ludicrous 
sport; laughable from singularity or gi'c>trsi|iic - 
ness; adapted to cause sportive laughter or 
ridicule; absurd. 
He bus, therefore, In his whole volume, nothing bur 
lesqlle, and seldom anythiiiK Imiicrum nr familiar. 
JuhluiiJii, Waller. 
The Duke [of Newcastle] was in a state ol ludicrous dis- 
3537 
sulc. They are herbs with opposite or alternat. ].a>. -, 
ususlly lanceolate In shape, and with the tluu an 
always solitary in the axils of the leaves, sometimes In 
terminal heads. About 20 species are known, nativr* <if 
Kiminc, Asia, Africa, and North America. L. alter, 
of the eastern I uitt-d Mates, on account of its cubical pod, 
is called seedbox, and It is also (all.. I h.irui/ui'i-fuut. L. 
paluxtrix, tile water-purslane, is a common weed in ditches 
and shallow ponds both in Europe and in North Anieri 
and shallow ponds both in Europe and in North America. 
tress. He ran alxmt chattering and frying, asking advice . . i/...; rv ... 
and listening to none. Uacaulay, William Pitt. ludWlglte (lud _ Wig -it), II. [Darned after t. 
Luilicig, a chemist of v lenna. J A borate of iron 
and magnesium, occurring in dark-green to 
lihu-k musses with a tine fibrous structure. 
l<n/i<i. 
term. 
U6 (lu), c. t. ; pret. and 
[Origin obscure.] To 8 
[Prov. Eng.] 
I had new models made of the sieves for lueing, the box 
and trough, the huddle, wreck, and tool. 
Hiss Kdgeicorth, Lame Jervas, ii. (Dames.) 
See tin ill-fill. 
= 8yn. Funny, Comical, Droll, Ludicrous, Itidiculous, 
Laughable. i;iih, r tin direct action of laughter or a cor- 
responding sentiment is included in the signification of all 
these terms. (Crabb, .Synonymeii, p. 57s.) In this respect 
fa#AflWeisthegenericword,butit is also one of the strong- 
est, t'unni/ Istheweakestof the list, ranging from themean- 
ing of 'amusing' or 'odd ' down to its colloquial use in the 
sense of ' strange.' Ciniu'i-al still retains a faint suggestion 
of its origin in connection with the drama, being primari- 
ly used in connection with something done or seen, and 
.mething viewed by the mind: a cinnical pr- 
dirammt is just such as would be lit for exhibition in a Lucrotn S theorem. 
(..inrdj. Itrull especially implies the odd or unfamiliar: lues (lu'o/.), . [L., a plague, pestilence.] A 
as, a droll story, idea, fellow. Ludicrous is an advance in plllffue or pestilence : used with adjectives to 
st rt'iiLri Ii HIM iii t'unitcdl us cointccu is nn lulviiiicf UIHJII *, ~ . ,, . 
funny. HMieulma is the only word In the list that throws designate various specific or contagious affec- 
contempt or even discredit upon the person concerned : it tions. Lues venerea, venereal disease; syphilis. 
' L. lucx, plague, + 
Diseased ; piague- 
affected with syphilis ; 
it is certainly on that account. That is laughaUe which syphilitic. 
simply provokes a hearty laugh. lujft . An obsolete form of liive 1 . 
ludicrously (lu'di-krus-li), adv. In aludicrous lufe 'i t _ and . An obsolete form of love 1 . 
manner; sportively; grotesquely. lufe'^, . An obsolete or dialectal form of too/1. 
You wrong me in thinking I quoted a text from my saint Iufe 3 t " An obsolete form of loof 2 , luj)'~. 
ludicrously. Walpole, To Lady Ilervey, Nov. 21, 1786. l u f ert) . An obsolete form of lover 1 . 
ludicrousness(lu'di-krus-nes), n. The state or luff 1 (luf), n. 1. A variant of too/ 1 . 2. The 
character of being ludicrous. wooden case in which the light is carried in the 
ludificationt(lu'di-n-ka'shqn), n. [=It. ludifi- sport of lowbelling. Halliwell. 
