L
L - LANGUAGE
LABORATORY - adjectives
• LABORATORIAL pert. to the laboratory ...1862
• LABORATORIAN * pert. to the laboratory ...1860
LABORATORY - nouns
• COOKBOOK a chemistry laboratory manual ...1950s Amer. students' sl.
• LAB a laboratory ...1895 UK
• LABOUR-HOUSE † a laboratory ...1712
• OFFICINE † a workshop; a laboratory; an office in a monastery ...c1425
• OPERATORY † a workshop, a laboratory ...1651
LABORATORY - nouns, person
• LABORANT † a laboratory workman; a chemist's assistant; a working chemist ...1665
• LABORATORIAN * a chemist who works in a laboratory ...1860
• LAB WRETCH a performer of unpleasant laboratory tasks ...1988 US sl.
LABORIOUS - adjectives
• BULL-DRAGGING tedious, laborious ...20C Irish sl.
• LABORIOSE † laborious, painstaking ...1727
• LABOROUS † laborious ...c1386
• LABOUROUS laborious ...Bk1902 Eng. dial.
• LABOURSOME laborious; fatiguing ...1889 Eng. dial.
• MOLIMINOUS † done with great effort or endeavour, laborious ...1656
• OPEROSE 1. of a person: laborious; industrious, busy ...1670
2. made or done with much labour; laborious; tedious; toilsome; elaborate ...1683
• OPEROUS † made or done with much labour; laborious; tedious; toilsome; elaborate ...1641
• PAINFUL performed with labour, care, and attention; diligent, assiduous, laborious, careful ...c1380 arch.
• TOILOUS †* full of toil, toilsome, laborious ...1530
LABORIOUS - nouns
• DAD of any laborious activity: a heavy task, a weary journey ...1947 Sc.
LABORIOUS - nouns, person
• NABBLE a narrow-minded, greedy, laborious person; a churlish person ...B1900 Sc.
• NABLE a narrow-minded, greedy, laborious person ...1824 Sc.
LABORIOUS - verbs
• SCART to lead a laborious, industrious life ...Bk1904 Sc.
LABORIOUSLY - adverbs
• HEAVY with laborious movement; slowly, sluggishly; laboriously ...1701
• OPEROSELY laboriously, busily; elaborately ...1668
• OPEROUSLY † laboriously, busily; elaborately ...1668
• PAINFULLY with great pains, painstakingly, laboriously, with care an effort ...1555 arch.
LABORIOUSNESS - nouns
• LABORIOSITY * painfulness, laboriousness ...1656
• LABOROSITY †* laboriousness ...1656
• LABOROUSNESS † laboriousness ...1530
• LABOURHOOD * laborious condition; laboriousness ...1858
• OPEROSENESS laboriousness, elaborateness ...1664
• OPEROSITY laboriousness, painstaking endeavour ...1623
• PAINFULNESS the quality of taking pains; laboriousness, careful industry, painstaking ...1531 arch.
LABOUR - adjectives
• CHIROPONAL † pertaining to or involving manual labour ...1651
• ELABORATE † produced or accomplished by labour ...1592 obs. or arch.
• LABORIFEROUS †* that takes pains; that endures labour, painful, difficult ...1656
• LABOURSOME † 1. given to labour; hard-working ...1551
2. requiring labour; accompanied by labour ...1577-87 rare or Eng. dial.
• OPERARIOUS †* pert. to the workman, done with labour; doing, as opposed to theoretical ...1656
• OPERARY † pert. to the workman, done with labour; doing, as opposed to theoretical ...1612
• OPEROSE made or done with much labour; laborious; tedious; toilsome; elaborate ...1683
• OPEROUS † made or done with much labour; laborious; tedious; toilsome; elaborate ...1641
LABOUR - nouns
• ABRAHAM WORK sweated labour, ill-paid work ...Bk1909 sl.
• BULLWORK manual labour; hard work ...1944 Amer. dial.
• CARK that which burdens the spirit, trouble; hence, troubled state of mind, distress, anxiety; anxious solicitude, labour, or toil ...c1325 arch.
• CHANGE WORK an exchange of labour ...1947 Amer. dial.
• DARGING the work of a day labourer, esp. hard, plodding toil ...1788 Sc.
• DAYTAL-WORK labour paid by the day ...1865 Eng. dial.
• ELBOW-POLISH energetic labour of any kind, elbow-grease ...Bk1897
• ERGOPHOBIA fear of work; morbid aversion to labour ...1881
• FIZZLE-FARTING JOB. tedious and unprofitable labour ...B1900 Eng. dial.
• HANA work, labour ...1951 Hawaii
• HANAHANA labour, hard work ...1967 Hawaii
• HAND-DARG handiwork, labour, toil; what is gained by labour ...Bk1905 Sc.
• HAND-STIR the smallest possible amount of labour ...Bk1905 Eng. dial.
• HAND-STROKE the smallest possible amount of labour ...Bk1905 Eng. dial.
• HARD hard labour ...1890 Brit. sl.
• ILLABORATENESS † the quality of being effected without labour and pains ...1727
• LABORATION †* working, work, labour ...c1460
• LABOURAGE † 1. labouring, labour, work ...1484
2. payment for labour ...1826
• MANOEUVRE †* hand-labour ...1479
• MANUFACTORY † something that is produced by labour ...a1618
• MANUFACTURE † a product of hand-labour; a person's handiwork ...1567
• NEVES, A seven years' hard labour ...1901 back-slang
• NEVIS, A seven years' hard labour ...1901 back-slang
• ON-WAUR expenditure, outlay, trouble, labour ...1898 Sc.
• PUGGY WORK hard physical labour ...1988 Sc. sl.
• RAMBOUNGE a severe brush of labour ...1825 Sc.
• TAG tiring, troublesome labour ...1929 Sc.
• TAVE a difficulty, struggle, pinch; hard labour; the act of labouring hard ...Bk1905 Sc.
• THROUGH-GANG labour, difficulty; perseverance; energy ...Bk1905 Sc.
• TILTH † labour, work, or effort directed to use or profitable ends ...a1023
LABOUR - nouns, person
• HARRY-GAUD a master of labour, who is continually goading on his workmen to greater exertion ...Bk1902 Eng. dial.
• RAT a worker who undercuts standards established by unionized labour ...L19 US sl.
LABOUR - verbs
• ADDLE to earn by labour ...1760 Eng. dial.
• ALLABORATE † to labour vehemently ...1656
• BATTER to labour or walk at a great rate ...Bk1898 Eng. dial.
• BELABOUR † to labour at, to work at; to exert one's strength or ability upon ...1604
• BESWINK † to labour for, to work for ...1377
• BETRAVAIL † to work for; to earn by labour ...1393
• BREAK ONE'S ASS to exert oneself to the limit of endurance; to toil, to labour, to strive furiously ...1941 Amer. sl.
• BUST ONE'S ASS to exert oneself to the limit of endurance; to toil, to labour, to strive furiously ...1941 Amer. sl.
• CARK † to be anxious, to fret oneself; to labour anxiously, to toil and moil ...a1400 obs. or arch.
• CAST STONES AGAINST THE WIND † to labour in vain ...1657
• ENDEAVOUR FOR to work, to labour ...Bk1900 Eng. dial.
• FAG to do something that wearies one; to work hard; to labour, to strain, to toil ...1772
• HAG AT A THING to persevere, to labour, to work away at a thing ...Bk1905 Eng. dial.
• HAIFER to toil, to labour ...Bk1905 Eng. dial.
• HAMMER to practise laboriously; to labour ...1843 Eng. dial.
• HANAHANA to labour, to work hard ...1967 Hawaii
• HEAVE † to put forth effort; to endeavour, to labour, to strive ...c1374
• IMPLOD †* to cause to plod, to involve in toilsome labour ...1609
• LABORATE †* to produce or develop by labour ...1662
• LOSE ONE'S OIL † to study or labour in vain ...a1548
• NAG to labour persistently and painfully; to repeat an action with irritating frequency ...1900 Sc. & Eng. dial.
• OFSWINK † to gain by labour; to labour for ...c1300
• PADDY to perform menial labour ...1876 Amer. dial.
• SCRATTLE to labour hard; to scrape and save ...Bk1904 Eng. dial.
• TAG to oppress by hard labour ...1866 Sc.
• TAVE to strive, to toil, to labour ...1863 Sc.
• TEW to toil, to labour; to work hard; to pull, to struggle; to contend, to strive ...1866 Sc. & Eng. dial.
• THRIPPLE to labour hard ...Bk1905 Eng. dial.
• TILL † to strive, to exert oneself, to labour, to work ...c897
• YAGGLE to work in a slow bungling or laboriously way, to toil and moil, to labour ...1924 Sc.
• YAKKA to work hard, to labour ...L19 Aust. sl.
• YAKKER to work hard, to labour ...L19 Aust. sl.
LABOURED - adjectives
• LABOURABLE † capable of being laboured or worked ...1481
LABOURER - nouns, person (also see WORKER)
• APPLEKNOCKER (often derogatory) an itinerant farm labourer ...1941 Amer. dial.
• APRON-ROGUE a labourer; an artisan ...17C colloq.
• BLANKET STIFF a migratory labourer who carries his belongings in a blanket roll or other bundle; a tramp ...1891 Amer. Hobo & West. sl.
• BOY in South Africa: a coloured labourer or servant of any age or race ...1839
• CLODHOPPER an agricultural labourer ...colloq.
• COOLIE an immigrant Chinese labourer ...M19 US usage
• CULCHIE (derogatory) a rustic; a country labourer ...Irish colloq.
• DALLACKER a day labourer ...Bk1900 Eng. dial.
• DARGER a day labourer; one who works by the day ...1802 Sc. & Eng. dial.
• DARGSMAN † a workman, a labourer ...1723 Sc. & N. Eng. dial.
• DARKER a day labourer ...1807 Sc. & N. Eng. dial.
• DARKSMAN † a workman, a labourer ...1795 Sc.
• DATALLER a day-labourer; a workman engaged and paid by the day ...1881 Eng. dial.
• DAYMAN a day labourer; one who works and is paid by the day ...1890 Eng. dial.
• DAYSMAN a worker by the day; a day-labourer ...a1639
• DAYTAL a labourer engaged and paid by the day ...1790 Eng. dial. (Grose)
• DAYTAL-CHAP a day labourer ...Bk1900 Eng. dial.
• DAYTAL-DANOCK a day labourer ...Bk1900 Eng. dial.
• DAYTAL-DICK a day labourer ...Bk1900 Eng. dial.
• DAYTALER a day labourer, a man who works by the day and not by the piece ...1877 Eng. dial.
• DAYTAL-FELLOW a day labourer ...Bk1900 Eng. dial.
• DAYTAL-LABOURER a day labourer ...1895 Eng. dial.
• DAYTAL-MAN a day labourer ...1846 Eng. dial.
• DAYTAL-WIFE a day-labouring woman ...Bk1900 Eng. dial.
• FLANNEL BACK a navvy, who wears such a garment ...L19 sl.
• FLANNEL-JACKET a navvy, who wears such a garment ...L19 sl.
• GRUNT a common or unskilled worker; a labourer ...sl.
• HARL(E) a big, untidy, coarse, cross-grained person; a rough field-labourer ...1824 Sc.
