lethal 
lethal (le'thal), a. [= Sp. letal = Pg. lethal = 
It. letale, < L. letalis, improp. written lethalis, 
mortal, deadly, < letnm, death, improp. writ- 
ten lethum, as associated with Gr. X^ft?, forget- 
fulness: see lethe^, Lethe 2 .] Pertaining to or 
capable of causing death ; deadly ; fatal. 
Thou wrapp'st his [man's] eyes in mists, then boldly lays 
Thy Lethal gins before thy erystal gates. 
Quarles, Emblems, ii. 3. 
All persons who . . . are found in possession of ... 
any lethal weapon. 
Lindsay Act (1882), quoted in Ribton-Turner's Vagrants 
[and Vagrancy, p. 365. 
Starvation carried off all whom the lethal climate spared. 
Nineteenth Century, XXI. 825. 
lethality! (le-thal'i-ti). [< F. lethalite = It. 
letalita; as letJtal + -ity.~\ The quality of being 
lethal; deadliness. 
The certain punishment being preferable to the doubt- 
ful lethality of the fetish. Atkins, Voyage to Guinea, p. 104. 
letharget, An obsolete form of lethargy 1 . 
lethargia (le-thar'ji-a), n. [LL., < Gr. "Krfiapyia, 
lethargy: BOG lethargy*-.] Inveg.pathol., a, slug- 
gish condition of buds or seeds which still pos- 
sess vitality. It may sometimes be overcome by close 
pruning in the case of buds, or by the application of hot 
water or weak acids in the case of seeds. 
lethargic (le-thar'jik), a. [< P. Uthargique = 
Sp. letdrgico = Pg. lethargico = It. letargico, 
< L. lethargicus, < Gr. /byftzpywof, drowsy, < A%- 
6apyof, forgetful, Arflapyia, lethargy: see leth- 
argy 1 .] 1. Affected with lethargy; morbidly 
sluggish or drowsy ; dull; torpid. 
Sparta, Sparta, why in slumbers 
Lethargic dost thou lie? 
Byron, tr. of Greek War-Song. 
The exiles of a year had grown familiar with the favorite 
amusement of the lethargic Indians ; and they introduced 
into England the general use of tobacco. 
Bancroft, Hist. U. S., I. 83. 
2. Marked by lethargy or languor; manifest- 
ing sluggishness or apathy: as, lethargic move- 
ments ; a lethargic government. 
All the company are sitting in lethargic silence round 
the table. Goldsmith, Citizen of the World, Iviii. 
The lethargic character of their ambassador here gives 
a very unhopeful aspect to a treaty on this ground. 
Jefferson, Correspondence, I. 294. 
3. Producing lethargy; causing languor or 
apathy; stupefying. 
Too long Jove lull'd us with lethargic charms, 
But now in peals of thunder calls to arms. 
Pope, Iliad, xv. 876. 
lethargical (le-thar'ji-kal), a. [< lethargic + 
-al.] Same as lethargic. [Bare.] 
Distracted persons, lethargical, apoplectical. or any way 
senseless and incapable of human and reasonable acts, are 
to be assisted only by prayers. 
Jer. Taylor, Holy Dying, v. 4. 
lethargically (le-thar'ji-kal-i), adv. In a le- 
thargic or sluggish manner; torpidly. 
Here in the gloom the pamper'd sluggards lull 
The lazy hours, lethargically dull. 
Fawkes, Voyage to the Planets. 
lethargicalness (le - thar ' ji - kal - nes) , n. The 
state or quality of' being lethargic ; unnatural 
drowsiness or sluggishness. 
That thou mayestbe the more effectually roused up out 
of this tepidity and lethargicalness. 
Dr. H. More, Epistles to the Seven Churches, ix. 
lethargicness (le-thar'jik-nes), . Same as 
lethargicalness. 
A grain of glory, mixt with humbleness, 
Cures both a fever and lethargiekness. O. Herbert. 
lethargize (leth'ar-jiz), v. t.; pret. and pp. 
lethargized, ppr. lethargizing, [< lethargy^ + 
-ize.~\ To render lethargic; stupefy. Also 
spelled lethargise. 
