litmus 
of certain kinds of Holland cheeses, in order to render them 
less liable to decay or to attacks of cheese-mites. The 
color of the cloths is blue, but turns red after application 
to the cheese. Litmus-paper. See above. 
Litonotid.se (lit-o-not/i-de), n. J>1. [NL., < Lito- 
notus + -idic.] A family of hypotrichous ciliate 
infusoriaus, represented by the genus Litonotu, 
free-swimming, soft and flexible, and of lance- 
olate or elongate figure. They have a narrow and 
often highly elastic neck-like anterior prolongation ; the 
entire ventral surface flat and finely ciliated throughout; 
the dorsal surface smooth and fibrous, and mostly convex ; 
the oral aperture ventral ; a series of larger preoral cilia 
mostly developed in advance of the oral aperture ; the 
pharynx unarmed; and the trichocysts usually abundant. 
Litonotus (lit-o-no'tus), . [NL. (Wrzesni- 
owski, 1870), <Gr. /UTOC, smooth, + vurof, back.] 
The typical genus of Litoitotidui. L.fascMa in- 
habits ponds, 
literal. ii. See littoral. 
Litoralia (llt-o-ra'li-a), ii. pi. [NL., netit. pi. of 
L. litoralis, of or belonging to the sea-shore.] In 
Fieber's classification, a subsection of aquatic 
hemipterous insects, including those which are 
subaquatic. 
litotes (lit'o-tez), n. [NL., < Gr. MAryf, plain- 
ness, simpl'icity, < H.ir6f, smooth, plain, < Aif, 
smooth. ] In rhet., a figure in which an affirma- 
tive is expressed by the negative of the contrary. 
Thus, "a citizen of no mean city" means one 
"of an illustrious city." 
litra (le'tra), n. [NL., < Gr. A/rpa, a pound, a 
silver coin, prob. a dial. var. of L. libra, a pound: 
see K6ro.] A silver coin of Sicily. Compare 
decalitron. 
litrameter (li-tram'e-ter), it. [NL., < Gr. 't-irpa, 
a pound (see liter), + [teT/m>, a measure (see 
meter).~\ An instrument for ascertaining the 
specific gravity of liquids. 
litre 1 , . See liter. 
litre 2 (le'ter), n. [< F. litre, OF. litre, littre, 
prob. orig. *listre (= Pr. listra = It. dial, listra), a 
baud used in draping a church for a funeral ser- 
vice ; prob. orig. a var. of Uste, a border, band : 
see list*, lisfi.] In her., a black baud, supposed 
to represent the knightly belt, charged with the 
arms of the defunct, and painted on the wall of 
a church or chapel at the time of the funeral. 
This variety of the funeral achievement was formerly con- 
sidered a mark of very high dignity. It is now nearly aban- 
doned. 
litre 3 (lit're), n. [Chilian.] A small tree of 
Chili, Rhiis caustica, with very hard wood, used 
for axletrees, cogs, and furniture. 
Litsea (lit'se-a), n. [NL. (Lamarck, 1789), from 
the Jap. name of the tree.] A genus of laura- 
ceous trees, rarely shrubs, of the tribe Litseaceee, 
characterized by dioecious flowers with usually 
a four- to six-parted invohicre. There are nine, 
twelve, or an indefinite number of stamens in the three- 
parted Bowers, and six in the two-parted, all having four- 
celled anthers. The leaves are usually alternate and cori- 
aceous, with a pinnate venation or triple-nerved, and the 
staminate flowers are generally sessile, while the pistillate 
are often umbelled. There are about 125 species, natives 
of tropical and eastern Asia and Australia. L. dealbata 
of Australia, sometimes cultivated in greenhouses, is call- 
ed brusklaiid mist tree. 
Litseaceae (lit-se-a'se-e), n.pl. [NL. (Beichen- 
bach, 1840), < Litsea 4- -ace.'] A tribe of plants 
of the order Laurinefe, based on the genus Lit- 
sea, distinguishable from the tribe Perseaceceby 
having introrse anthers, and a short dense in- 
florescence, either subsessile or on a short pe- 
duncle. It embraces 9 genera, among which are included 
some of the most important of the order, such as Laurus 
(the laurel). Lindera (the wild allspice), and Sassafras. 
lltster (lit'ster), H. [< ME. Ulster, littester, lyt- 
ster, lyster, a dyer; < lit? + -ster.~\ A dyer. [Old 
and prov. Eng.] 
No madyr welde, or wod no litestere 
Ne knew. Chaucer, Former Age, 1. 17. 
Litt. D. See Lit. D. 
litten (lit'en), n. [Also liten; a dial. var. of 
leighton.] 1. A garden. Say. 2. A church- 
yard. Halliwell. [Prov. Eng. in both senses ] 
litter (lifer), . [Early mod. E. also littour; 
< ME. liter, litere, lyter, lytere, lytier, < OF. liti- 
ere, F. Ktiere = Pr. leittiera, littiera = Sp. litera 
= Pg. liteira = It. letUera as if "lecticaria (ML. 
also litera, literia, lectoria, after OF.), a litter 
(cf. lecticarius, a litter-bearer), < lectica, a litter, 
sedan, < lectus (> F. lit), a bed; < / legh =E. 