• HEAVY-CLAY an agricultural labourer ...1869
• HEWERS OF WOOD AND DRAWERS OF WATER menial drudges; labourers
• IDIOT-STICK OPERATOR a common labourer ...1966 Amer. dial. (idiot-stick = shovel)
• JACK a serving-man or male attendant; a labourer; a man who does odd jobs, etc. ...1836-7
• LABOURESS † a female labourer ...1570
• LABOUR-FELLOW † a fellow labourer ...1549
• MAN-CATCHER a labour recruiter; an employment agency ...1920s US sl.
• MAN-GETTER a labour recruiter; an employment agency ...1920s US sl.
• MAN-GRABBER a labour recruiter; an employment agency ...1920s US sl.
• MAN-HUNTER a labour recruiter; an employment agency ...1920s US sl.
• MAN-SHARK a labour recruiter; an employment agency ...1920s US sl.
• MANUALIST † one who works or labours with the hands ...1592
• MCALPINE FUSILIER a building labourer, a navvy ...1960s US sl.
• MICK a labourer on the roads ...1930s sl.
• MIKE a labourer, a hod-carrier, esp. when Irish ...M19 sl.
• OICKMAN a labourer, a shopkeeper; hence, an objectionable fellow ...1925 UK sl.
• PADDY a menial or manual labourer; a bricklayer's or builder's labourer ...1856
• PAIKIE a day labourer; one employed in forestry ...1911 Sc.
• PEA PICKER a rustic or countrified person; a bumpkin; an unskilled labourer ...1927 Amer. dial.
• PYKIE a day labourer; one employed in forestry ...1911 Sc.
• ROCK-HOG a labourer engaged in tunnelling through rock
• SPALPEEN a common workman or labourer; a farm worker or harvester; a migratory agricultural labourer ...1780 Irish
• SWAMPER a general assistant or labourer; a menial
• TIGER a menial labourer ...1865 sl.
• YARDIE a dockyard labourer ...1902 Eng. dial.
• YEARSMAN a labourer hired by the year ...1891
LABOURER - verbs
• MAKE LITTLE SHOES of a labourer: to have no regular employment ...Bk1905 Eng. dial.
• PACK THE MUSTARD to work as a bricklayer or labourer ...1930s US tramp sl.
LABOURING - adjectives
• CARKING † toiling, moiling, labouring ...1579 obs. or arch.
• LABOUROUS labouring ...1826 Sc.
LABYRINTH - nouns
• WALLS-OF-TROY a labyrinth ...1853 Sc.
LACE - nouns
• DRIZ lace ...c1810 cant
• LAINER † a lace, strap, thong, lash ...c1386
• ST. MARTIN'S LACE fake gold lace ...E17 sl.
• TIGLET the metal end of a shoe-lace or boot-lace ...Bk1905 Eng. dial.
• WHANG a leather thong or lace ...1824 Amer. dial.
LACE - nouns, person
• DRIZ FENCER a seller of lace; a receiver of stolen lace; hence of other material ...c1810 cant
LACE - verbs
• PASSMENT † to adorn with lace, to trim a garment etc. with braid, etc. ...1706 Sc.
LACERATE - verbs
• HARROW to tear, to lacerate, to wound physically ...1633
• LANIATE * to lacerate; to tear in pieces ...1721
• YACKER † to lace or bind tightly so as to constrict; to pull tightly together ...1790 Sc.
LACK - nouns
• DEFAILING † deficiency, lack, shortage ...1502
• DEFAULT † absence of something wanted; want, lack, scarcity of ...a1300 obs. or arch.
• FAULT † deficiency, lack, scarcity, want of; want of food or necessaries ...a1300
• INGANG lack, deficiency ...Bk1902 Sc.
• INLAKE † a deficiency, lack ...1650 Sc.
• MANK † a deficiency, a want, a lack ...1718 Sc.
• SCANT scantiness, scarcity, lack ...1841 Sc. & Eng. dial.
• WANE † want, lack, shortage, absence of ...c888
LACK - verbs
• DEFAIL † to be insufficient, to be wanting, to lack ...a1400
• FAULT † to stand in need of; to lack, to want; to be deficient in ...1377
• INLAKE † to be deficient, to lack ...1610 Sc.
• WALTER †* to be without, to lack ...1463 Sc.
• WANE † to come short of, to lack ...a1300
LACKADAISICAL - adjectives
• QUEETERIN trifling, lackadaisical ...1866 Sc.
LACKADAISICAL - nouns
• HARDLY ABLE FEVER the 'illness' of feeling lackadaisical ...1904 Amer. dial.
LACKEY - nouns, person
• DISHCLOTH a lackey; someone or something of little value or importance ...1965 Amer. dial.
• DISHRAG a lackey; someone or something of little value or importance ...1906 Amer. dial.
LACKING - adjectives
• DAY LATE AND A DIME SHORT, A inadequate; overdue and lacking; too little too late ...1990s Amer. sl.
• DAY LATE AND A DOLLAR SHORT, A inadequate; overdue and lacking; too little too late ...1990s Amer. sl.
• DEFICIOUS †* deficient, lacking ...1540-1
• LACK † 1. deficient in some quality, lacking in substance, position, breeding, etc.; of poor quality ...1790 Sc.
2. lacking money, style, or both ...1982 Hawaiian youth sl.
• MINUS lacking, bereft of ...19C sl.
• NOT THE FULL QUID lacking ...1984 NZ sl.
• ON E lacking, usually but not invariably money ...1990s US Black sl.
• SAKELESS lacking, destitute of ...1821 Sc.
• WANE † lacking, absent, deficient ...c825
LACKING - verbs
• FAULT † to be deficient in; to be lacking in ...1504
LACKLUSTRE - adjectives
• HARMLESS lacklustre, tedious ...1960s Amer. sl.
LACONIC - adjectives
• BREVILOQUENT given to concise speaking; laconic ...1865
LACROSSE - nouns
• LACKS lacrosse ...c1950 Brit. schoolgirls' sl.
• LAX lacrosse ...c1950 Brit. schoolgirls' sl.
LADDER - adverbs
• ALAG not sufficiently upright; too horizontal, as in placing a ladder ...Bk1898 Eng. dial.
LADDER - nouns
• BIG STICK a fireman's ladder ...Bk1942 Amer. sl.
• CLIMBS a ladder ...Bk1942 Amer. sl.
• GANG † a step or rung of a ladder ...1688
• GO-UP a ladder ...Bk1942 Amer. sl.
• JACOB † a ladder ...1708 cant
• JACOB'S LADDER a small ladder ...1889 Eng. dial.
• LADDER-STAVE the rung or round of a ladder ...Bk1902 Eng. dial.
• LADE a ladder ...1784 Eng. dial.
• LETHER † a ladder ...1741
• RAIL the rung of a ladder ...1966 Amer. dial.
• RAILING the rung of a ladder ...1966 Amer. dial.
• RING the rung of a ladder ...1966 Amer. dial.
• RUNDLE † a rung of a ladder ...1565 rare or obs.
• SCALE † a ladder; a flight of steps ...1705 Sc.
• SKID a fireman's ladder ...Bk1942 Amer. sl.
• STICK a ladder ...Bk1942 Amer. sl.
• TACKLING-LADDER † a rope-ladder ...1680
• TINE †* a rung or step of a ladder ...a1225
• UP-AND-DOWN a ladder ...Bk1942 Amer. sl.
LADEN - adjectives
• LADENED laden ...1813 Sc. & Eng. dial.
• ONUST †* laden, loaded, burdened ...1604
LADLE - nouns
• DIP a ladle ...1966 Amer. dial.
• LADEN a dipper, a ladle ...1936 Amer. dial.
• SCOPE a scoop, a ladle with a long handle; a large, hollow shovel ...Bk1904 Eng. dial.
LADLE - verbs
• KEACH † to take up water etc. with a shallow vessel; to scoop up, to ladle out ...1387 obs. exc. Eng. dial.
• LADE to bale out, to empty water by means of a vessel; to ladle ...1777 Eng. dial.
• LAVE to pour out with or as with a ladle; to ladle ...c1000
• SCOPE to scoop, to ladle ...Bk1904 Eng. dial.
LADY - adjectives
• LADIED †* lady-like; soft, gentle ...1628
• LADY ladylike, fit for a lady ...1810 Sc.
• LADYFIED having the airs of a fine lady ...1602
• LADYLY † befitting or characteristic of a lady; ladylike ...1300s obs. exc. as a nonce word
• MADAMISH like a 'fine lady' ...1881 nonce word
LADY - adverbs
• LADYLY † in a manner befitting a lady ...c1450
LADY - nouns
• LADYHEAD †* the condition of a being a lady; rank as a lady...1390
• LADYKIND the lady or female portion of a party; also: a woman ...1829
• LADYNESS gentility, ladylikeness ...1823 Sc.
LADY - nouns, person
• BEEBEE a Hindustani name for a lady ...1816
• DAME the wife or daughter of a lord; a woman of rank, a lady ...1530 now hist, or poetic
• DEMOISELLE a young lady, a maid, a girl ...1520
• GAY † a gay lady; one who is loved, a sweetheart ...c1375
• GENTRY MORT a lady ...16C cant
• LADY-BAIRN a female child of social rank; one born to be a lady ...1863 Sc.
• LADYKIN a little lady; sometimes used as a term of endearment ... 1853
• LADYLING * a little lady ...1855
• LADY-SITTER a lady who allows herself to be appraised and painted ...1887 Brit. painters' sl.
• LEDDY BODY a ladylike person ...1930 Sc.
• MADAM a fine lady; an affected fine lady ...1598
• MISSY BABA a young lady ...Bk1892 Anglo-Indian sl.
• OLD MARK a lady ...1859 criminals' sl.
• RYE MORT a lady ...1936 sl.
• SHICKSTER a woman, a lady, a female ...1839 sl.
LADY - verbs
• MANTLE to ape the fine lady; to go about angrily ...Bk1905 Eng. dial.
LADYBIRD - nouns
• BABY-BOT the ladybird ...Bk1898 Eng. dial.
• BARNABEE the ladybird, Coccinella septempunctata ...Bk1898 Eng. dial.
• BARNEY BEE the ladybird, Coccinella septempunctata ...Bk1898 Eng. dial.
• BURNEY BEE the ladybird, Coccinella septempunctata ...Bk1898 Eng. dial.
• LADY-BEETLE the ladybird Coccinella septempunctata ...1868 Eng. & Amer. dial.
• LADY-CLOCK a ladybird ...1848
• LADY-COUCH the ladybird Coccinella septempunctata ...1790 Eng. dial.
• LADY-COW a ladybird ...1606
• LADY-ELLISON the ladybird Coccinella septempunctata ...1859 Sc.
• LADY-FLY a ladybird ...1714
• LADY-LANDERS the ladybird Coccinella septempunctata ...1808 Sc.
• LADY-LOCK the ladybird Coccinella septempunctata ...Bk1902 Eng. dial.
• LAMB-LADY the ladybird, Coccinella septempunctata ...Bk1902 Eng. dial.
• MARY-BIRD the ladybird, Coccinella septempunctata, the most common European ladybird ...Bk1905 Eng. dial.
• QUEEN CHRONICLE the ladybird ...1955 Sc.
• RAINY CLOCK the ladybird ...Bk1905 Eng. dial.
• RAINY CLOCKER the ladybird ...Bk1905 Eng. dial.
• VIRGIN MARY the ladybird ...1966 Sc.
LADY'S MAN - nouns, person
• BORE a rude or disrespectful man who is fond of being with women and tries to attract their attention ...1965 Amer. dial.
