lie 
accordance with fact, and not meant to be understood 
literally. 
Have you great heroic virtues? no? then remember 
Ananias and Sapphira. They died for a single White Lie, 
a White Lie as common as dirt. 
C. Jteacle, White Lies, xliv. 
= Syn. Untruth, deception. Compare ffli. 
Iie 3 t> '* -A- 11 obsolete spelling of lye&. 
Iie 4 ti 11- An obsolete form of lee 1 . 
Iie 3 t, An obsolete form of lee 5 . 
116 (li-a'), a. [< F. lie, pp. of Her, bind, < L. 
ligare, bind: see lien*.] In her., same as 
stringed. 
lie-a-bed (H'a-bed), n. One who lies long in 
bed in the morning. [Colloq.] 
If you had got up time enough, you might have secur'd 
the stage, but you are a lazy lie-a-oed. 
foote, Mayor of Garratt, i. 
David was none of your lie-a-beds. He rose at five in 
summer, six in winter. C. Reade, Love me Little, x. 
lieberkiihn (le'ber-ktin), . [Named after its 
inventor, J. N. Lieberkiihn : see Lieberkiiknian.] 
ATI annular reflector attached to the nose of the 
object-glass of a microscope for bringing the 
light to a focus on an opaque object. 
Lieberkuhnia (le-ber-ku'ni-a), re. [NL., < Lie- 
berkiihn : see Lieberkuhnian'.] A genus of im- 
perf orate f oraminifers of the family Gromiidce. 
They have no test, and the pseudopodia are given off from 
only a small part of the body, the rest being naked and flex- 
ible. 
Lieberkuhnian (le-ber-ku'ni-an), a. Pertain- 
ing to or named after Johanri Nathauael Lie- 
berkuhn (1711-56), an anatomist of Berlin. 
Lieberkiihniau glands, the simple follicles or crypts of 
Lieberklihn, which stud nearly the whole tract of the small 
intestine. They are minute tubes with one blind end, the 
other opening into the intestine, where their orifices may 
be seen with a lens, like little dots between the villi. Their 
walls consist of a delicate basement membrane lined with 
columnar epithelial cells. The purpose served by their 
secretion is doubtful. They vary in length from 3 J 5 to t j 5 
inch, with a diameter of g J 5 inch. 
liebigite (le'big-it), n. [Named after Justus, 
Baron von Liebig (1803-73), a celebrated Ger- 
man chemist.] A hydrous carbonate of urani- 
um and calcium occurring as an incrustation 
on uraninite. 
lied (let), . [G., = AS. ledfh, a song: see lay^.] 
Properly, a German ballad, secular or sacred, 
fitted for singing or actually set to music. A 
volhslied is a lied whose origin is among the common peo- 
ple and is merely traditional; a volksthumliches lied is one 
that is deliberately written in the general style of a volks- 
lied ; a kunstlied is one that is designedly and obviously 
artistic rather than naive. The lied stands in the same 
relation to poetry and music in Germany as the chanson in 
France or the ballad in England. The term is also more 
or less extended to other than German songs. 
liederkranz (le'der-krants), n. [G., < lieder, 
pi. of lied, a song, + kranz, a garland: see 
crants.~\ A German choral society, especially 
one composed of men only; a glee-club. See 
liedertafel. 
liedertafel (le'der-ta'fel), . [G., < lieder, pi. 
of lied, a song, + tafel = E. table.'] A German 
choral society or glee-club of men; a lieder- 
kranz; also, a social, informal meeting or re- 
hearsal of such a society. 
lie-de-vin (le'de-van'), n. [F.: lie, lees; de, 
of; via, wine.] The color of the lees of wine, 
or a color supposed to be of that hue : a name 
given to a deep-red color in porcelains, etc. 
lief (lef), a. and n. [Early mod. B. also leef, 
leefe; < ME. leef, lefe, lef, leve, < AS. leof = OS. 
Uof = OFri6s.liaf= D. He/=MLG. Ze/=OHG. 