The lethargised isnotlesssickbecausehe complains not 
so loud as the aguish. Bee. T. Adams, Works, I. 353. 
All bitters are poison, and act by stilling, and depress- 
ing, and lethargteing the irritability. Coleridge. 
lethargogenic (le-thar-go-jen'ik), a. [< Gr. ~/j/- 
ftzpyof , lethargy, + -yei^f , producing: see -genous, 
-genie.] Giving rise to lethargy. 
lethargus (le-thar'gus), n. [NL. use of L. le- 
Wwm; MS, lethargy: see lethargy 1 .'] Negro leth- 
argy. See lethargy*-. 
lethargy 1 (leth'ar-ji), . [Early mod. E. also 
lethargic, < ME. letharge, litarge, < OF. letharge, 
lethargie, litarge, F. lethargie = Sp. letargia = 
Pg. lethargia = It. letargia, < LL. lethargia, < Gr. 
/.r/Sapyia, drowsiness, < hr/Bap-yof, forgetful (as a 
noun, ~Ar/6apyo, > L. lethargus, > It. Sp. letargo, 
lethargy), < ).r/6t/, oblivion (see Lethe 2 , n.), + 
oAyof, pain (<Uy- altered to apy- to avoid recur- 
rence of /I).] 1. A state of prolonged in- 
activity or torpor ; inertness of body or mind ; 
sluggishness ; dullness ; stupor. 
3420 
He is fallen into a litarge, which that is a comune syke- 
nesse to hertes that ben desseyuyd. 
Chaucer, Boethius, i. prose 2. 
Europe lay then under a deep lethargy. Bp. Atterbury. 
What means this heaviness that hangs upon me? 
This lethargy that creeps through all my senses? 
Addison, Cato, v. 1. 
In a state of lethargy or inattentiveness a greater force 
of stimulus is needed to arouse the attention. 
J. Sully, Outlines of Psychol., p. 88. 
2. Specifically, in pathol., a disorder of con- 
sciousness, which consists of prolonged andpro- 
found sleep, from which the patient may be 
momentarily aroused, but into which he quick- 
ly sinks again. Quain. 3. The hibernation or 
winter sleep of an animal, or any other state of 
complete repose, as a period of summer lethargy 
observed in many insect-larva?, the repose of 
many tropical animals during the dry season, 
etc Negro or African lethargy, a disease prevailing 
on the west coast of Africa, affecting negroes almost if 
not quite exclusively, and terminating after a course of 
some months almost invariably in death. It is charac- 
terized by fits of somnolence increasing in intensity and 
gravity, by enlargement of the lymphatic glands, and by 
more or less edema. Also called sleeping-sickness, sleeping- 
dropsy, nelavan, and letharyus. 
lethargy 1 ! (leth'ar-ji), v. t. [< lethargy*, n.] 
To make lethargic or dull. Churchill. 
Either his notion weakens, [or] his discernings 
Are lethargied. Shak., Lear, i. 4. 249. 
lethargy 2 !, Same as litharge. 
lethe 1 !, * [Also lete; < L. lethum, improp. 
spelling of letum, death. Of. lethal.} Death. 
[Poetical.] 
Here did'st thou fall ; and here thy hunters stand, 
Sign'd in thy spoil, and crimson'd in thy lethe. 
Shale., J. C., Hi. 1. 206. 
What more remains t' accomplish our revenge? 
The proudest Nation [Troy] that great Asia nurst 
Is now extinct in lethe. Heywood, Iron Age, ii. 3. 
Lethe 2 (le'the), . [< L. Lethe (def. 1), < Gr. 
Arftrj, forgetfulness, oblivion (A/Jftpf Map, water 
of oblivion; 6 rijf 2.r/6qt iroTa.[i6c, the river of 
oblivion, name of a river in Lusitania ; but no 
river called A?/ft? is mentioned by Greek writ- 
ers),^ /lavOdveiv, AaBeiv, forget, akin to L. latere, 
lie hid: see latent.] 1. In Gr. myth.: (a) The 
personification of oblivion, a daughter of Eris. 