• CAKE a lady's man ...1920s Amer. sl.
• CAKE-EATER a lady's man; a male flirt; a wealthy young man, a playboy ...1910s Amer. sl.
• CALICO to pass one's time with ladies ...Bk1913-17 Amer. dial.
• CANDYMAN a dandy; a lady's man ...1913 Amer. dial.
• CASSA a ladies' man ...1940s Aust. sl.
• DAMMARET † a lady's man; 'one that spends his whole time in the entertaining or courting of women' ...1635
• DAMOURET † a ladies' man; one who spends his time in the entertaining or courting of women ...a1649
• DAPPER DAN a flashily dressed man; a lady's man; one who is fond of being with women and tries to attract their attention ...1967 Amer. sl.
• DARK GABLE a suave, handsome Black man; a ladies' man ...1959 US sl.
• DINK a lady's man ,,,E20 US sl.
• FANCY DAN a flashily dressed man; a ladies' man ...1930s Amer. sl.
• FLAMER an enthusiast; a success with the female sex, a lady's man ...L19 sl.
• GALLANT * one who pays court to ladies, a ladies' man; also, a lover, in a bad sense, a paramour ...a1450
• JACK AMONGST THE MAIDENS one who is always after women's society, and who likes to be made much of by them ...Bk1902 Eng. dial.
• JACK AMONG THE MAIDS a gallant; a ladies' man ...1785
• LADY-KILLER a man who considers himself to be irresistible to women; a lady's man ...1811 sl.
• LADY-MONGER a term of contempt for a lady's man ...1597
• MACARONI a ladies' man ...M20 US sl.
• MACK a ladies' man; a playboy ...1991 Amer. rap music usage
• MACK DADDY a ladies' man; a playboy ...1991 Amer. rap music usage
• MOLL-BUZZER a ladies' man ...1913 Amer. sl.
• POODLE-FAKER a man who cultivates female society, esp. for professional advancement ...1902 sl., chiefly services' usage
• PUFF a lady's man ...c1935 RAF
• SWEETBACK a woman's lover; a lady's man ...1929 US sl.
• SWEETBACK MAN a woman's lover; a lady's man ...1929 US sl.
• SWEET MAN a woman's lover; a lady's man ...1942 US sl.
• TOMMY-BUSTER one who takes women by storm ...Bk1942 Amer. sl.
• TOPGALLANT a ladies' man, a philanderer ...1701 nonce word
• TOUGH CAT a male who is very successful with women; usually said in reference to a Black male ...M20 US sl.
• VILLAGE RAM a local philanderer and ladies' man ...1930s W. Indies sl.
• WOMAN-KILLER a man who considers himself to be irresistible to women; a lady's man ...E19 sl.
LADY'S MAN - phrases
• WRAPT UP IN THE TAIL OF HIS MOTHER'S SMOCK applied to anyone who is remarkable for his success with the ladies' ...c1780 sl.
LAG, LAGGARD, LAGGING - nouns, person
• AGTEROS a plodder, a dawdler, one who lags behind ...L19 S. Afr. sl.
• DAGGLER a laggard, an idler, a lounger ...1825 Sc.
• DAIGLER a laggard, an idler, a lounger ...1825 Sc.
• LAG a laggard, a loiterer, one who lingers or falls behind ...1866 Sc.
• LAGGARD one who lags behind; a lingerer, a loiterer ...1808
• LAG-LAST one who lags or lingers to the very last ...1830
• SLOW-BELLY a lazy, idle, or indolent person; a sluggard, a laggard ...1607
• SLOWCOME a slow person; a lagging, stupid, lazy fellow; a lazy, sluggish fellow; an idler ...1882 Eng. dial.
• TAG-HEELS a tagalong; a sycophant; a parasite; a hanger-on; somebody who always follows along behind; one who lags behind ...1965 Amer. dial.
• TAG-TAIL a person who attaches himself to another against the will of the latter; a dependent, sycophant, toady, hanger-on, parasite; one who always follows along; one who lags behind ...1864
• TAIL a tagalong; a hanger-on; one who lags behind ...1965 Amer. dial.
• TAIL-BEHIND. a tagalong; a hanger-on; one who lags behind ...1965 Amer. dial.
• TAIL END a tagalong; a hanger-on; one who lags behind ...1965 Amer. dial.
• TAILER a tagalong; a hanger-on; one who lags behind; a follower ...1942 Amer. dial.
• TAILGATE a tagalong; a hanger-on; one who lags behind ...1965 Amer. dial.
• TAIL-TAGGER a tagalong; a hanger-on; one who lags behind ...1965 Amer. dial.
• TAIL-TWISTER a tagalong; a hanger-on; one who lags behind ...1965 Amer. dial.
• TAR BUCKET a tagalong; a hanger-on; one who lags behind ...1915 Amer. dial.
• WAFFLER a weak, indecisive, vacillating person; one who hesitates; a ditherer; a laggard ...1819 Sc. & Eng. dial.
LAG - verbs
• LAGGARD to play the laggard ...1865
• LAGGER † to lag, to linger, to loiter ...c1620
LAGGING - adjectives
• BELAGGED left behind, outstripped in walking ...1795 Eng. dial.
• LAG * belated, lingering behind, tardy, lagging ...1568
• LAGGARD lagging, hanging back, loitering, slow ...1702
• ON THE DAIDLE behindhand, lagging behind ...1915 Sc.
• SLOWBACK † sluggish, laggard ...1619
LAGOON - nouns
• BRANCH a lagoon or slough; a body of still water off to the side of a river or lake ...1965 Amer. dial.
LAID-BACK - adjectives
• CAJ casual, laid-back, conducive to a good time ...1990 Amer. sl.
• CAS casual, laid-back, conducive to a good time ...1990 Amer. sl.
• CAZH casual, laid-back, conducive to a good time ...1981 Amer. campus sl.
• CHILLING calm, cool, laid back ...1987 Amer. sl., esp. Black usage
• CHILLY calm, cool, or laid back ...1971 US sl.
• KAZH casual, laid-back, conducive to a good time ...1981 Amer. campus sl.
LAIR - nouns
• CABBAGE †* a den or lair ...1567
• KENNEL a the hole or lair of the fox ...1735
• SCRETHY-HOLE † a lair ...1824 Eng. dial.
LAIR - verbs
• KENNEL of a fox or other wild beast: to retreat into a lair ...1552
LAITY - nouns
• LAY † the lay people, laity; also, a layman ...c1330
• LEALTY †* laity ...1548
LAITY- nouns, person
• LAYMAN a man who is not a cleric; one of the laity ...1432-50
LAKE - adjectives
• LAKISH † abounding in lakes or pools; inhabiting a lake ...1590
LAKE - nouns
• BINNEWATER a small lake ...1901 Amer. dial.
• LAKELET a small lake ...1796
• LAY † a lake, a pool ...a1000 obs. exc. Eng. dial.
• MERE a small lake or sheet of standing water; a pond ...1788 Sc. & Eng. dial.
• MERE-SIDE the margin of a lake ...Bk1905 Eng. dial.
• PANI a sheet of water, a lake ...1923 Sc.
• RAKES line of white foam on lakes, often noticeable before a storm ...Bk1905 Eng. dial.
• SPLASH any form of water, eg. a river, a lake, a sea, a bath ...1940s US Black sl.
LAMB - nouns (also see SHEEP)
• TARGET a leg and breast of lamb combined ...Bk1905 Eng. dial.
LAME - adjectives
• BOISTOUS † halting, lame
• CLAUDICANT † lame, limping, halting ...1624 obs.
• GAM lame, crooked, deformed; disabled, injured, sore; of an eye: wavering, uncertain ...1790 Sc. & Eng. dial.
• GAME lame, crippled, crooked, deformed; disabled, injured, sore; of an eye: wavering, uncertain ...1790 Sc. & Eng. dial.
• GAMMY lame; disabled through injury or pain; injured ...1879 Eng. dial. & sl.
• GAMY lame, crippled ...M19 sl.
• GIMPY lame in the leg ...c1930 sl., orig. US
• HALT lame; crippled; limping ...c893 arch. & literary
• HAMBLE-SHANKED † maimed or lame in the leg ..1661
• HIRPLE lame, limp, tender-footed ...B1900 Eng. dial.
• HOPPER-HIPPED † lame in the hip ...1500-20
• LEFT-HANDED † crippled, lame, defective ...1629
• LIMPY lame; crippled ...1955 Amer. dial.
• PALIE defective, deformed, lame ...1825 Sc.
• QUEER-GAMMED lame, crippled ...L18 sl.
• RICKETY weak, ill-nourished; lame, suffering from rickets ...1896 Sc. & Eng. dial.
LAME - nouns, person
• DECRIPPIT a cripple, a lame person; one who is decrepit ...1887 Eng. dial.
• GAMMY a nickname for a lame person ...B1900 Eng. dial. & sl.
• GIMP a lame person or leg ...1925 sl., orig US
• HAINCHER a lame person ...1887 Sc.
• HENCHER a lame person ...1887 Sc.
• HIRPLE a lame person; a cripple ...1894 chiefly Sc. & N. Eng. dial.
• HOP-AND-GO-KICK one who walks lame ...c1860 sl.
• HOPPING-GILES one who limps; a lame person ...B1900 Eng. dial.
• LAMESTER a lame person; a cripple ...1639
• LAMETER a lame person; a cripple ...1804 Sc. & Eng. dial.
• LAMIGER a lame person; a cripple ...1829 Eng. dial.
• LAMITER a lame person; a cripple ...1804 Sc. & Eng. dial.
• LAMMIGER a lame person, a cripple ...1847 Eng. dial.
• LAMPSIE a nickname for a slightly lame person ...1928 Sc.
• LIMPING JESUS a lame person ...19C sl.
• MR. HOPKINS a lame or limping man ...L18 sl.
• REEVER a man or animal in poor condition; a lame man, horse, etc. ...Bk1904 Eng. dial.
LAME - verbs
• BELAY to fall upon with blows, to lame ...Bk1898 Eng. dial.
• BILT to go lame; to walk with crutches ...Bk1898 Sc.
• CLAUDICATE †* to limp, to be lame, to halt ...1623
• CRIMPLE † to be incurved, or drawn together; hence, to stand or walk lame from this or similar cause; to hobble, to limp; to move with pain or stiffness ...1398 obs. exc. Eng. dial.
• HALT to be lame, to walk lame, to limp ...c825 arch.
• HAMBLE to walk feebly or awkwardly; to walk lame; to limp; to stumble ...1808 Sc. & Eng. dial.
• HIMPLE † to limp, to hobble, to go lame ...1656 obs. exc. Eng. dial.
• HIRPLE to limp, to walk lamely or in a hobbling manner ...c1450 chiefly Scot & N. Eng. dial.
• MAIN † to lame, to maim ...1703
• TORFLE to founder, to go lame; to decline in health, to pine away, to languish; to lose interest in or draw back from an undertaking ...1575-6 Eng. dial.
LAMED - adjectives
• LAMPSED † lamed, disabled, injured ...1746 Eng. dial.
LAMENESS - nouns
• HAINCH a halt or limp in one's walk; lameness ...1887 Sc.
• LAME lameness ...1926 Amer. dial.
• MEANING an indication of pain or lameness ...Bk1905 Eng. dial.