Hob, MHG. Hep, G. lieb = leel. ljufr = Sw. ljuf 
= Goth. Hubs, dear, beloved, = ^Bulg. liubu = 
Buss, liubii, dear (etc., being widely developed 
in Slavic); akin to L. lubet, libet, it pleases, Skt. 
I/ lubh, desire : see liberal. From the same root, 
and in close relation to lief, are belief, believe, 
leeve 1 , leave 2 , love 1 , and the disguised com- 
pounds furlough, leman, etc.: see these words. 
From the L. verb are ult. E. liberal, liberate, 
liberty, etc., liver 3 , deliver 1 , livery?; etc.] I. a. 
1. Beloved; pleasing; agreeable. [Obsolete 
or archaic.] 
He seyde, John, myn hooste, lief and deere. 
Chaucer, Miller's Tale, 1. 31B. 
Loue made the to me so leffe 
That I [Christ] for the was Rente on Roode; 
I suflyrde dethe to chaunge thy greffe. 
Political Poems, etc. (ed. Furnivall), p. 188. 
A liefer lass than this had been 
Coridon had never seen. 
Greene, Description of the Shepherd and his Wife. 
And with your best endeavour have stirr'd up 
My liefest liege to be mine enemy. 
Shak., 2 Hen. VI., iii. 1. 164. 
Yet now, I charge thee, quickly go again, 
As thou art liefauA dear, and do the thing 
I bade thee. Tennyson, Morte d'Arthur. 
3440 
2t. Inclined; disposed; willing; having a pref- 
erence. 
Though I it seye, I am not lief to gabbe. 
Chaucer, Miller's Tale, 1. 324. 
Haue thou not to manye wordis ; to swere be thou not leefe; 
For alle such maners comen to an yuel preef. 
Batees Book (E. E. T. S.), p. 39. 
Lief or loatht, willing or averse ; ready or reluctant ; 
willy-nilly. 
Were hem lef other loth William at last 
Keuered with the kinges sone out of the kene prese. 
William of Palerne (E. E. T. S.X 1. 3624. 
Cast in your nette : but be you liefe or lothe, 
Hold you content as fortune list assyne. 
Sir T. More, To them that seke Fortune. 
To have as lief, to have liefer (had as lief, had 
liefer or liever). See explanation of these phrases un- 
der have. To have lleft [= D. liefhebben = G. Ufbhaben, 
etc.], to hold dear; love. 
" Hadde I hym nevere lief? By God, I wene 
Yet hadde I nevere thyng so lief!" quod she. 
Chaucer, Troilus, iii. 860. 
Il.t n. One beloved; a darling. 
Cryseyde, which that is thi lief, 
Now loveth the as wel as thow dost hire. 
Chaucer, Troilus, iv. 611. 
lief (lef), adv. [< lief, a.] Gladly; willingly. 
Lief is peculiarly used (originally an adjective) in the con- 
structions to ham as lief, to have liefer (had as lief, had 
liefer or liever), etc. See under have. 
liefkint, n. [Early mod. E. leefekyn, < MD. lief- 
ken (= G. liebchen) ; as lief + -kin.'] Darling. 
Palsgrave, Acolastus. 
liefsornet (lef ' sum), a. [Also dial, leesome, < 
ME. lef sum (= OHG. liebsam); < lief + -some.'] 
Agreeable. 
So forth I goe apace to see that leefsome sight, 
And with a kisse, methinke, I say, welcome my lord, my 
knight. 