Utfl-i see lectual, lectica, lectern, etc., and lie*-. All 
the various senses are derived from the primi- 
tive sense, a ' bed ' or ' couch,' whence 'a porta- 
ble bed,' 'a bed for animals' (usually of loose 
straw), etc. It is an error to refer ' litter,' a 
brood, to Icel. lair, lattr, a place where animals 
produce their young. The E. word from this 
source is the dial, lafter, latter, lighter, lauchter.~\ 
1. A vehicle consisting of a bed or couch sus- 
3484 
pended between shafts, and borne by men or 
horses. It was formerly esteemed as an easy and fashion- 
able method of carriage. Among the Romans the litter 
Ancient Roman Litter, preserved in the Capitoline Museum, 
Rome. 
(lectica) was borne by slaves set apart for that special ser- 
vice ; it was in common use by patricians in the time of Ti- 
berius. In Europe horse-litters were much used before 
the introduction of coaches. 
Make somowne all thyn oste an thy peple ; and whan 
the! be alle come, do the to be bore In a lytier, and so go 
fight with thyn enmyes ; and, wite it verily, thow shalt 
hem venquise. Merlin (E. E. T. S.), i. 92. 
2. A form of hurdle-bed on which a sick or 
wounded person is conveyed from one point to 
another, as to a hospital in a city, or to a field- 
hospital on a battle-field. For this purpose the 
stretcher or hand-litter is in use, consisting of canvas, 
about 6J feet long by 3 feet wide, securely fastened at the 
sides to two hard-wood poles about 8 feet long, and con- 
venient for rolling up. Horse- and mule-litters of various 
forms are used in some armies and in American frontier 
service. 
3. A birth or bringing forth of more than one 
young animal at a time, as of pigs, kittens, rab- 
bits, puppies, etc. 
The thirty pigs at one large litter farrowed. 
Dryden, tr. of Juvenal's Satires, vi. 256. 
My mother had ij. whelps at one litter, 
Both borne in Lent. 
Marriage of Witt and Wisdome (1579). 
4. A number of young animals brought forth 
at a birth: used with reference to mammals 
which regularly give birth to more than one 
young at once, as the sow, bitch, cat, rabbit, 
etc., and only slightingly of human beings. 
5. Loose straw, hay, or the like, spread on a 
floor or the ground as bedding for horses, cows, 
or other animals. 
Gromes palettis shyn fyle and make litere, 
ix fote on lengthe with-out diswere. 
Babees Book (E. E. T. S.), p. 313. 
6. Waste matter, as shreds, fragments, or the 
like, scattered about, as on a floor; scattered 
rubbish; things strewn about in a careless or 
slovenly manner; clutter. 
Strephon, who found the room was void, 
Stole in, and took a strict survey 
Of all the litter as it lay. Swift. 
7. A condition of disorder or confusion : as, the 
room is in a litter.- Indian litter, an extemporized 
litter made by attaching three cross-pieces totwo stout sap- 
lings, by means of notches and cords. The sick or wouna- 
ed man is laid in his blanket, which is then knotted to the 
framework. In storms the man is protected by a top made 
with a blanket stretched over bent twigs. To be in lit- 
ter, to be in the state of bringing forth young, or of lying 
in with young, as a sow or a bitch. 
He called me Turmots and arsked what were the price 
o' pigs. I arsked him, were any of his fambly in litter. 
J. W. Palmer, After his Kind, p. 116. 
litter (lifer), r. [< litter, .] I. trans. If. To 
carry in a litter. 
These Pagan ladies were litter d to Campus Martius, ours 
are coached to Hyde-Park. Gentleman Instructed, p. 112. 
2. To scatter straw, hay, or other similar sub- 
stance on or over for bedding. 
At last he found a stall where oxen stood, . 
But, for his ease, well littered was the floor. 
Dryden, Cock and Fox, 1. 226. 
3. To spread a bed for; supply with litter: usu- 
ally with down. 
I'll see the horse well littered. 
The Suffolk Miracle (Child's Ballads, I. 221). 
4. To make litter of; use for litter. 
Then to their roots 
The light soil gently move, and strew around 
Old leaves or litter'd straw, to screen from heat 
The tender infants. Dodsley, Agriculture, ii. 
5. To bring forth; give birth to: said of mam- 
mals which usually produce a number at a birth, 
as the sow, cat, rabbit, bitch, etc., or slightingly 
of human beings. 
My father named me Autolycus; who being, as I am lit- 
tered under Mercury, was likewise* snapper up of uncon- 
sidered trifles. SAai., W. T , iv 3 25 
little 
6. To scatter things over or about in a care- 
less or slovenly manner. 
They found 
The room with volumes litter'd round. 
Swift, Cadenus and Vanessa. 
II. intrany. 1. To be supplied with a bed or 
litter for bedding; sleep in litter : as, to litter iu 
the straw. 