LAMENT - adjectives
• LAMENTFUL * charged with lament; mournful ...1876
LAMENT - nouns
• LAMENTADO †* lament, lamentation ...1618
• QUIRITATION †* a complaint, a lament ...1634
LAMENT - verbs
• BEMOURN † to mourn over; to lament, to bewail ...a1000
• BLOWTER † to blubber; to weep effusively; to wail or lament with many tears ...?16C
• CARE † to mourn, to lament ...a1300
• COLLACHRYMATE †* to weep or lament with, or in sympathy with others; to commiserate ...1593
• GLOPPEN † to lament or mourn ...B1900
• GREET to weep, cry, lament, grieve ...OE
• JAMMER to lament; to cry aloud fretfully; to fret; to whimper; to complain; to grumble ...1774 Ireland
• LACHRYMATE † to weep, lament, bewail ...1623
• LAMENTATE to lament, to complain ...1936 Amer. dial.
• MAKE SITE †* to lament, to mourn ...1338
• QUAIN †* to lament, to bewail, to bemoan ...a1300
• RETURN BY WEEPING CROSS to regret deeply some undertaking, and repent of it; to be in a state of lamentation; to fail; to suffer defeat ...1659
• ROAR to bewail, to lament over ...c1734 Sc.
• SING SOL-FA to lament ...1566
• SING SORROW to lament ...1748
• SING THE BLACK SANCTUS † to lament ...1578
• SING WOE to lament ...1818
• TAKE ON to grieve, to lament ...1876 Sc.
• ULLAGONE to wail or lament loudly ...1828 Anglo-Irish
• ULULATE to howl or wail; to lament loudly ...1623
• YAMMER to lament, to mourn; to utter cries of lamentation or distress, to wail; to cry aloud fretfully; to whine, to whimper, to fret ...1481 obs. exc. Sc. & Eng. dial.
• YAMOUR to lament; to cry aloud fretfully; to fret; to whimper; to complain; to grumble ...1774 Sc.
• YIMMER to lament; to cry aloud fretfully; to fret; to whimper; to complain; to grumble ...1774 N. Ireland
• YOMER to lament; to cry aloud fretfully; to fret; to whimper; to complain; to grumble ...1774 Sc.
LAMENT - interjections
• OY GEVALT! used for expressing a lament, protest, dismay, or delight ...1968 US (Yiddish)
• SIRS, THE DAY! an exclamation of surprise or lament ...1887 Eng. dial.
LAMENTABLE - adjectives
• BEMOANABLE † deplorable, lamentable ...1611
• EARNFUL † causing anxiety or yearning; anxious; full of longing desire; sorrowful, lamentable, melancholy, sad ...c1500 obs. exc. Eng. dial.
• ERNEFUL sad, lamentable, pitiable; sorrowful, melancholy ...1691 Eng. dial.
• ERNFUL † sad, lamentable, pitiable; sorrowful, melancholy ...1679 obs. exc. Eng. dial.
• IMPLORABLE † lamentable; deplorable ...1535
• LACHRYMABLE † lamentable; meet for tears or weeping ...1490
• LACRYMABLE † lamentable; meet for tears or weeping ...1490
LAMENTATION - adjectives
• LAMENTATIOUS †* marked by lamentation ...1387
• PLORABUND †* making great lamentation ...B1900
• LAMENTATIOUS †* marked by lamentation ...1387
• LAMENTATORY †* marked by lamentation ...1576
LAMENTATION - nouns
• CARE † utterance of sorrow; lamentation, mourning ...a1000
• DIRGIE a dirge; a song of lamentation ...1867 Sc.
• EJULATION † wailing, lamentation ...a1619
• IMPLORATION †* deploring; lamentation ...1607
• JEREMIAD a lamentation; a writing or speech in a strain of grief or stress; a doleful complaint; a complaining tirade; a lugubrious effusion ...1780
• LAMACHEELIE a noisy lamentation, a loud wail, an outcry ...1925 Sc.
• LAMACHREE a noisy lamentation, a loud wail, an outcry ...1925 Sc.
• LAMENTADO †* lament, lamentation ...1618
• MEAN a moan, a lamentation; a complaint ...1747 Sc. & Eng. dial.
• ROARING weeping, lamentation ...1772 Sc.
• ULLAGONE a cry of lamentation; a wail; a funeral lament ...1828 Anglo-Irish
• ULULATION a howl or wail; a cry of lamentation ...1599
• ULULU a wailing cry; a wail of lamentation ...1854
• VAGIT † a cry, lamentation, wail ...1627
• WAILMENT † wailing, lamentation ...1593
• WAIMING † lamentation ...a1300
• WALAWAY a lamentation ...1822 Sc.
• WALLY-WAEING a lamentation ...1822 Sc.
• WALLY-WALLYING lamentation ...1821 Sc. & N. Eng. dial.
• WALY-WALYING lamentation ...1821 Sc. & N. Eng. dial.
• WAMMING † lamentation ...a1300
• YAMMER a cry of lamentation, a wail; a loud outcry, shout, yell; lamentation, querulous utterance; a whimpering, a continuous loud complaining; grumbling ...1500-20 Sc. & Eng. dial.
LAMENTATION - interjections
• OHONE! a Scottish and Irish exclamation of lamentation ...c1480
LAMENTING - adjectives
• GEMENT † groaning, lamenting ...1656
• ICHABODIAN regretful, lamenting ...1887
• ULULATIVE † wailing, lamenting ...1490
• YAUPING crying in despair, lamenting ...1787 Eng. dial.
LAMP - nouns
• BITCH an improvised lamp consisting of a twisted rag wick in a container of grease ...1904 Amer. dial.
• LAMPADARY * a cluster of lamps; a candelabrum ...1885
• MATCH † the wick of a candle or lamp ...1377
• ŐLLIE-COLLIE an oil lamp ...1892 Sc.
LAMP - nouns, person
• LAMPERS those who call each day and keep in perfect order the lamps of the household ...1886 US colloq.
LAMP - verbs
• QUIRK of a lamp: to flicker ...Bk1905 Eng. dial.
LANCE - verbs
• ELANCE † to launch; to cast or throw a lance or dart ...1718 obs. or arch.
LANCING - nouns
• LAUNCH † the act of lancing; a prick ...1558
LAND - adjectives
• CALLOW of land: bare ...1677
• GAINABLE †* of land: cultivable ...1480
• LABOURSOME † of land: difficult of cultivation ...1604
• LACKLAND of persons: having no land ...1887
• LAND-BRED brought up on land ...1591
• LANDISH † belonging to the land or country; native ...a1300
• LAND-STEAD provided with landed property ....1688 Colonial usage
• OMY † of land: mellow ...1669 Eng. dial.
• PASTINATE † of land: dug, prepared for planting ...c1420
• SEEPY of land: constantly damp ...1859 Amer. dial.
LAND - adverbs
• LAND-GATE † by land ...1536 Sc.
• LANDWAYS by land ...1792 Sc.
LAND - nouns
• ACRE † a piece of tilled or arable land; a field ...c975
• ACRE-LAND † ploughed or arable land ...a1400
• DEVIL'S HALF ACRE a rough or unworkable piece of land ...1968 Amer. dial.
• DEVIL'S HOMESTEAD a rough or unworkable piece of land ...1969 Amer. dial.
• EARTH-HUNGER desire to possess land, greed of territory ...1856
• ENTS † the ends of lands ...1796 Eng. dial.
• FALLOW † a piece of ploughed land; also, collectively, ploughed land in general, arable land ...c1300
• GOBACK LAND land once cultivated but long since neglected ...Bk1913-17 Amer. dial.
• HALSE † a narrow neck of land or channel of water ...c1470
• HARD dry land ...1950 Amer. dial.
• HASKINESS dryness and insipidity of food; the parched condition of land ...Bk1902 Eng. dial.
• LABEL † a narrow piece of land ...1577-87
• LAIRDOCRACY lairds as forming a ruling class ...1848 Sc.
• LAND-GATE † 1. way or passage over land ...1637 Sc.
† 2. (usually as 'landgate') a long and narrow piece of land ...1726
• LAND-LINE the outline of the land against sky and sea ...1875
• LAND-METE † a measurement of land ...1608
• LAND-WAY † a way or path over land ...c1250
• MANISHMENT the method of cultivating and nourishing the land; manure and other fertilizers ...Bk1905 Eng. dial.
• NECKLAND † a neck or narrow strip of land ...1598
• PAFFLE a small parcel of land ...1818 Sc.
• PARCEL GROUND † a 'parcel' of land ...1632
• PARCELMENT * division into parcels of land ...1847
• PARTICLE † a small portion of land ...1839 Sc.
• POFFLE a small parcel of land ...1818 Sc.
• QUILLET † a small plot or narrow strip of land ...1533-4 obs. exc. Eng. dial.
• RAND † a border, margin, or brink of land ...a1300 obs. exc. Eng. dial.
• RANGE a strip of land; a border ...1865 Sc. & Eng. dial.
• RANGLE COMMON a piece of common land over which anyone may wander at will ...Bk1905 Eng. dial.
• RAP a thin strip of land; the crop grown on such a strip ...1884 Eng. dial.
• SCOPE a tract of land, woods, etc. ...1895 Amer. dial.
• SCRIBE a long and narrow strip of arable land ...Bk1904 Eng. dial.
• TAIL † a piece or 'slip' of irregularly bounded land jutting out from a larger piece ...1472 Sc.
• THREAP-GROUND land the ownership of which is disputed ...1825 Eng. dial.
• YERD-HUNGER voracious desire for land ...1823 Sc.
LAND - nouns, person
• HADLAND † a humorous title for one who formerly owned land and has lost it ...1592
• LACKLAND a person owning no land: one who has no landed possessions; one who rules over no territory ...1594
• LAIRD a lord; a landed proprietor; a land owner, a yeoman ...c1450
• LAIRDESS a laird's wife ...1863 Sc.
• LAIRDIE a petty laird ...1700s Sc.
• LAND BIRD a landlubber; a person having no experience at sea ...1827 US nautical sl.
• LAND-COUPER one who buys and sells land ...1830 Sc.
• LAND CRAB a landlubber' a person having no experience at sea ...1861 US nautical sl.
• LAND-DOCTOR a professional valuer of land ...1808 Eng. dial.
• LANDLOOKER a land agent or speculator ...1840 Amer. dial.
• LAND-LOPER † a land-lubber; a freshwater seaman; a landsman ...1694
• LAND-LUBBER a sailor's term of contempt for a landsman ...a1700
• LANDMAN † 1. one who lives or has his business on land, as opposed to a 'seaman' ...1480 now rare or obs.
† 2. a man having landed property ...1562
• LANDMASTER n. a proprietor of land, a landowner ...1795 Sc.
• LAND-METER † a land-measurer or surveyor ...1582
• LAND-METSTER a land-measurer, a surveyor ...1714 Sc.
• LAND-METTER a land-measurer, a surveyor ...1726 Sc.
• LAND-SHARK * land-grabber ...1857
• LANDSMAN one who lives or has his business on land, as opposed to a 'seaman' ...1666-7
• LEVEL-LANDER a dweller on level land ...1864 nonce word
• MAILANDER one who rents land as a farmer ...1714 Sc.
• OLD JOHN COE a man with large land holdings ...1967 Amer. dial.
LAND - verbs
• CALIFORNICATE to overdevelop the land ...20C Amer. sl.
• LAND to bestow land upon ...1624 obs. nonce usage
• MANNER to manure; to prepare land for crops ...Bk1905 Sc. & Eng. dial.
• PEACOCK † to acquire the best pieces of land in such a way that the surrounding land is useless to others ... Aust. sl.