(ft) The river of oblivion, one of the streams 
of Hades, the waters of which possessed the 
quality of causing those who drank of them to 
forget their former existence. 
Your goodness is the Lethe 
In which I drown your injuries, and now live 
Truly to serve you. 
Fletcher (and another), Sea Voyage, ii. 1. 
Far off from these a slow and silent stream, 
Lethe, the river of oblivion, rolls 
Her watery labyrinth. Milton, P. L., ii. 583. 
2. A draught of oblivion ; forgetfulness. 
The conquering wine hath steep'd our sense 
In soft and delicate Lethe. Shak., A. and C., ii. 7. 114. 
3. In entom., a genus of nymphalid butterflies, 
with one species, L. europa, from the Malay ar- 
chipelago. Hubner, 1816. 
Iethe 3 t, a. and v. An obsolete variant of lithe 1 . 
Lethean (le-the'an), a. [< L. Lethams, < Gr. 
Aqdaiof, of forgetifulness, < /*/#?/, forgetfulness: 
see Lethe 2 .] Pertaining to the river Lethe ; in- 
ducing forgetfulness or oblivion. 
The soul with tender luxury you fill, 
And o'er the sense lethean dews distill. 
Falconer, Shipwreck, iii. 
Lethe'dt (le'thed), a. [< Lethe 2 , q. v., + -ed 2 .] 
Caused by or as if by a draught from Lethe ; 
Lethean; oblivious: used only by Shakspere, 
originally in the form Lethied. 
Epicurean cooks 
Sharpen with cloyless sauce his appetite ; 
That sleep and feeding may prorogue his honour 
Even till a Lethe' d dulness. Shak., A. and C. , ii. 1. 27. 
letheon (le'the-on), n. [NL., < Gr. \rftr,, for- 
getfulness (see Lethe 2 ), + -on, for -one.] Ethyl 
ether when used as an anesthetic. 
letheonize (le'the-on-iz), v. t.; pret. and pp. le- 
theonized, ppr. letheonising. [< letheon + -ize.] 
To subject to the influence of letheon. 
lether, o. See lither. 
lethiferous (le-thif'e-rus), a. [= F. lethifere 
= Sp. letifero = Pg. 'le.thifero = It. letifero, < L. 
letifer, improp. spelled lethifer, deadly, < letum* 
death, + ferrc = E. ftear 1 .] Deadly; bringing 
death or destruction. 
Those that are really lethiferous are hut excrescencies 
of sin. J. Robinson, Eudoxa (1658), p. 161. 
Lethrus (leth'rus), n. [NL. (Scopoli, 1777); 
supposed to be for Olethrus, < Gr. oArftywf, ruin, 
destruction, death.] A genus of scarabseoid 
letter 
beetles, of the family Aphodiidce, confined to 
eastern Europe and western Asia. They are noted 
for climbing up plants to cut off leaves and twigs, which 
they carry into their burrows to eat. 
lethy 1 !, a. See lithy. 
lethy 2 (le'thi), a. [< Lethe 2 + -yl.] Causing 
oblivion or forgetfulness ; Lethean. [Rare.] 
Thou dotest upon a divell, not a woman, 
That has bewitcht thee with her sorcerie. 
And drown'd thy soul in leathy faculties. 
Marston, Insatiate Countess, iv. 
letiflcalt (le-tif 'i-kal), a. [< "letific (< L. Itetifi- 
cus, making glad,^ lastus, glad, + facere, make) 
+ -al.] Making glad. Bailey, 1731. 
letificatet (le-tif 'i-kat), v. [< L. la-tificatus, pp. 
of laitificare (> It. letiftcare = Sp. letijicar), 
make glad, cheer, rejoice', < laitificus (> Pg. le- 
tifico), make glad: see letijical.] I. intrans. To 
rejoice ; be glad. Bailey, 1731. 