<'<i.:iniie,<.Li.ludijicatio(n-),<i$Tision,<ludificare, luff' 2 (luf), n. [A later form of too/ 2 , q. v.] 
pp. li/(/i<-iitiix, make sport of, < Indus, play (< Xaut. : (a) The fullest and broadest part of a 
vessel's bow ; the loof. 
Schipe-mene scharply schotene thaire portez, 
Launchez ledo [cast the lead] apone tu.fr, lacchene ther 
depez, 
Lukkes to the lade-sterile whene the lyghte faillez. 
MorteArOmre (E. E. T. 8.), 1. 750. 
(6) The weather-gage, or part of a ship toward 
the wind, (c) The sailing of a ship close to the 
wind, (d) The weather part of a fore-and-aft 
sail, or the side next the mast or stay to which 
-i; play), + facere, make.] The act of mak- 
ing sport of anything; ridicule; mockery. 
The Lords . . . swear by the holy Altar to be revenged 
for this Ludijication and injurious Dealing. 
Baker, Chronicles, p. 72. 
Home [Puritans] are of a linsey-woolsey disposition. . . . 
all like Ethiopians, white in the teeth only; full of ludiji- 
cation, and injurious dealing, and cruelty. 
Josselyn (Tyler's Hist Aincr. Lit., I. 181). 
it is attached, (e) A luff-tackle. Luff upon luff, 
one luff-tackle applied to the fall of another to afford an 
ludificatoryt (lu-dif'i-ka-to-ri), a. [< LL. ludi- 
ficatorius, mocking, (. L. ludificator, a mocker, 
< litdificare, pp. ludificatus, make sport of: see 
luditirtitioii.] Making sport; tending to excite 
derision. wlndTsaiaofaship. 
In the sacraments of the Church there is nothing empty luff 2 (luf), V. [A later form of too/ 2 , f onnerly 
or vain, nothing M^MMy, but all thoroughly true 
Barrou Works, ill. xixlx. 
ludlamite (lud lam-it), . [After Mr. Ludlam, 
also louf (= rjan. 
< D. loevcn, loof, luff; 
foo/2, n . ' C f. lavcer, 
to 
Udlamite (lud lam-it), n. [After Mr. Ludlam, from the g^g 8OU rce.] I. trans. Naut., to 
anEnglish mineralogist.] A hydrous phosphate briu g tue uead of ( a ves sel) nearer to the wind, 
of iron, occurring in bright-green monoclinic 
crystals. It is found near Truro in Cornwall, 
and is associated with vivianite in cavities in 
pyrite. 
Ludlow group. In geot., in England, a series 
of rocks, consisting chiefly of shales, with oc- 
casionally an intercalated belt of limestone, 
belonging to the Upper Silurian and lying above 
the Wenlock group, into which it graduates 
downward, and with whose fauna it has a large 
number of species in common. The group is typi- 
cally developed between Ludlow in Shropshire and Ayme- 
strey in Hereford, and the name was given by Murchison 
because the town of Ludlow stands on beds of this age. 
LSdolphia'nfLdolnan'au-dol'fi-an), . [< luff 3 duf), -. [Abte. of ^tenant for leftcna^ 
lMdJ,,h (see def.) + -,.]' Pertaining to the nows P elledefcHt] Lieutenant: as, he is 
mathematician Ludolf van Ceulen (died 1610), _ Ur 5j ; ,f'.,..\ ,-5"? ,-n^ / . 
who calculated the ratio of the circumference Lnffa (Tuf '*), . [NL. (Tournefort, 1 ,06) < Ar 
of a circle to the diameter to manv places of '/, the , ".ame . of , one of ^ 6 species.] A 
genus of dicotyledonous polypetalous plants 
of the natural order Cucurbitacea;, the gourd 
family, and of the tribe Cucumerinea', charac- 
terized by the staminate flowers growing in 
racemes, the petioles without glands, and the 
large fruits dry, fibrous, and opening by a lid 
at the apex. They are climbing herbs, with mono}- 
clous flowers, which are large and white, and five- or seven - 
lobed leaves. Seven species are known, natives of the trop- 
She once being loofd, 
The noble ruin of her magic, Antony, 
Claps on his sea-wing. 