LANDED - nouns
• ACREOCRACY the landed interest ...Bk1921 sl.
LANDING - nouns
• DESS a step; a small landing-place ...1838 Sc.
• LANDAGE † landing, coming ashore ...1470-85
LANDLADY - nouns, person
• LANDPROP a landlady or landlord ...1936 US Black sl.
• MARM POOSEY a flashily dressed public house landlady ...L19 sl.
• MARM-PUSS a flashily dressed public house landlady ...L19 sl.
• MAT a public house or lodging-house landlady ...M19 sl.
• MIVEY the landlady of a lodging-house ...L19 sl.
• MIVVY the landlady of a lodging-house ...L19 sl.
• MIVY the landlady of a lodging-house ...L19 sl.
• MOT a public house or lodging-house landlady ...M19 sl.
• MOTT a public house or lodging-house landlady ...M19 sl.
• MOTTE a public house or lodging-house landlady ...M19 sl.
• SAW the landlady of a cheap rooming house ...1940s US Black sl.
• WARDIN †* a landlady, a hostess ...1493
LANDLORD - nouns
• LANDLORDRY †* landlords as a class ...1597-8
LANDLORD - nouns, person
• LANDPROP a landlady or landlord ...1936 US Black sl.
• MASTER a landlord, a laird ...Bk1905 Sc.
• OMEE a landlord ...M19 sl.
• OMER a landlord ...M19 sl.
• OMEY a landlord ...M19 sl.
• OMI a landlord ...M19 sl.
• RAMROD a landlord ...M19 sl.
LANDMARK - nouns
• MARCH † a boundary mark; a landmark ...1513
• MEAR a boundary, a limit; a landmark ...1622 Eng. dial.
• MEAR-STANG † a landmark ...Bk1905 Eng. dial.
LANDMARK - verbs
• MARCH † to mark the boundaries of with landmarks ...1541 Sc.
LANDMINE - nouns
• DEVIL EGG a landmine ...Amer. World War I sl.
• EGG a bomb; a mine; a depth charge ...Amer. World War I sl.
LANDSCAPE - nouns
• GARNITURE natural objects, as trees, etc., as ornaments of the landscape ...1684
• SCAPE a landscape; a portion of ground ...1788 Sc. & Eng. dial.
LANDSCAPE - nouns, person
• LANDSCAPE-WORKER † one who paints landscapes ...1598
LANDSLIDE - adjectives
• LANDSLIPPY characterized by landslips or landslides ...1893
LANDSLIDE - nouns
• BREAK-A-LOOSE a landslide ...1970 Amer. dial.
• CALVE a fall of earth, a landslip, a bulging or falling in of a wall, etc. ...1873 Eng. dial.
• CAVE a landslide ...1965 Amer. dial.
• CAVE-IN a landslide ...1957 Amer. dial.
• CAVE-OFF a landslide ...1965 Amer. dial.
• EARTHFALL a fall of earth or a landslide
• EARTHSLIDE a landslide ...1942 Amer. dial.
• LAND-RUSH † landslip ...1549
• LANDSLIP the sliding down of a mass of land on a mountain or cliff side; land which has so fallen; a landslide ...1679
LANE - adjectives
• LANEY pert. to a lane ...1876 nonce word
LANE - nouns
• BATER a lane leading to a high road ...Bk1898 Eng. dial.
• DRONG a narrow lane or passage ...L18 Eng. Dial.
• ENTRY-MOUTH the end or entrance of a narrow lane or passage ...1856 N. Ireland
• OCCUPATION ROAD a by-road or lane ...1895 Eng. dial.
• RUELLE in France, a small street; a lane, an alley ...B1900
• TEWER a narrow lane or passage; an alley ...1869 Eng. dial.
• TUER a narrow lane or passage; an alley ...1869 Eng. dial.
• VENNEL a narrow lane, passage, or thoroughfare in a town or city; an alley or wynd ...1435 chiefly Sc.
• VINNAL a narrow alley or lane between houses ...1702 Sc. & N. Eng. dial.
• VINNEL an alley; a narrow lane or passage ...1853 Sc.
LANGUAGE - adjectives
• ALL NICELY WRAPPED UP in seemly language ...L19 colloq.
• BABYLONISH confused in language...1663
• BAGGY of language: inflated, verbose ...1866
• BAWDY † of language: vile, abominable, barbarous ...1519
• BILINGUOUS † bilingual, speaking two languages ...1730
• BLACKGUARD characterized by abusive or obscene language ...1806 Amer. dial.
• BLASPHEMATORY † blasphemous; cursing and swearing; using vile reproachful language ...1611
• BRAID having a strong dialect language or accent ...Bk1911 Sc.
• DIGLOSSAL using the same language in two ways, as colloquially and formally ...Bk1913-17 Amer. dial.
• FAIR † of language, diction: elegant ...c1380
• GALLANT † of language; full of showy expressions, ornate, specious ...1484
• GLOTTICAL † concerned with the study of languages ...1660
• ILL-GABBED foul-mouthed; having a habit of using insolent, abusive language ...1895 Sc.
• ILL-TONGUED having a malicious tongue; speaking evil; slanderous; using bad language; foul-mouthed ...a1300
• LARGE †* of language: used in a wide sense, loose, inaccurate ...c1400
• LINGUISHED † skilled in languages ...1607
• MONOGLOT 1. speaking or using only one language ...1830
2. written in only one language...1890
• NEAT †* of a language: pure ...1686
• OCTOGLOT written in eight languages ...1888
• OMNILINGUAL speaking or understanding all languages ...1893
• PANTOGLOSSICAL †* belonging to all tongues or languages ...1716
• PANTOGLOT knowing or speaking all languages ...1895
• PENTAGLOTTICAL † skilled or written in five languages ...1656
• POLYGLOTTOUS speaking or writing in many or several languages; using many languages ...1861
• QUADRILINGUAL using or written in four languages ...1876
• QUEER PROPER of language: formal or standard, as opposed to colloquial or dialectal ...1963 Amer. dial.
• SALTY unpleasant, uncouth, crude; of language: obscene ...1920s US teen sl.
• UGLY-MOUTHED foul-mouthed, given to bad language ...1889 Eng. dial.
• VERNACULARY † of a language or dialect: that is naturally spoken by the people of a particular country or district; native, indigenous ...1652
• VERNACULE †* of a language or dialect: that is naturally spoken by the people of a particular country or district; native, indigenous ...1669
• VERNACULOUS † that writes, uses, or speaks the native or indigenous language of a country or district ...1658
LANGUAGE - adverbs
• VERNACLY † vernacularly, in the native or mother tongue ...1673
LANGUAGE - nouns
• ABSONISM †* something discordant in the use of language ...1593
• ACYROLOGY † incorrect use of language or words; improper speech ...1656
• ALSATIA PHRASE terms from slang or criminal jargon ...E17 sl.
• AMPERLASH saucy, abusive language ...1879 Eng. dial.
• ANGUAGELA language ...L19 sl.
• ANIMAL a translation of a foreign language text ...1900 Amer. students' sl.
• ARMY LATIN foul or profane language ...1864 US jocular
• AUSSIE Australian English ...1945 Aust. sl.
• AUSTRALIAN Australian English ...1902 Aust.
• BACK-JAW impudence; abusive language ...1932 Sc.
• BAFFLEGAB incomprehensible or pretentious verbiage or jargon ...1952 colloq., chiefly N. Amer.
• BALDERDASH filthy or obscene talk or writing; impudent language; abuse ...1715 Eng. dial.
• BARBARY † uncultivated speech as opposed to a classical language or classic diction ...1509
• BARNYARD EXPRESSION coarse or vulgar language; slang ...1968 Amer. dial.
• BARRIKIN high-flown language; unintelligible language; gibberish, jargon ...1851 Eng. sl.
• BAT, THE the colloquial speech or language of a foreign country ...1892
• BAWDY lewd, obscene language, lewdness, obscenity ...1698
• BESTIALITY filthy language, obscenity ...1879
• BRAVERIE fine or ornate language ...Bk1911 Sc.
• CANT † 1. the peculiar phraseology of a religious sect or class ...1681
2. a stock phrase that is much affected at the time, or is repeated as a matter of habit or form ...1681 arch.
3. the special phraseology of a particular class of persons, or belonging to a particular subject; professional or technical jargon; always depreciative or contemptuous ...1684
4. the secret speech or jargon of the vagrant classes - gypsies, thieves, beggars, etc; hence, contemptuously, the peculiar phraseology of a particular class or subject ...1706
• CHAT terminology, a special language, jargon ...1950s sl.
• DAGO (derogatory) a southern European language, esp. Italian or Spanish; broadly, a foreign language ...1823 US sl.
• DAMSON-PIE abuse; a slanging match; obscene language ...c1865 colloq.
• DAMSON TART a humorous term for profane language ...1887 Eng. dial.
• DOUBLE DUTCH unintelligible or garbled speech or language ...1875 sl.
• FAGLISH gay slang ...1980s US gay sl.
• FIVE-DOLLAR EXPRESSIONS language that the speaker considers to be unnecessarily difficult or intellectual ...20C US sl.
• FIVE-DOLLAR WORDS language that the speaker considers to be unnecessarily difficult or intellectual ...20C US sl.
• FLASH-LINGO patter interlarded with cant words and phrases ... Bk1893 sl.
• FLUBDUB bombastic or inept language; nonsense, balderdash ...1888 Amer. dial.
• FRENCH dirty words or swear words in English ...20C US colloq.
• GAB a language ...a1845 jocular nonce use
• GALEE bad language ...Bk1892 Anglo-Indian sl.
• GALLEY-SLANG the neological barbarisms foisted into sea-language ...1867
• GAMMON † the language of cant ...1797 UK sl.
• GAMMON AND PATTER † the language of cant ...1789 UK sl.
• GAMMY cant or criminal language ...1812 UK criminals' sl.
• GANSEL a severe rebuke; a scolding; insolent language ...1710 Sc.
• GOO-GOO an unintelligible foreign language ...1970s US sl.
• GOOK (derogatory) any foreign language ...1910s sl., orig. US military
• GUM-CHEWING WORDS slang ...Bk1942 Amer. sl.
• IDIOTISM † the speech, language, or dialect peculiar to a country, age, etc. ...1588
• ILL-GAB insolent, impudent language; the power to use such language ...Bk1905 Sc.
• ILL-JAW bad language; an abusive tongue ...1824 Sc.
• ILL TONGUE bad language, an abusive tongue ...1785 Sc.
• ILL-MOUTH insolent, abusive language ...Bk1905 Sc.
• ILL-WEEN bad language; an abusive tongue ...Bk1905 Sc.
• HAGGERSNASH tart language ...B1900 Sc.
• JABBERWOCK nonsense language or verse ...19C
• JAZZ JARGON slang ...Bk1942 Amer. sl.
• JIBS language; speech ...Bk1896 cant
• KABAC GENALS backslang ...L19 sl.
• KABGNALS backslang ...L19 sl.
• KENNICK a mixture of 'flash-patter' (cant) and 'padding-ken' (low lodging-house) talk ...1860s sl.
• KIM-KAM an altercation; irritating language ...B1900 Eng. dial.
• KING'S ENGLISH standard American English ...1920s US Black sl.
