hwelauths, how great, sira- 
lautlis, so great, samalauths, as great, \ike,jug- 
galauihs, a young man), also ludja, face.] 1. A 
man ; in the plural, men ; people. 
Is no leile. that leneth that he ne loueth mede. 
Piers Plowman (C), iv. 283. 
2. pi. Tenements ; holdings ; possessions. 
Al myn other purchas of londes and of leedes, 
That I byquethe Gamelyn, and alle my goode steedes. 
Tale of Gamelyn, 1. 61. 
ledent, leddent (led'en), n. [Also dial, lidden ; 
< ME. leden, lideii, lyden, < AS. Iceden, leden, Latin, 
speech, language, < L. Latinum, Latin, the Latin 
language (the only language of learning in the 
AS. period): see Latin.'] Language: used poet- 
ically of the language or voice of birds. 
Canacee ... on hir finger bar the queynte ring 
Thurgh which she understood wel every thing 
That any foul may in his ledene seyn, 
And coude answere him in his ledene again. 
Chaucer, Squire's Tale, 1. 427. 
The ledden of the birds most perfectly she knew. 
Drayton, Polyolbion, xii. 503. 
ledert, . See litlier 1 . 
ledererite (led'er-er-it), . [After Baron Led- 
crer.~\ A synonym of gmelinite. 
lederite (led'er-It), . [After Baron Lederer.'] 
A variety of titanite or sphene occurring in 
large dark-brown crystals in Lewis county, 
New York. 
ledge 1 (lej), n. [An assibilated form of "leg 
oi*lig (cf. ledger^, lidger, assibilated forms of 
lii/f/er; legget, ligget, lidget, equiv. to ledge 1 , 2) ; 
akin to So. ledgin, a parapet, leggin, laggen, lagen, 
the rim of a cask, cf. Icel. logg = Sw. lagg,'tbe 
rim of a cask, = Norw. logg (pi. legger), the rim 
To lay hands 
on. [Prov. Eng.] 
II. intrans. To lay eggs. [Prov. Eng.] 
Iedge 3 t, v. t. [ME. ledgen, leggen, by apheresis 
from alegen, allege : see allege^-.] To allege. 
Halliwell. 
ledged (lejd), a. [< ledge 1 + -ed 2 ."] Furnished 
with or consisting of a ledge or ledges ; shaped 
like a ledge ; of the character of a ledge. 
Ledged and broken walls and floor. 
L. Wallace, Ben-Hur, p. 395. 
Ledged door. See door. 
lodgement, H. See ledgment. 
ledger 1 (lej'er), n. and a. [Formerly also leger, 
and, in the obs. senses, also leiger, leidger, legier, 
lieger, ligier; also and most prop, lidger (which is 
found also in other senses); an assibilated form 
of ligger, and thus ult. another form of Her 1 ; 
cf. MD. leggher, D. legger, one that lies down, a 
nether millstone, MD. liggher, a resident guest, 
a book kept for reference, = MLG. ligger, a resi- 
dent agent or factor : see ligger, Her 1 , and cf . 
ledge 1 , ledge 2 . The origin in the uses now obs. 
seems to have been forgotten, and the word was 
spelled irreg. leger, legier, leiger, lieger, etc., ap- 
par. in simulation of leger 2 , also spelled ledger. 
light, or of liege, or, with ref. to an ambassador, 
of legate. A ' ' ledger ambassador " is a resident 
minister, "a person sent to lie abroad for the 
good of his country."] I. n. 1. A bar, beam, 
stone, or other thing that lies flat or horizontal 
in a fixed position. Specifically -<o) In bunding, a 
piece of timber used in forming a scaffolding. Ledgers are 
fastened to the vertical bars or uprights ; they support the 
putlogs which lie at right angles to the wall, and carry the 
boards on which the workmen stand. See cut under put- 
log. (6) In arch., a flat slab of stone, such as is laid horizon- 
tally over a grave ; the covering-slab of an altar-tomb, (c) 
In mining, the foot-wall of a vein. Sometimes called the 
ledger-cheek. [Alston Moor mining district.] (d) In ang- 
ling, a ledger-bait. 
2. The principal book of accounts among mer- 
chants and others who have to keep an accurate 
record cf money and other transactions, so ar- 
ranged as to exhibit on one side all the sums or 
quantities at the debit of the accounts, and on 
the other all those at the credit. Formerly 
also ledger-book. 
Here you a muckworm of the town might see. 
At his dull desk, amid his legerft stall'd, 
Eat up with carking care and penurie. 
Thomson, Castle of Indolence, i. 
When only the ledger lives, and when only not all men 
lie. Tennyson, Hand, i. 
3f. A resident; a resident agent ; especially, a 
resident ambassador. For various other spell- 
ings, see etymology. 
By reason I had bene a lidger in Russia, I could the 
better reply. HaHuyt's Voyages, I. 375. 
Lord Angelo, having affairs to heaven, 
Intends you for his swift ambassador. 
Where you shall be an everlasting leiger. 
Shak., M. for M., lii. 1. 59. 