Surrey, Complaint of the Absence of her Louer. 
lieftenantt, An obsolete form of lieutenant. 
liege (lej), a. and n. [< ME. lege, lige, lyge, 
liege, < OF. lige, liege = Pr. litge = It. ligio (ML. 
reflex ligiiis, legius), liege, free (AF. seignour 
lige, OF. lige seignur, liege lord, home lige, 
liege man, a liege lord being the lord of a free 
band, and his liege men privileged free men, 
bound to him, but free from other service, even 
that of their sovereign); < MHG. ledic, ledec, 
free, unhindered, empty, G. ledig, empty, va- 
cant, = MLG. ledich, leddich = MD. ledich, idle, 
unemployed, = Icel. lidhugr, free, unhindered 
(not found in Goth.); prob. formed (as an adj. 
in -ig, E. -j/ 1 ) on the noun remaining in ME. 
lethe, leisure, = MD. *lede, in neg. unlede, busi- 
ness, trouble. Cf. AS. unlaide = Goth, urileds, 
poor, > unledi, poverty. The history of the word 
is incomplete.] I. a. 1. Free; specifically, free 
from obligation to service except as within the 
relations of lord and vassal : as, a liege lord, a 
liege man (correlative terms implying protec- 
tion on the one side and service on the other, 
as against all other claims). 
I schal loue him lelli as my lege brother. 
William of Palerne (E. E. T. S.), 1. 4128. 
It hath pleased God to grant us a natural liege king and 
lord of our own nation. 
Latimer, 1st Sermon bef. Edw. VI. , 1549. 
One would think that by this royal Patent, which gave 
him Power of Life and Death over the King's liege People, 
Sir W. Raleigh should become rectus in curia, and free 
from all old Convictions. Howell, Letters, ii. 61. 
2. Of or pertaining to the tie reciprocally con- 
necting vassal and chief : as, liege vassalage. 
Liege homage. See homage. Liege lord. Seen., 2. 
Liege man. See liegeman. 
II. n. 1. A liegeman; a subject; a vassal; 
hence, a law-abiding citizen ; a peaceably dis- 
posed person : as, to disturb the lieges. 
The sowdan and his baronage 
And alle his lieges shulde ycristned be. 
Chaucer, Man of Law's Tale, L 142. 
" For kings, and all that are in authority," we may yet 
enlarge, and pray for a peaceable reign, true lieges, strong 
armies. Jer. Taylor, Works (ed. 1835), I. 228. 
2. A liege lord; one to whom another is bound 
in fealty or vassalage ; a sovereign lord or feu- 
dal superior; a lord paramount. 
Most mighty liege, and my companion peers. 
Shak., Kich. II., i. 3. 93. 
And glory to our sovereign liege, King Henry of Navarre. 
Macaulay, Ivry. 
liegedom (lej'dum), n. [< liege + -dom.~\ Al- 
legiance. [Bare.] 
Sceptre, robe, and crown, 
Liegedom and seignorie. 
Scott, Bridal of Triermain, iii. 36. 
liegeman (lej 'man), n.; pi. liegemen (-men). 
[< ME. lege man, lecge man, orig. as two words : 
see liege and man."] A vassal; a subject; one 
bound to the service or support of a sovereign 
lord. 
lientery 
He moste thinke yt is his leege man, 
And is his tresour, and his gold in cofre. 
Chaucer, Good Women, 1. 879. 
You shall become true liegemen to his crown. 
Shak., 1 Hen. VI., v. 4. 128. 
liege-poustie (lej'pous // ti), n. [< ME. (Sc.) liege 
poiistee, < OF. liege poustee, free sovereignty: 
liege, free; potistie, < L. potesta(t-)s, power, 
sovereignty: see liege and poustie.'] In Scots 
law, that state of health in which a person has 
full power to dispose, mortis causa or otherwise, 
of his heritable property. 
liegert, n. An obsolete form of ledger^. 
lien 1 (li'en). An obsolete or archaic past par- 
ticiple of lie 1 . 
lien* (le'en or li'en, commonly len), n. [< F. 