• LAND-SPEECH † a language, tongue ...c1250
• LANGUE †* a tongue or language ...c1330
• LEDEN † the language of a nation, people, or race; a 'tongue' ...c1000
• LEED † language, tongue ...1513
• LEFT-HAND TONGUE † a language written from right to left, as Hebrew or Arabic ...a1632
• NASH-GAB insolent language; impertinence ...Bk1902 sl.
• NATIVE native speech ...Bk1905 Eng. dial.
• NATURAL †* native language ...1665
• OFFICIALESE the language characteristic of officials or of official documents ...1884 nonce word
• OLIGOGLOTTISM slight knowledge of languages ...Bk1909
• OLLAPOD a hotchpotch; a medley; an incongruous mixture; a mixture of languages ...1804
• OLLAPODISM a sentence made up of various languages ...1837 nonce word
• OLLA PODRIDA a hotchpotch, a medley; a mixture of languages ...a1634
• ORDURE foul language 'thrown' at a person ...c1374
• ORIENTALS † oriental languages ...1680
• PARL † language, parlance, vocabulary ...1733 Sc. nonce use
• PARLEYVOO the French language ...M18 sl.
• PEDDLER'S FRENCH underworld slang ...1530
• PEDLAR'S FRENCH underworld slang ...1530
• QUEER PATTER a foreign language ...E19 UK criminals' sl.
• RIBBLE-RABBLE confused meaningless language; rigmarole, gibble-gabble ...1601 arch. or Sc. & Eng. dial.
• SCOOSE discourse, altercation, dispute, bad language ...Bk1904 Eng. dial.
• SILLABUB inconsequential puff; florid, inane language
• SINGLISH a Singaporean adaptation of the English language; a variety of English used in Sri Lanka ...2001 Singapore
• SLANGUAGE slang ...Bk1942 Amer. sl.
• SMUT obscene language ...17C
• SOUTHRON † the English tongue or language ...1513 Sc.
• SPIG the Spanish language ...1913 US sl.
• SPIGGOTY the Spanish language ...1910s US sl.
• ST. GILES'S GREEK slang, cant ...L18 sl.
• STREAMLINE SPEECH slang ...Bk1942 Amer. sl.
• TALE †* speech, language ...c1250
• TALKEE-TALKEE imperfect or broken English used by some native races ...1808
• TATHERUM-A-DYAL complicated or unintelligible language ...Bk1905 Eng. dial.
• THIEVES' LATIN the secret language or 'cant' of thieves ...1821
• THREE TONGUES, THE † Hebrew, Greek, and Latin ...1560
• TONGUES, THE foreign languages; often the classical or learned languages ....1535
• TIGHT JEFF well-rehearsed patter ...1960s US Black sl.
• TRENCH TALK military slang ...World War I Amer. sl.
• TUMMUS-AN-MEARY broad Lancashire dialect ...Bk1905 Eng. dial.
• TWO-DOLLAR WORDS. language that the speaker considers to be unnecessarily difficult or intellectual ...20C US sl.
• UNPARLIAMENTARY LANGUAGE language unfit for polite discussion; violent or obscene language ...Bk1958 sl.
• WOG any language that isn't English ...1988 Aust. sl.
• WOODS FRENCH a limited ability in French ...1980 Can.
• YABBER speech, language, talk, chatter; applied to the speech of the Australian aborigines ...1874 Aust.
• YANKEE the dialect of New England; loosely, American English generally ...1824
• YANKEESE American English ...1883 nonce word
• YARDNEY a manner of speech combining West Indian and London accents and vocabularies; 'Yardie and Cockney' ...1999 UK sl.
LANGUAGE - nouns, person
• LANGUAGER †* one versed in languages ...c1570
• MONOGLOT one who knows only one language ...1894
• NEEDLE-SPITTER one who uses sharp language ...1805 nonce word
• PANTOGLOT one who speaks many languages ...1895
• POLYGLOTTER a person that speaks several languages ...1912 colloq.
• SLEEPING DICTIONARY a foreign woman with whom a man has a sexual relationship and from whom he learns the rudiments of her language ...1928 sl.
LANGUAGE - verbs
• CANT 1. to speak the jargon of gypsies, beggars, and other vagrants ...1592
† 2. to use the special phraseology or jargon of a particular class or subject ...1625
† 3. to say or exclaim in the pet phraseology of the day; to use the phrases currently affected at the time ...1648
• GAMMON † to speak criminal slang or cant ...1789 UK sl.
• HAPPER-GALLICKS to speak the Gaelic tongue ...1787 Sc.
• JABBER to talk a foreign language ...M16 sl.
• PARLEYVOO to speak a foreign language, esp. to speak French ...M18 sl.
• PARLEY-VOUS to speak a foreign language, esp. to speak French ...M18 sl.
• PATTER FLASH to talk in thieves' lingo ...1827 sl.
• RAMP to use violent language ..1827 Sc. & Eng. dial.
• RAUNCH OUT to offend by making sexual remarks or using offensive language ...1970s US campus sl.
• SCOOSE to discourse; to dispute, to use bad language ...1869 Eng. dial.
• SLING THE BAT to speak the 'lingo' of a foreign country ...1892 orig. military usage
• TALK PROPER to talk Standard English ...20C sl.
• TALK SAILOR LIKE AN OLD SALT to use nautical language ...1881
• TEAR THE TARTAN to speak Gaelic ...1934 Sc.
• VERNACULATE † to use native language ...1895 US
• VERNACULIZE † to translate into the native speech of a people; to make vernacular ...a1802
LANGUAGE - interjections
• OH, MISS WESTON! expressing disapproval of strong language ...c1910 Royal Navy sl.
• LABORATORIAL pert. to the laboratory ...1862
• LABORATORIAN * pert. to the laboratory ...1860
LABORATORY - nouns
• COOKBOOK a chemistry laboratory manual ...1950s Amer. students' sl.
• LAB a laboratory ...1895 UK
• LABOUR-HOUSE † a laboratory ...1712
• OFFICINE † a workshop; a laboratory; an office in a monastery ...c1425
• OPERATORY † a workshop, a laboratory ...1651
LABORATORY - nouns, person
• LABORANT † a laboratory workman; a chemist's assistant; a working chemist ...1665
• LABORATORIAN * a chemist who works in a laboratory ...1860
• LAB WRETCH a performer of unpleasant laboratory tasks ...1988 US sl.
LABORIOUS - adjectives
• BULL-DRAGGING tedious, laborious ...20C Irish sl.
• LABORIOSE † laborious, painstaking ...1727
• LABOROUS † laborious ...c1386
• LABOUROUS laborious ...Bk1902 Eng. dial.
• LABOURSOME laborious; fatiguing ...1889 Eng. dial.
• MOLIMINOUS † done with great effort or endeavour, laborious ...1656
• OPEROSE 1. of a person: laborious; industrious, busy ...1670
2. made or done with much labour; laborious; tedious; toilsome; elaborate ...1683
• OPEROUS † made or done with much labour; laborious; tedious; toilsome; elaborate ...1641
• PAINFUL performed with labour, care, and attention; diligent, assiduous, laborious, careful ...c1380 arch.
• TOILOUS †* full of toil, toilsome, laborious ...1530
LABORIOUS - nouns
• DAD of any laborious activity: a heavy task, a weary journey ...1947 Sc.
LABORIOUS - nouns, person
• NABBLE a narrow-minded, greedy, laborious person; a churlish person ...B1900 Sc.
• NABLE a narrow-minded, greedy, laborious person ...1824 Sc.
LABORIOUS - verbs
• SCART to lead a laborious, industrious life ...Bk1904 Sc.
LABORIOUSLY - adverbs
• HEAVY with laborious movement; slowly, sluggishly; laboriously ...1701
• OPEROSELY laboriously, busily; elaborately ...1668
• OPEROUSLY † laboriously, busily; elaborately ...1668
• PAINFULLY with great pains, painstakingly, laboriously, with care an effort ...1555 arch.
LABORIOUSNESS - nouns
• LABORIOSITY * painfulness, laboriousness ...1656
• LABOROSITY †* laboriousness ...1656
• LABOROUSNESS † laboriousness ...1530
• LABOURHOOD * laborious condition; laboriousness ...1858
• OPEROSENESS laboriousness, elaborateness ...1664
• OPEROSITY laboriousness, painstaking endeavour ...1623
• PAINFULNESS the quality of taking pains; laboriousness, careful industry, painstaking ...1531 arch.
LABOUR - adjectives
• CHIROPONAL † pertaining to or involving manual labour ...1651
• ELABORATE † produced or accomplished by labour ...1592 obs. or arch.
• LABORIFEROUS †* that takes pains; that endures labour, painful, difficult ...1656
• LABOURSOME † 1. given to labour; hard-working ...1551
2. requiring labour; accompanied by labour ...1577-87 rare or Eng. dial.
• OPERARIOUS †* pert. to the workman, done with labour; doing, as opposed to theoretical ...1656
• OPERARY † pert. to the workman, done with labour; doing, as opposed to theoretical ...1612
• OPEROSE made or done with much labour; laborious; tedious; toilsome; elaborate ...1683
• OPEROUS † made or done with much labour; laborious; tedious; toilsome; elaborate ...1641
LABOUR - nouns
• ABRAHAM WORK sweated labour, ill-paid work ...Bk1909 sl.
• BULLWORK manual labour; hard work ...1944 Amer. dial.
• CARK that which burdens the spirit, trouble; hence, troubled state of mind, distress, anxiety; anxious solicitude, labour, or toil ...c1325 arch.
• CHANGE WORK an exchange of labour ...1947 Amer. dial.
• DARGING the work of a day labourer, esp. hard, plodding toil ...1788 Sc.
• DAYTAL-WORK labour paid by the day ...1865 Eng. dial.
• ELBOW-POLISH energetic labour of any kind, elbow-grease ...Bk1897
• ERGOPHOBIA fear of work; morbid aversion to labour ...1881
• FIZZLE-FARTING JOB. tedious and unprofitable labour ...B1900 Eng. dial.
• HANA work, labour ...1951 Hawaii
• HANAHANA labour, hard work ...1967 Hawaii
• HAND-DARG handiwork, labour, toil; what is gained by labour ...Bk1905 Sc.
• HAND-STIR the smallest possible amount of labour ...Bk1905 Eng. dial.
• HAND-STROKE the smallest possible amount of labour ...Bk1905 Eng. dial.
• HARD hard labour ...1890 Brit. sl.
• ILLABORATENESS † the quality of being effected without labour and pains ...1727
• LABORATION †* working, work, labour ...c1460
• LABOURAGE † 1. labouring, labour, work ...1484
2. payment for labour ...1826
• MANOEUVRE †* hand-labour ...1479
• MANUFACTORY † something that is produced by labour ...a1618
• MANUFACTURE † a product of hand-labour; a person's handiwork ...1567
• NEVES, A seven years' hard labour ...1901 back-slang
• NEVIS, A seven years' hard labour ...1901 back-slang
• ON-WAUR expenditure, outlay, trouble, labour ...1898 Sc.
• PUGGY WORK hard physical labour ...1988 Sc. sl.
• RAMBOUNGE a severe brush of labour ...1825 Sc.
• TAG tiring, troublesome labour ...1929 Sc.
• TAVE a difficulty, struggle, pinch; hard labour; the act of labouring hard ...Bk1905 Sc.
• THROUGH-GANG labour, difficulty; perseverance; energy ...Bk1905 Sc.
• TILTH † labour, work, or effort directed to use or profitable ends ...a1023
LABOUR - nouns, person
• HARRY-GAUD a master of labour, who is continually goading on his workmen to greater exertion ...Bk1902 Eng. dial.
