loon 
it is glossy-black with greenish and purplish metallic re- 
flections on the head and neck, which, with the back, are 
marked regularly with white spots. The under parts are 
white, and the bill is black. C. adamai, the yellow-billed 
loon, is somewhat larger. The black-throated loon or 
diver, C. arcticm, resembles the foregoing, but is smaller, 
with much of the head clear bluish-gray. The red-throated 
loon, C. septentrionalw, is much like C. arcticus, but is 
smaller still, and has a chestnut patch on the throat. Both 
the two smaller loons, the red- and the black-throated, are 
also called speckled loons, and a variety of the former, 
from the western coast of North America, is recognized 
as C. pacifcus. (See diver, 1 (b).) The wild actions of the 
loon in escaping danger and its dismal cry (see loaning) 
suggest the idea of insanity ; whence the common (Ameri- 
can) simile "as crazy as a loon." 
loonghee, loonghie (long'ge),. [E.ln&.lmigi.] 
A long scarf of silk or cotton stuff, usually of 
rich colors, used in the East Indies to wrap 
round the body as a waist- or loin-cloth. It is 
about 4 yards long and 2 feet wide. 
looning (lo'ning), n. [< loont + -Miff 1 .] The 
cry of a loon. It is a sort of wild moan some- 
what resembling the howl of a wolf. 
This was his [a loon's] loaning perhaps the wildest 
sound that is ever heard here. Thoreau, Walden, p. 254. 
loony (lo'ni), a. and n. See luny. 
loop" (lop), re. [< ME. lope, loupe, lowpe; prpb. 
< Ir. Gael, lub, bend.] 1 . A folding or doubling 
of a string, lace, cord, chain, etc., or a short 
piece doubled and secured to something at each 
end. By a loop is most commonly understood a part or 
piece of some material bent and secured in such a way as 
to form an eye or opening through which something can 
be passed ; but it may be merely an unfastened returning 
curve in the material, the shape giving the name. 
Buttons of orient pearle, . . . 
Which loupes of azur'd silk did circulize. 
Dames, An Extasie. 
I sold my sheep, and lambkins too, 
For silver loops and garment blue. 
Gay, Shepherd's Week, Prol. 
The female figure reclining on the lid [of a sarcophagus] 
wears a Greek chiton of a thin white material, with short 
sleeves fastened on the outside of the arm by means of 
buttons and loops. Encyc. Brit., VI. 455. 
2. Something resembling a loop, as the bend of 
a river ; a link ; a crook. 
At another lope of the wall, on a ladder, ther was the lorde 
of Sereell, and fought hands to hande with his enemyes. 
Berners, tr. of Froissart's Chron., I. cccxxi. 
Specifically (a) In crochet, knitting, and similar kinds 
of fancy work, same as stitch. (&) A hinge of a door. [Prov. 
Eng. ] (c) In railroad and telegraph systems, a branch line 
leaving the main line at any point and joining it again at 
some other point; a looping line, as a branch wire carried 
over to a side station and back, (d) In the theory of Rie- 
mann's surfaces, a line running from any point to a branch- 
point, then around that branch-point in an inilnitesimal 
circle, and back to the original point by the same path, (e) 
A part of a curve limited by a crunode. (/) The ear of a 
vessel, as a stoneware jar, when approximately of the form 
of a half-ring projecting from the side or lip. 
It has on its central band four projecting handles or loops. 
Jewitt, Ceramic Art (1878), 1. 15. 
(g) In gun., a small iron ring in the barrel of a gun. (h) 
The small ring at the tip of a fishing-rod through which 
the line passes, (i) In anat., a looped vessel or fiber ; es- 
pecially, a nerve-loop, (j) In brachiopods, the folding of 
the brachial appendages. 
3. In acoustics, the part of a vibrating musical 
string (see sonometer), or, as in an organ-pipe, of 
a column of air, where the amplitude of vibra- 
tion is at its maximum. Seenocte. 4. In mech., 
a slotted bar or ring at the side of any piece 
of machinery, designed to limit or control the 
movement of another part. 5. A knot or bur, 
often of great size, occurring on walnut, maple, 
oak, and some other trees. The wood of these knots 
is curled and waved in grain, and is used to make veneers 
for ornamental furniture. 
6. A small magnifying-glass. Crochet and 
loopt, an old term for hook and eye. See hook. 
[Beds] that henget shalle be with hole sylour, 
With crochettis and loupys sett on lyour. 
Babees Book (E. E. T. S.), p. 313. 
Pressed loop, in harness, a leather strap or piece of which 
the outer surface is ornamented by impression with a 
stamp. Prick at the loop. Same as/ost and loose (a). 
See /aei. 
loop 1 (lop), i!. [< foopi, re.] I. trans. 1. To 
form into a loop or loops: as, to loop a cord. 
2. To fasten or secure with a loop or loops: as, 
to loop up a curtain. 3. To furnish with a loop 
or loops : as, to loop a cloak. 