The inn 
Where he and his horse littered. 
Uatington, Castara, ii. 
2. To bring forth a litter of young animals. 
These [dogs] have in this City no particular owners ; . . . 
[the Turks] thinking it neverthelesse a deed of piety to 
feed, and provide them kennels to litter in. 
Sandys, Travailes, p. 45. 
A horrible desert, . . . where the she-wolf still littered. 
Macaulay. 
litterateur (lit-e-ra-ter'), . [F., < L. litterator: 
see Nterator.] A literary man; one who is en- 
gaged in literary work; one who adopts litera- 
ture as a profession. 
littery (lit'r-i), a. [< litter, ., + -i/l.] Con- 
sisting of litter; encumbered or covered with 
litter. 
little (lit'l), a. and n.; compar. leas, superl. least 
(rarely, and only in modern obs. or dial, use, 
littler, littlest). [< ME. litel, Mil, lyM, title, Intel, 
< AS. lijtel, litel = OS. luttil = D. luttel =MLG. 
tuttel = OHG. luzil, luzzil, MHG. G. dial, liitsel 
= (with a diff. base lit-, instead of lut- as in the 
preceding forms) Icel. litill = Dan. lille = Sw. 
lille, lilla = Goth. Ifitils, little; also without the 
suffix -el, ME. lit, lyt, < AS. lyt = OS. lut = D. 
(dim.) lutje = LG. liit, dim. liitje = Icel. lift 
(adv.) = Sw. liteii.Utet = Dan. Helen, Met, lidt 
(adv.), little (cf. E. dial, lite, < ME. lite, lyte, 
abbr. of litel, lytel, little, etc.); root unknown. 
The word is connected by Skeat with AS. lytig, 
deceitful (< lot, deceit; cf. Goth. Kate, deceitful, 
Ivton, betray), as if the sense 'little' in size 
were derived from the sense of ' little ' in spirit, 
' mean,' 'base'; but this is improbable in itself, 
and no such transition or connection of sense 
appeal's in AS. use.] I. a. Not large or much, 
(a) Of small size, bulk, or compass ; diminutive, abso- 
lutely or relatively : as, a little grain of sand ; a little child 
or man ; the little finger. 
Thanne was the place to litill for them all, 
Wherefore the Sowdon anon dede ordeyne 
A larger place owt vppon the playn. 
Genrrydes (E. E. T. S.), 1. 1392. 
Presumptuous man ! the reason wonldst thou know, 
Why form'd so weak, m little, and so blind'.' 
Pope, Essay on Man, i. 36. 
(ft) Not large in number ; having few constituent members 
or parts : as, a little army or fleet ; a little city. 
If the household be too little for the lamb. Ex. xil. 4. 
(c) Not much ; of small amount, quantity, or degree ; re- 
stricted ; limited : as, a little food or drink ; little joy or 
happiness ; little influence. 
thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? 
Mat. xlv. 31. 
There was too much talk . . . and too little real work 
done. 0. W. Holmes, Emerson, v. 
(d) Not of great extent or duration ; not long ; short in 
space or time ; brief : as, a little way or distance ; a little 
while. 
Our little life 
Is rounded with a sleep. 
Shale., Tempest, iv. 1. 157. 
(e) Not great; small in consideration, dignity, consequence, 
etc. ; petty ; Inconsiderable ; insignificant : as, a little of- 
fice ; little affairs ; a little accident. 
I wol yow telle a littl thing in prose, 
That oughte lyken you, as I suppose. 
Chaucer, Prol. to Tale of Melibeus, 1. 21. 
When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not 
made the head of the tribes of Israel? 1 Sam. xv. 17. 
These considerations have given me a kind of contempt 
for those who have risen by unworthy ways. I am not 
ashamed to be little, when I see them so infamously great 
Dryden, Bed. of the Third Misc. 
Hence (/) Petty in character ; mean; narrow; wanting 
breadth or largeness : as, a little soul or mind. 
There are poets little enough to envy even a poet-laureat. 
Gray, Letters, I. 346. 
Little assimilations. See assimilation. LittlecaBinO 
See casmo.- Little ease. See little -fane, below. -Little 
fever, go, habit, office, etc. See the nouns. little 
hours. SeeAotir. Little pott, a pint pot; also, the con- 
tents of a pint , pot.- The Little Entrance. See en- 
> 1 . The little masters. See m(ri.=Syn. (6) 
-Minute tiny (c) and (rf) Scanty, slender, moderate, (e) 
Insignificant, contemptible, weak. See littleness. 
11. n. A small quantity, amount, space, or 
WIG like. 
do S Ch elle ther 'ymes when we haue lytle or nothynge a 
Quoted in William of Palerne (E. E. T. S.), Pref., p. xxiil. 
A little that a righteous man hath is better than the 
riches of many wicked. p s . xxxvi. 16. 
Walk you that way, 
W mist I in zealous meditation strav 
A little this way. 
Fletcher, Faithful Shepherdess, it 4. 