• RAT a worker who undercuts standards established by unionized labour ...L19 US sl.
LABOUR - verbs
• ADDLE to earn by labour ...1760 Eng. dial.
• ALLABORATE † to labour vehemently ...1656
• BATTER to labour or walk at a great rate ...Bk1898 Eng. dial.
• BELABOUR † to labour at, to work at; to exert one's strength or ability upon ...1604
• BESWINK † to labour for, to work for ...1377
• BETRAVAIL † to work for; to earn by labour ...1393
• BREAK ONE'S ASS to exert oneself to the limit of endurance; to toil, to labour, to strive furiously ...1941 Amer. sl.
• BUST ONE'S ASS to exert oneself to the limit of endurance; to toil, to labour, to strive furiously ...1941 Amer. sl.
• CARK † to be anxious, to fret oneself; to labour anxiously, to toil and moil ...a1400 obs. or arch.
• CAST STONES AGAINST THE WIND † to labour in vain ...1657
• ENDEAVOUR FOR to work, to labour ...Bk1900 Eng. dial.
• FAG to do something that wearies one; to work hard; to labour, to strain, to toil ...1772
• HAG AT A THING to persevere, to labour, to work away at a thing ...Bk1905 Eng. dial.
• HAIFER to toil, to labour ...Bk1905 Eng. dial.
• HAMMER to practise laboriously; to labour ...1843 Eng. dial.
• HANAHANA to labour, to work hard ...1967 Hawaii
• HEAVE † to put forth effort; to endeavour, to labour, to strive ...c1374
• IMPLOD †* to cause to plod, to involve in toilsome labour ...1609
• LABORATE †* to produce or develop by labour ...1662
• LOSE ONE'S OIL † to study or labour in vain ...a1548
• NAG to labour persistently and painfully; to repeat an action with irritating frequency ...1900 Sc. & Eng. dial.
• OFSWINK † to gain by labour; to labour for ...c1300
• PADDY to perform menial labour ...1876 Amer. dial.
• SCRATTLE to labour hard; to scrape and save ...Bk1904 Eng. dial.
• TAG to oppress by hard labour ...1866 Sc.
• TAVE to strive, to toil, to labour ...1863 Sc.
• TEW to toil, to labour; to work hard; to pull, to struggle; to contend, to strive ...1866 Sc. & Eng. dial.
• THRIPPLE to labour hard ...Bk1905 Eng. dial.
• TILL † to strive, to exert oneself, to labour, to work ...c897
• YAGGLE to work in a slow bungling or laboriously way, to toil and moil, to labour ...1924 Sc.
• YAKKA to work hard, to labour ...L19 Aust. sl.
• YAKKER to work hard, to labour ...L19 Aust. sl.
LABOURED - adjectives
• LABOURABLE † capable of being laboured or worked ...1481
LABOURER - nouns, person (also see WORKER)
• APPLEKNOCKER (often derogatory) an itinerant farm labourer ...1941 Amer. dial.
• APRON-ROGUE a labourer; an artisan ...17C colloq.
• BLANKET STIFF a migratory labourer who carries his belongings in a blanket roll or other bundle; a tramp ...1891 Amer. Hobo & West. sl.
• BOY in South Africa: a coloured labourer or servant of any age or race ...1839
• CLODHOPPER an agricultural labourer ...colloq.
• COOLIE an immigrant Chinese labourer ...M19 US usage
• CULCHIE (derogatory) a rustic; a country labourer ...Irish colloq.
• DALLACKER a day labourer ...Bk1900 Eng. dial.
• DARGER a day labourer; one who works by the day ...1802 Sc. & Eng. dial.
• DARGSMAN † a workman, a labourer ...1723 Sc. & N. Eng. dial.
• DARKER a day labourer ...1807 Sc. & N. Eng. dial.
• DARKSMAN † a workman, a labourer ...1795 Sc.
• DATALLER a day-labourer; a workman engaged and paid by the day ...1881 Eng. dial.
• DAYMAN a day labourer; one who works and is paid by the day ...1890 Eng. dial.
• DAYSMAN a worker by the day; a day-labourer ...a1639
• DAYTAL a labourer engaged and paid by the day ...1790 Eng. dial. (Grose)
• DAYTAL-CHAP a day labourer ...Bk1900 Eng. dial.
• DAYTAL-DANOCK a day labourer ...Bk1900 Eng. dial.
• DAYTAL-DICK a day labourer ...Bk1900 Eng. dial.
• DAYTALER a day labourer, a man who works by the day and not by the piece ...1877 Eng. dial.
• DAYTAL-FELLOW a day labourer ...Bk1900 Eng. dial.
• DAYTAL-LABOURER a day labourer ...1895 Eng. dial.
• DAYTAL-MAN a day labourer ...1846 Eng. dial.
• DAYTAL-WIFE a day-labouring woman ...Bk1900 Eng. dial.
• FLANNEL BACK a navvy, who wears such a garment ...L19 sl.
• FLANNEL-JACKET a navvy, who wears such a garment ...L19 sl.
• GRUNT a common or unskilled worker; a labourer ...sl.
• HARL(E) a big, untidy, coarse, cross-grained person; a rough field-labourer ...1824 Sc.
• HEAVY-CLAY an agricultural labourer ...1869
• HEWERS OF WOOD AND DRAWERS OF WATER menial drudges; labourers
• IDIOT-STICK OPERATOR a common labourer ...1966 Amer. dial. (idiot-stick = shovel)
• JACK a serving-man or male attendant; a labourer; a man who does odd jobs, etc. ...1836-7
• LABOURESS † a female labourer ...1570
• LABOUR-FELLOW † a fellow labourer ...1549
• MAN-CATCHER a labour recruiter; an employment agency ...1920s US sl.
• MAN-GETTER a labour recruiter; an employment agency ...1920s US sl.
• MAN-GRABBER a labour recruiter; an employment agency ...1920s US sl.
• MAN-HUNTER a labour recruiter; an employment agency ...1920s US sl.
• MAN-SHARK a labour recruiter; an employment agency ...1920s US sl.
• MANUALIST † one who works or labours with the hands ...1592
• MCALPINE FUSILIER a building labourer, a navvy ...1960s US sl.
• MICK a labourer on the roads ...1930s sl.
• MIKE a labourer, a hod-carrier, esp. when Irish ...M19 sl.
• OICKMAN a labourer, a shopkeeper; hence, an objectionable fellow ...1925 UK sl.
• PADDY a menial or manual labourer; a bricklayer's or builder's labourer ...1856
• PAIKIE a day labourer; one employed in forestry ...1911 Sc.
• PEA PICKER a rustic or countrified person; a bumpkin; an unskilled labourer ...1927 Amer. dial.
• PYKIE a day labourer; one employed in forestry ...1911 Sc.
• ROCK-HOG a labourer engaged in tunnelling through rock
• SPALPEEN a common workman or labourer; a farm worker or harvester; a migratory agricultural labourer ...1780 Irish
• SWAMPER a general assistant or labourer; a menial
• TIGER a menial labourer ...1865 sl.
• YARDIE a dockyard labourer ...1902 Eng. dial.
• YEARSMAN a labourer hired by the year ...1891
LABOURER - verbs
• MAKE LITTLE SHOES of a labourer: to have no regular employment ...Bk1905 Eng. dial.
• PACK THE MUSTARD to work as a bricklayer or labourer ...1930s US tramp sl.
LABOURING - adjectives
• CARKING † toiling, moiling, labouring ...1579 obs. or arch.
• LABOUROUS labouring ...1826 Sc.
LABYRINTH - nouns
• WALLS-OF-TROY a labyrinth ...1853 Sc.
LACE - nouns
• DRIZ lace ...c1810 cant
• LAINER † a lace, strap, thong, lash ...c1386
• ST. MARTIN'S LACE fake gold lace ...E17 sl.
• TIGLET the metal end of a shoe-lace or boot-lace ...Bk1905 Eng. dial.
• WHANG a leather thong or lace ...1824 Amer. dial.
LACE - nouns, person
• DRIZ FENCER a seller of lace; a receiver of stolen lace; hence of other material ...c1810 cant
LACE - verbs
• PASSMENT † to adorn with lace, to trim a garment etc. with braid, etc. ...1706 Sc.
LACERATE - verbs
• HARROW to tear, to lacerate, to wound physically ...1633
• LANIATE * to lacerate; to tear in pieces ...1721
• YACKER † to lace or bind tightly so as to constrict; to pull tightly together ...1790 Sc.
LACK - nouns
• DEFAILING † deficiency, lack, shortage ...1502
• DEFAULT † absence of something wanted; want, lack, scarcity of ...a1300 obs. or arch.
• FAULT † deficiency, lack, scarcity, want of; want of food or necessaries ...a1300
• INGANG lack, deficiency ...Bk1902 Sc.
• INLAKE † a deficiency, lack ...1650 Sc.
• MANK † a deficiency, a want, a lack ...1718 Sc.
• SCANT scantiness, scarcity, lack ...1841 Sc. & Eng. dial.
• WANE † want, lack, shortage, absence of ...c888
LACK - verbs
• DEFAIL † to be insufficient, to be wanting, to lack ...a1400
• FAULT † to stand in need of; to lack, to want; to be deficient in ...1377
• INLAKE † to be deficient, to lack ...1610 Sc.
• WALTER †* to be without, to lack ...1463 Sc.
• WANE † to come short of, to lack ...a1300
LACKADAISICAL - adjectives
• QUEETERIN trifling, lackadaisical ...1866 Sc.
LACKADAISICAL - nouns
• HARDLY ABLE FEVER the 'illness' of feeling lackadaisical ...1904 Amer. dial.
LACKEY - nouns, person
• DISHCLOTH a lackey; someone or something of little value or importance ...1965 Amer. dial.
• DISHRAG a lackey; someone or something of little value or importance ...1906 Amer. dial.
LACKING - adjectives
• DAY LATE AND A DIME SHORT, A inadequate; overdue and lacking; too little too late ...1990s Amer. sl.
• DAY LATE AND A DOLLAR SHORT, A inadequate; overdue and lacking; too little too late ...1990s Amer. sl.
• DEFICIOUS †* deficient, lacking ...1540-1
• LACK † 1. deficient in some quality, lacking in substance, position, breeding, etc.; of poor quality ...1790 Sc.
2. lacking money, style, or both ...1982 Hawaiian youth sl.
• MINUS lacking, bereft of ...19C sl.
• NOT THE FULL QUID lacking ...1984 NZ sl.
• ON E lacking, usually but not invariably money ...1990s US Black sl.
• SAKELESS lacking, destitute of ...1821 Sc.
• WANE † lacking, absent, deficient ...c825
LACKING - verbs
• FAULT † to be deficient in; to be lacking in ...1504
LACKLUSTRE - adjectives
• HARMLESS lacklustre, tedious ...1960s Amer. sl.
LACONIC - adjectives
• BREVILOQUENT given to concise speaking; laconic ...1865
LACROSSE - nouns
• LACKS lacrosse ...c1950 Brit. schoolgirls' sl.
• LAX lacrosse ...c1950 Brit. schoolgirls' sl.
LADDER - adverbs
• ALAG not sufficiently upright; too horizontal, as in placing a ladder ...Bk1898 Eng. dial.
LADDER - nouns
• BIG STICK a fireman's ladder ...Bk1942 Amer. sl.