lien, a baud, tie, = Pg. ligamen, a hindrance, 
band (to marriage), = It. ligame, a band, tie, < 
L. ligamen, a band, < ligare, bind, tie : see liga- 
ment."] 1. In laic: (a) The right of a person 
having possession of the property of another to 
retain it until some charge upon it or some de- 
mand due him is satisfied; the right to enforce 
a charge upon a specific thing by withholding 
possession from the owner until the charge is 
satisfied. A particular lien is a right to retain a thing for 
some charge or claim growing out of the identical thing or 
connected with it ; a general lien is a right to retain the 
thing for a general balance either of all accounts between 
the parties, without restriction, or of accounts of like 
transactions, or in the same line of business. At common 
law possession was essential to the existence of a lien; 
courts of equity extended the doctrine. Hence ( b) A 
light of a creditor to have a debt or charge sat- 
isfied by legal proceedings out of specific prop- 
erty or its proceeds, irrespective of having pos- 
session. Often called an equitable lien. Maritime liens, 
the creation of courts of admiralty, are also independent 
of possession. So are mechanics' liens, given by statute 
to mechanics, etc., for unpaid labor, on real property. See 
below. 
Hence 2. A claim; occasion of demand; right 
to compensation. 
The slightest thing will serve, In Italy, for a lien upon 
your exchequer. T. B. Aldrich, Ponkapog to Pesth, p. 44. 
Attorney's lien, the right of an attorney, which was es- 
tablished on equitable principles by the courts, and ex- 
tended in some jurisdictions by statute, to have his com- 
pensation satisfied out of the cause of action or the judg- 
ment recovered by him, or by retaining his client's papers, 
even if this prevented his client from compromising and 
settling with the adversary. Charging lien, the right 
of an attorney to have a lien created or declared as a 
charge upon a fund not in his possession, or upon a judg- 
ment or decree recovered by him.- Lien de droit, in 
French law, obligation; nexus. Mechanic's lien, a 
lien on real property, given by statutes in most of the 
United States, to mechanics and material-men, for the 
price or value of improvements supplied by them, even 
though not contracted for directly by the owner. Two sys- 
tems exist : in one (of which the law of New York is an 
example) the subcontractors and material-men are subro- 
gated to the claim of the contractor against the owner, and 
may charge the land with liens up to the amount due from 
the owner to the contractor ; in the other system (of which 
the Pennsylvania law is a leading example), the subcon- 
tractors and material-men are given a lien to the amount 
of what they have furnished, irrespective of the state of the 
accounts between the owner and the contractor, the theory 
of the law being that the contractor is the owner's agent for 
the purpose of employing labor and material. Retaining 
lien, the right of an attorney to retain papers in his pos- 
session belonging to a client until his claim against the 
client for services has been satisfied. Specific lien, a 
lien secured by a contract or a judgment, execution, at- 
tachment, or other legal proceeding, fastening it on a spe- 
cific thing. Vendor's liens, a class of equitable liens 
arising where a seller conveys land without being paid 
the price or taking security, and is allowed to have the 
land resold to raise it. 
lien 3 (li'en), n.; pi. lienes (U'e-nez), [L.] The 
spleen. [Bare.] 
lienculus (li-eng'ku-lus), n. ; pi. lienculi (-li). 
[NL., dim. of L. lien, the spleen : see lien$.] 
One of the small separate masses of splenic 
tissue sometimes found about the spleen. 
lien-holder (len'hol'der), n. One who holds a 
lien. 
lieno-intestinal (li"e-no-in-tes'ti-nal) , a. Per- 
taining to the spleen and to the intestine : ap- 
plied to a vein of the portal system, which brings 
blood from the spleen and intestine to the liver. 
lienomalacia (Ii"e-n6-ma-la'si-a), n. [NL., < 
L. lien, the spleen, + Gr. //a/icx/a, softness, < 
//a/ia/cof, soft.] In pathol., softening of the 
spleen. 
lienor (le'nor), n. One who has a lien. 
lienteric (li-en-ter'ik), a. [< L. lientericns, < 
Gr. /UtevrepiKdV, lienteric, < Aeievrepia, lientery: 
see lientery."] Relating or pertaining to or af- 
fected with lientery. 
lientery (li'en-ter-i), n. [= F. lienterie = Sp. It. 
lienteria, < Gr. Aeievrepia, the passing one's food 
without digesting, < /wo?, smooth, + svTepov, 
an intestine: see enteron.] In pathol., a form 
of diarrhea in which, from excessive peristal- 