II. trans. To make glad ; gladden ; cheer. 
Nares. 
letificationt (le-tif-i-ka'shon), n. [< letificate 
+ -ion.] The act of rejoicing ; festivity. 
The last yeer we shewid you, and in this place, 
How the shepherds of Christ by thee made letification. 
Candlemas Day (1512), Int. 
Leto (le'to), n. [< Gr. fir/ra ; cf. L. Latona.] 
1. In Gr. myth., the mother by Zeus of Apollo 
and Artemis (Diana), to whom she gave birth 
on the island of Delos. She was a personification 
of the night and of the darkness, which is a necessary 
antithesis to the great twin deities of light, her children. 
She was called by the Romans Latona. 
2. In entom., a genus of hepialid moths, with 
one species, L. venus, of South Africa. Hubner, 
1816. 
let-off (let'of ), n. [< the phrase let off: see left, 
v.] 1. An outlet; a vent. 
Ah, the poor horses! how many a brutal kick and stripe 
they got^ . . . just as a let-off for the angry passions of 
their masters. Jleligious Herald, June 2, 1887. 
2. In power-loom weaving, any one of a variety 
of devices for feeding or letting off the warp 
from the beam or yarn-roll of a loom, as re- 
quired by the winding of the cloth on the cloth- 
beam. 
let-passt (let'pas'), n. 1. A passport or per- 
mit to pass, or to go or be abroad. 
Three men found wandering without a let-passe were to 
be sent to the fleet to serve His Majesty. 
A. H. A. Hamilton, Quarter Sessions, p. 218. 
2. A pass or paper furnished to a vessel in order 
to prevent detention by a ship of war ; a safe- 
conduct. 
Lett (let), n. [< Lett. Latvi.] A member of a 
branch of the Lithuanian or Lettic race, in- 
habiting chiefly the Russian provinces of Cour- 
land, Livonia, and Vitebsk. The Letts call 
themselves Latvis. See Lithuanian. 
letter 1 (let'er), n. [< left + -er 1 .] 1. One who 
lets or permits. 
A provider slow 
For his own good, a careless letter-go. 
B. Jonson, tr. of Horace's Art of Poetry. 
2. One who lets for hire. [Rare.] 
Aston, who calls her [Mrs. Bracegirdle] " the Diana of 
the Stage," says, "The most received Opinion is that she 
was the Daughter of a Coach Man, Coach maker, or Letter 
out of Coaches in the Town of Northampton." 
J. Ashton, Social Life in Keign of Queen Anne, II. 25. 
letter 2 ! (let'er), n. [<ME. letters; < let 2 + -er^.] 
One who lets, retards, or hinders. 
letter 3 (let'er), n. [< ME. lettre, letre, < OF. 
lettre, letre, F. lettre = Sp. letra = Pg. lettra = 
It. lettera, < L. littera, litera, a letter, alphabetic 
character, in pi. a letter, epistle, also litera- 
ture, history, letters; origin uncertain; perhaps, 
with formative -ter, from the root *li of linere, 
pp. litus, smear, spread, or rub over (see lini- 
ment), meaning a character graven (with a 
style) on a tablet 'smeared' with wax (the let- 
ters being, when necessary, erased by rubbing 
the wax with the end of the style), or a charac- 
ter 'smeared' or spread (with a reed or pencil) 
on parchment. (Cf. obliterate.) Hence also 
(from L. littera, litera) E. literal, literari/, litcr- 
ate, literature, alliterate, obliterate, transliterate, 
etc.] 1. A mark or sign used to represent a 
sound of the human voice ; a conventional rep- 
resentation of one of the primary elements of 
speech ; an alphabetical character. 
And than ho broght hym a href all of brode letres. 
That was comly by crafte a clerke for to rede. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), 1. 794. 
He . . . from the cross-row plucks the letter G. 
Shall., Rich. III., i. 1. 65. 
Primitive picture ideograms have passed through the 
successive stages of phonograms and syllabic signs till 
they finally developed into letters. 
Itaac Taylor, The Alphabet, 1. 13. 