II. intrans. 1. To form a loop. 
The pathways wind and loop here and there among the 
ravines and around the mountain shoulders. 
The Century, XXXVII. 422. 
2. To move, as the larvre of certain moths, by 
forming loops. 
They [leeches] move partly by looping with the help of 
their suckers, and partly by swimming. 
C. Clans, Zoology (trans.), p. 399. 
loop 2 (lop), n. [Early mod. E. also lope; < ME. 
loupe, < OF. loup (dial, loup), a narrow window ; 
appar. < D. Imp, a peeping-place, ambush, < 
3516 
luipen, peep, lurk. Hence loophole.] 1. A nar- 
row window ; any small, narrow aperture ; spe- 
cifically, in medieval fort., a small aperture for 
observing the enemy, for the discharge of ar- 
rows or ordnance, or to admit light ; a loophole. 
That no light leope yn at louer ne at loupe. 
Piers Plowman (C), xxi. 288. 
They found the gates fast barred long ere night, 
And every Imm last lockt, as fearing foes despight. 
, F. Q., II. ix. 10. 
Some at the loops durst scarce outpeep. 
Fairfax, tr. of Tasso. 
The same [wall] was very narrow in the top, not divided 
with lopes, . . . but inclosed with one whole and continual 
battilment round about. 
J. Brende, tr. of Quintus Curtius, ix. 
2. A gap in the paling of a park, made for the 
convenience of the deer. Halliwell. [Prov. 
Eng.] 3. A removable fence-panel made of 
parallel wooden bars, generally united by trans- 
verse braces or crosspieces, used as a substitute 
for an ordinary fence-gate. Instead of being hinged, 
it is generally supported by notched brackets, or other sup- 
ports adapted to receive the ends of the bars. 
loop 3 , n. See loupe. 
loop-bolt (lop'bolt), n. In a vehicle, a bolt with 
an ornamental head used to fasten the body- 
loop to the running-gear. 
looper (lo'per), n. [< too/) 1 + -er 1 .] 1. In en- 
torn., a measuring-worm; a geometrid larva: 
same as geometer, 3. Hence 2. pi. The adult 
geometrid moths, Geometrida or Geometrina. 
Also called measure-moths and land-measurers. 
3. An implement used in uniting the ends 
of strips cut from rags for the woof or filling 
of rag carpets. It is a blade with a point and an eye, 
through which the end of a strip is passed. With the 
point of the blade the end of another strip is perforated ; 
the end of the first strip, held by the eye, is then put through 
the perforation in the second, and the strips are looped 
together. 
loop-head (lop'hed), . In a vehicle, the swell 
and eye on the end of a body-loop. E. H. Knight. 
loop-holder (lop'hoFder), n. A carriage-iron 
by which the loop of a strap is attached to the 
running-gear or the bed. E. H. Knight. 
loophole (lop'hol), n. [< loopZ + fcofe 1 .] 1. 
A small aperture, narrow toward the outside 
and splayed within, in the walls of a fortifica- 
tion or of any similar structure, through which 
small-arms may be fired at an enemy, or obser- 
vations may be taken. 
No stirring out, no peeping through a loop-hole, 
But straight saluted with an armld dart. 
Fletcher (and another), False One, iv. 2. 
2. An opening into or out of anything; a hole 
or aperture that gives a passage or the means 
of escape: often used figuratively, and espe- 
cially of an underhand or unfair method of es- 
cape or evasion. 
Tends his pasturing herds 
At loopholes cut through thickest shade. 
Milton, P. L., ix. 1110. 
He was only indignant that a few narrow and almost 
impossible loop-holes had been left, through which those 
who had offended might effect their escape. 
Motley, Dutch Republic, II. 97. 
loopholed (lop'hold), a. Furnished with loop- 
holes; having holes or openings for outlook, 
discharge of firearms, escape, etc. 
But if those fail, 
Yet this uneasy loop-holed gaol, 
In which ye're hampered by the fetlock, 
Cannot but put y' in mind of wedlock. 
S. Butter, Hudibras, II. i. 608. 
ioopie, a. See loopy. 
looping-snail (16'ping-snal), n. A snail of the 
genus Truncatella which walks by contracting 
and expanding the space between the lips and 
the foot, like a looping caterpillar. 
looping-worm (16'ping-werm), n. Same as loop- 
worm. 
looplight (16'p'lit), . A small, narrow window 
in a wall, turret, or the like ; a loophole, espe- 
cially for the admission of light. 
loop-Shell guard (16'p'shel gard). A sword- 
guard of such form that a loop or ring attached 
to the cross-guard, through which the finger 
may be passed, is protected in its turn by a 
shell forming an additional or outer guard. 
Compare cup-guard. 
loop-test (16'p'test), n. A method of testing 
for the position of a fault or defect in the in- 
sulation of a telegraph-line or -cable, it con- 
sists in making the two parts of the faulty line two sides 
of the Wheatstone's bridge (see resistance), the fault, 
through the earth, being made one of the junctions of the 
bridge. 
loopwork (lop'werk), n. Work consisting of 
loops or looped stitches. 