Shak., A. and C., ill. 10. 18. 
II. in trans. To steer or come nearer to the 
wind. 
For hauing mountaines of fleeting yce on euery side, we 
went roomer for one, and loafed for another ; some scraped 
vs, and some happily escaped vs. 
Hakluyt's Voyages, III. 65. 
The other tacked after him, and came close up to his 
nether quarter, gave his broad side, and so linifed up to 
windward. Caj,t. John Smith, True Travels, I. 52. 
Luff round, or luff alee, the extreme of this movement, 
intended to throw the ship's head into the wind. 
ics. The fruit is dry and oblong or cylindrical in shape, the 
numerous seeds being located in a network of coarse and 
strong fibers, which in some species are capable of being 
detached entire, cleansed of all other matters, and used 
like a coarse, tough fabric. L. cylindrica is the washing- 
or towel-gourd, so called because its dried fruit is cut up 
and used as a flesh-brush. The fibrous interior of these 
gourds is known in commerce under the various names 
Imtff, loof, loofa, lief, and liff. See strati 
decimals, and caused the value to be engraved 
upon his tombstone. 
ludus Helmontii (lu'dus hel-mon'ti-5). [NL., 
'Helmont's amusement,' so called from Jan 
Baptista van Helmont, a Belgian chemist and 
physician of the 17th century (died 1644), who 
believed iu the efficacy of such stones (and who 
gave gas the name it bears : see gas); L. luil/i*. 
play, sport, amusement.] 1. A calcareous 
stone, the precise nature of which is not known, 
used by the ancients as a remedy in calculous 
affections. 2. A calculous concretion occur- 
ring in an animal body. 3f. A variety of sep- 
taria in which the sparry veins are frequent and 
anastomosing. and seeg( 
Ludwigia(lud-wij'i-a), . [NL. (LmwEus), lufl V er -board (luf'er-bord), . A corruption of 
namefafter C. G. Ludw,g, professor of botany i ml rcr . boitr(t See louver-window. 
at Leipsic, and contemporary with Lmmeus.] I u ff er _b ardillg (luf 'er-bor'ding). n. See board- 
A genus of dicotyledonous polypetalous plants /". 
of the natural order 0,,,,,,,-arieu-,- the false or luff ; u ook (luf'huk), . Ao*., one of the hooks 
bastard loosestrife. It is characterized by having of a i ut j fu-kle 
x'si 1 ;;;,;";,'-';;;!;; ;; nmu:'^ ^tackle pew), . *.*., & purchase 
wmnting; from thrwtoifUij 
celled ovary, which becomes, In fruit, a septicidal cap- 
composed of a double and a single block, the 
lug 
ling end of the rope being fasti ncd to the 
single block, and the fall coming from the dou- 
ble: variously used as occasion may require. 
lufsomt, An obsolete variant of /rc.i/<-. 
luftt, . A Middle English form of I<J! ] . 
lug 1 (lug), r.; pret. and pp. ''<</'/''''. ppr. Ivifi/iui/. 
[<ltE. /</'/' I "'it in AS., the :i licked AS. '<// In,/ 
i/iini beiugan invention of Somner's),<Sw./w</.v" 
= Norw.luoj/n, pull (by the hair), a secondary 
form (depending on Sw. lutjg, the forelock, = 
Norw. lui/i/, the nair of the head: see /u</ 2 ) of 
*/<, pull, pull up, = Dan. lugf, pull up (weeds), 
= AS. lueiiii (not *lyccan,a.s cited by Skeat), pull 
up (weeds), ") E. dial, tout, loick, look, pull up 
(weeds): see toi/t 2 , toiefr 2 , tofc 2 . Cf. ?.'/ 2 .] I. 
trans. 1. To pull with force or effort, as some- 
thing that is heavy or resists; haul; drag. 
[Now chiefly colloq.J 
With myche wepyng & wo, weghls of his aune 
Lugyit hym out to the laund, lefte hym for ded ; 
And fore agayne to the fyght thaire fcrls to help. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. 8.), I. 0868. 
Why, this 
Will In'/ your priests and servants from your sides. 
Shak., T. of A., iv. 8. 31. 
To tread on his corns, or lug him thrice by both ears, or 
pinch his arm black and blue. 
Swift, Gulliver's Travels, Lapata, vi. 
2. To carry, as something heavy or burden- 
some; bear laboriously. 
He lugged her along like a pedlar's pack. 
Farmer's Old Wife (Child's Ballads, VIH. 258). 
To lug the ponderous volume off In state. 
Pope, Dunciad, Iv. 118. 
Ragged urchins were Kigging home sticks of cordwood. 
G. W. Cable, Old Creole Days, p. 16. 
Especially 3f. To drag or pull about by the 
ears or head, as a bear or a bull, to excite it to 
action; bait; worry. 
Like a common Oarden-bull, 
I do but take breath to be lugg'd again. 
iliddleton, Changeling, ii. 1. 
4f. To geld. 
8' blood, I am as melancholy as a gib-cat or a lugged 
bear. Shak., 1 Hen. IV., L 2. SI. 
His ears hang laving like a new luuu'd swine. 
Bp. Halt, Satires, IV. I. 72. 
To lug In, to introduce by main force, or without appo- 
siteness. [Colloq.J 
He could not tell that story (of Crompton's), which I 
begged him to do, and which would not have been lugged 
in neck and shoulders, because everybody was telling just 
such stories. GreviUe, Jlemoirs, Feb. -27, 1SSO. 
To lug out t, to draw (a sword). [Colloq.] 
Their cause they to an easier Issne put, 
They will be heard, or they lug out and cut 
Dryden, tr. of Juvenal's Satires, rvL 78. 
II. intrans. 1. To pull with effort : followed 
by at. 
This huge and monstrous galliasse, wherein were con- 
tained three hundred slaues to /'/./ at the oares. 
ifalduyt'a Vogagn, I. 601. 
He would let Caroline lug at his hair till his dim wan- 
dering grey eyes winked and watered again with pain. 
W. Collins, Family Secret, p. 223. 
2. To move heavily, or with resistance; drag. 
My flagging soul flies under her own piteh, 
Like fowl in air too damp, and lugs along, 
As If she were a body in a body. 
Dryden, Don Sebastian, Iv. 1. 
When rollers are tacky or stick together they are said to 
lug. C. T. Jacabi, Printers' Vocab. 
lug 1 (lug), n. [< lug 1 , i'.] 1. Anything that 
moves slowly or with difficulty ; something of 
a heavy, lumpish, or sluggish nature. Specifi- 
cally (a) A slug ; a sluggard. (6) A worm used for bait ; 
a lugworm. (c) The bib (a fish). [Prov. Eng.) (tit) A 
heavy or slow-acting bow. 
The same reason I find true in two bows that I have, 
whereof the one is quick of cast, . . . the other is a 
Im.i, slow of cast, following the string, more sure for to 
last than pleasant for to use. 
Aicham, Toxophilns (ed. Giles), p. 14. 
2. Same as lug-sail. 
They have not got to dip their sail as we have, every 
time we tack ; . . . now you go to the helm, and I and the 
boy will dip the lug. C. Reade, Love me Little, xvii. 
3. pi. Affected manners; ''airs": as, to put 
on lugs. [Slang.] Ails of lug, that position of the 
instantaneous axis of rotation of abody fuming about a 
iixed point in which thedirection of pressure coincides with 
that of the axis. 
lug- (lug), n. [Partly < Sw. luga, the forelock, 
= Norw. luijg, the hair of the head ; partly < 
lug 1 , v., the orig. verb.] If. The lobe of the 
ear. 2. The ear. [Prov. Eng. and Scotch.] 
A fine round head when those two lufis are off, 
To trundle through a pillory ! 
B. Jonson, Staple of News, v. 1. 
I wad like ill to wait till Mr. Harrison and Mr. Gudyill 
cam to I'M ' us out by the tug and the horn. 
Scott. Old Mortality, vii. 