By leaving portions of the silk loopwork uncut a less 
raised pile is produced. Art Journal, XLVIII. 379. 
loose 
loopworm (lop'werm), n. A looper : same as 
geometer, 3. Also looping-worm. 
loopy (lo'pi), . [Also Ioopie; origin uncertain: 
cf. loop 2 .] Deceitful; crafty. 
loop-yoke (lop'yok), . In a vehicle, the loop 
for the strap by which the swaying of the body 
is limited. E. H. Knight. 
loordt, . See lourd 1 . 
loost, n. See lose 3 . 
loose (16s), a. and . [< ME. loos, los, louse, lowse, 
lause, a var. (due to the verb, or to the influence 
of D. loos, etc.) of lees, les, < AS. leas, loose, 
false, = OS. Ids = OFries. las = MD. loos, 
loose, false, D. los, loose, loos, false, = MLG. 
los, los = OHG. MHG. Ids, loose, false, G. los, 
loose, = Icel. lavs = Dan. Sw. Ids, loose, = 
Goth, laus, empty, vain ; from the root *lus of 
AS. ledsan, lose: see loose, v., leese 1 , lose 1 , and 
lease 3 . The AS. adj. leas is also the source of 
the E. suffix -less, q. v.] I. a. I. Not fast or 
confined; not fastened; unattached; free from 
restraint or obligation ; not bound to another or 
together; without bonds, ties, or attachments; 
at liberty: as, loose sheets o^ a book; loose 
tresses of hair; loose change in one's pocket; 
to break loose; to be set loose; to cut loose from 
bad habits. 
Whan I had al this folke beholde 
And founde me loos and noght yholde. 
Chaucer, House of Fame, 1. 1286. 
Than pit4 of my person prikked his hert, 
He deliuert me lowse, & my lefe felow, 
Alphenor the freike. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), 1. 13190. 
Lo. I see founnen loose, walking in the midst of the fire. 
Dan. iii. 26. 
Pretending Religion and the Law of Ood is to set all 
things loose. Selden. Table-Talk, p. 104. 
War wearied hath perform'd what war can do, 
And to disorder'd rage let loose the reins. 
lUUtou, f. L., vi. 696. 
Rills that, . . . chiming as they fall 
Upon loose pebbles, lose themselves at length. 
Cowper, Task, i. 194. 
Horses breaking loose in the compound outside. 
W. H. Russell, Diary in India, II. 73. 
2. Not tight or close ; without close union or 
adjustment; slightly or slackly joined: as, a 
loose knot; loose garments; a loose league or 
confederation. 
Now does he feel his title 
Hang loose about him, like a giant's robe 
Upon a dwarfish thief. Shak., Macbeth, v. 2. 21. 
The light and lustrous curls . . . were parch'd with dust, 
Or clotted into points and hanging loose. 
Tennyson, Passing of Arthur. 
3. Not dense or compact; having interstices or 
intervals ; open or expanded : as, cloth of loose 
texture ; a loose order of battle. 
With horse and chariots rank'd in loose array. 
Milton, P. L., ii. 887. 
4. Not concise or condensed; wanting precision 
or connection of parts ; diffuse; rambling: as, 
a loose style of writing; loose reasoning; a loose 
array of facts. 
Both, hote, lustie, and plaine speakers, but colde, lowse, 
and rough writers. Ascham, The Scholemaster, p. 116. 
He dodged me with a long and loose account. 
Tennyson, Sea Dreams. 
5. Not exact in meaning; indefinite; vague; 
uncertain. 
It is scarcely possible that language so loose, in a matter 
requiring mathematical precision, should have been un- 
intentional. Prescott, Ferd. and Isa., ii. 11. 
The words in which the jurisdiction of these officers was 
described were loose, and might be stretched to almost any 
extent. Macaulay, Hist. Eng., vi. 
6. Lax ; relaxed ; slack ; wanting retentiveness 
or power of restraint: as, loose bowels; loose 
ties; a loose bond of union. 
There are a kind of men so loose of soul 
That in their sleeps will mutter their affairs. 
Shak., Othello, iii. 3. 416. 
7. Lax in character or quality ; not strict or 
exact; careless; slovenly: as, a loose construc- 
tion of the constitution ; a loose mode of con- 
ducting business ; loose morality. 
It is an argument of a loose and ungoverned mind to be 
affected with the promiscuous approbation of the general- 
ity of mankind. Steele, Spectator, No. 188. 
So loose was the practice in assessment for these taxes 
that a perusal of the various writs for the assessment and 
collection is like reading the programme for the course of 
a procession that went another way. 
S. DoweU, Taxes in England, III. 76. 
8. Lax in principle or conduct ; free from moral 
restraint; wanton; dissolute; unchaste: as, a 
loose woman ; loose behavior. 
I would prevent 
The loose encounters of lascivious men. 
Shak., T. G. of V., ii. 7. 41. 