• CLIMBS a ladder ...Bk1942 Amer. sl.
• GANG † a step or rung of a ladder ...1688
• GO-UP a ladder ...Bk1942 Amer. sl.
• JACOB † a ladder ...1708 cant
• JACOB'S LADDER a small ladder ...1889 Eng. dial.
• LADDER-STAVE the rung or round of a ladder ...Bk1902 Eng. dial.
• LADE a ladder ...1784 Eng. dial.
• LETHER † a ladder ...1741
• RAIL the rung of a ladder ...1966 Amer. dial.
• RAILING the rung of a ladder ...1966 Amer. dial.
• RING the rung of a ladder ...1966 Amer. dial.
• RUNDLE † a rung of a ladder ...1565 rare or obs.
• SCALE † a ladder; a flight of steps ...1705 Sc.
• SKID a fireman's ladder ...Bk1942 Amer. sl.
• STICK a ladder ...Bk1942 Amer. sl.
• TACKLING-LADDER † a rope-ladder ...1680
• TINE †* a rung or step of a ladder ...a1225
• UP-AND-DOWN a ladder ...Bk1942 Amer. sl.
LADEN - adjectives
• LADENED laden ...1813 Sc. & Eng. dial.
• ONUST †* laden, loaded, burdened ...1604
LADLE - nouns
• DIP a ladle ...1966 Amer. dial.
• LADEN a dipper, a ladle ...1936 Amer. dial.
• SCOPE a scoop, a ladle with a long handle; a large, hollow shovel ...Bk1904 Eng. dial.
LADLE - verbs
• KEACH † to take up water etc. with a shallow vessel; to scoop up, to ladle out ...1387 obs. exc. Eng. dial.
• LADE to bale out, to empty water by means of a vessel; to ladle ...1777 Eng. dial.
• LAVE to pour out with or as with a ladle; to ladle ...c1000
• SCOPE to scoop, to ladle ...Bk1904 Eng. dial.
LADY - adjectives
• LADIED †* lady-like; soft, gentle ...1628
• LADY ladylike, fit for a lady ...1810 Sc.
• LADYFIED having the airs of a fine lady ...1602
• LADYLY † befitting or characteristic of a lady; ladylike ...1300s obs. exc. as a nonce word
• MADAMISH like a 'fine lady' ...1881 nonce word
LADY - adverbs
• LADYLY † in a manner befitting a lady ...c1450
LADY - nouns
• LADYHEAD †* the condition of a being a lady; rank as a lady...1390
• LADYKIND the lady or female portion of a party; also: a woman ...1829
• LADYNESS gentility, ladylikeness ...1823 Sc.
LADY - nouns, person
• BEEBEE a Hindustani name for a lady ...1816
• DAME the wife or daughter of a lord; a woman of rank, a lady ...1530 now hist, or poetic
• DEMOISELLE a young lady, a maid, a girl ...1520
• GAY † a gay lady; one who is loved, a sweetheart ...c1375
• GENTRY MORT a lady ...16C cant
• LADY-BAIRN a female child of social rank; one born to be a lady ...1863 Sc.
• LADYKIN a little lady; sometimes used as a term of endearment ... 1853
• LADYLING * a little lady ...1855
• LADY-SITTER a lady who allows herself to be appraised and painted ...1887 Brit. painters' sl.
• LEDDY BODY a ladylike person ...1930 Sc.
• MADAM a fine lady; an affected fine lady ...1598
• MISSY BABA a young lady ...Bk1892 Anglo-Indian sl.
• OLD MARK a lady ...1859 criminals' sl.
• RYE MORT a lady ...1936 sl.
• SHICKSTER a woman, a lady, a female ...1839 sl.
LADY - verbs
• MANTLE to ape the fine lady; to go about angrily ...Bk1905 Eng. dial.
LADYBIRD - nouns
• BABY-BOT the ladybird ...Bk1898 Eng. dial.
• BARNABEE the ladybird, Coccinella septempunctata ...Bk1898 Eng. dial.
• BARNEY BEE the ladybird, Coccinella septempunctata ...Bk1898 Eng. dial.
• BURNEY BEE the ladybird, Coccinella septempunctata ...Bk1898 Eng. dial.
• LADY-BEETLE the ladybird Coccinella septempunctata ...1868 Eng. & Amer. dial.
• LADY-CLOCK a ladybird ...1848
• LADY-COUCH the ladybird Coccinella septempunctata ...1790 Eng. dial.
• LADY-COW a ladybird ...1606
• LADY-ELLISON the ladybird Coccinella septempunctata ...1859 Sc.
• LADY-FLY a ladybird ...1714
• LADY-LANDERS the ladybird Coccinella septempunctata ...1808 Sc.
• LADY-LOCK the ladybird Coccinella septempunctata ...Bk1902 Eng. dial.
• LAMB-LADY the ladybird, Coccinella septempunctata ...Bk1902 Eng. dial.
• MARY-BIRD the ladybird, Coccinella septempunctata, the most common European ladybird ...Bk1905 Eng. dial.
• QUEEN CHRONICLE the ladybird ...1955 Sc.
• RAINY CLOCK the ladybird ...Bk1905 Eng. dial.
• RAINY CLOCKER the ladybird ...Bk1905 Eng. dial.
• VIRGIN MARY the ladybird ...1966 Sc.
LADY'S MAN - nouns, person
• BORE a rude or disrespectful man who is fond of being with women and tries to attract their attention ...1965 Amer. dial.
• CAKE a lady's man ...1920s Amer. sl.
• CAKE-EATER a lady's man; a male flirt; a wealthy young man, a playboy ...1910s Amer. sl.
• CALICO to pass one's time with ladies ...Bk1913-17 Amer. dial.
• CANDYMAN a dandy; a lady's man ...1913 Amer. dial.
• CASSA a ladies' man ...1940s Aust. sl.
• DAMMARET † a lady's man; 'one that spends his whole time in the entertaining or courting of women' ...1635
• DAMOURET † a ladies' man; one who spends his time in the entertaining or courting of women ...a1649
• DAPPER DAN a flashily dressed man; a lady's man; one who is fond of being with women and tries to attract their attention ...1967 Amer. sl.
• DARK GABLE a suave, handsome Black man; a ladies' man ...1959 US sl.
• DINK a lady's man ,,,E20 US sl.
• FANCY DAN a flashily dressed man; a ladies' man ...1930s Amer. sl.
• FLAMER an enthusiast; a success with the female sex, a lady's man ...L19 sl.
• GALLANT * one who pays court to ladies, a ladies' man; also, a lover, in a bad sense, a paramour ...a1450
• JACK AMONGST THE MAIDENS one who is always after women's society, and who likes to be made much of by them ...Bk1902 Eng. dial.
• JACK AMONG THE MAIDS a gallant; a ladies' man ...1785
• LADY-KILLER a man who considers himself to be irresistible to women; a lady's man ...1811 sl.
• LADY-MONGER a term of contempt for a lady's man ...1597
• MACARONI a ladies' man ...M20 US sl.
• MACK a ladies' man; a playboy ...1991 Amer. rap music usage
• MACK DADDY a ladies' man; a playboy ...1991 Amer. rap music usage
• MOLL-BUZZER a ladies' man ...1913 Amer. sl.
• POODLE-FAKER a man who cultivates female society, esp. for professional advancement ...1902 sl., chiefly services' usage
• PUFF a lady's man ...c1935 RAF
• SWEETBACK a woman's lover; a lady's man ...1929 US sl.
• SWEETBACK MAN a woman's lover; a lady's man ...1929 US sl.
• SWEET MAN a woman's lover; a lady's man ...1942 US sl.
• TOMMY-BUSTER one who takes women by storm ...Bk1942 Amer. sl.
• TOPGALLANT a ladies' man, a philanderer ...1701 nonce word
• TOUGH CAT a male who is very successful with women; usually said in reference to a Black male ...M20 US sl.
• VILLAGE RAM a local philanderer and ladies' man ...1930s W. Indies sl.
• WOMAN-KILLER a man who considers himself to be irresistible to women; a lady's man ...E19 sl.
LADY'S MAN - phrases
• WRAPT UP IN THE TAIL OF HIS MOTHER'S SMOCK applied to anyone who is remarkable for his success with the ladies' ...c1780 sl.
LAG, LAGGARD, LAGGING - nouns, person
• AGTEROS a plodder, a dawdler, one who lags behind ...L19 S. Afr. sl.
• DAGGLER a laggard, an idler, a lounger ...1825 Sc.
• DAIGLER a laggard, an idler, a lounger ...1825 Sc.
• LAG a laggard, a loiterer, one who lingers or falls behind ...1866 Sc.
• LAGGARD one who lags behind; a lingerer, a loiterer ...1808
• LAG-LAST one who lags or lingers to the very last ...1830
• SLOW-BELLY a lazy, idle, or indolent person; a sluggard, a laggard ...1607
• SLOWCOME a slow person; a lagging, stupid, lazy fellow; a lazy, sluggish fellow; an idler ...1882 Eng. dial.
• TAG-HEELS a tagalong; a sycophant; a parasite; a hanger-on; somebody who always follows along behind; one who lags behind ...1965 Amer. dial.
• TAG-TAIL a person who attaches himself to another against the will of the latter; a dependent, sycophant, toady, hanger-on, parasite; one who always follows along; one who lags behind ...1864
• TAIL a tagalong; a hanger-on; one who lags behind ...1965 Amer. dial.
• TAIL-BEHIND. a tagalong; a hanger-on; one who lags behind ...1965 Amer. dial.
• TAIL END a tagalong; a hanger-on; one who lags behind ...1965 Amer. dial.
• TAILER a tagalong; a hanger-on; one who lags behind; a follower ...1942 Amer. dial.
• TAILGATE a tagalong; a hanger-on; one who lags behind ...1965 Amer. dial.
• TAIL-TAGGER a tagalong; a hanger-on; one who lags behind ...1965 Amer. dial.
• TAIL-TWISTER a tagalong; a hanger-on; one who lags behind ...1965 Amer. dial.
• TAR BUCKET a tagalong; a hanger-on; one who lags behind ...1915 Amer. dial.
• WAFFLER a weak, indecisive, vacillating person; one who hesitates; a ditherer; a laggard ...1819 Sc. & Eng. dial.
LAG - verbs
• LAGGARD to play the laggard ...1865
• LAGGER † to lag, to linger, to loiter ...c1620
LAGGING - adjectives
• BELAGGED left behind, outstripped in walking ...1795 Eng. dial.
• LAG * belated, lingering behind, tardy, lagging ...1568
• LAGGARD lagging, hanging back, loitering, slow ...1702
• ON THE DAIDLE behindhand, lagging behind ...1915 Sc.
• SLOWBACK † sluggish, laggard ...1619
LAGOON - nouns
• BRANCH a lagoon or slough; a body of still water off to the side of a river or lake ...1965 Amer. dial.
LAID-BACK - adjectives
• CAJ casual, laid-back, conducive to a good time ...1990 Amer. sl.
• CAS casual, laid-back, conducive to a good time ...1990 Amer. sl.
• CAZH casual, laid-back, conducive to a good time ...1981 Amer. campus sl.
• CHILLING calm, cool, laid back ...1987 Amer. sl., esp. Black usage
• CHILLY calm, cool, or laid back ...1971 US sl.
• KAZH casual, laid-back, conducive to a good time ...1981 Amer. campus sl.
LAIR - nouns
• CABBAGE †* a den or lair ...1567
• KENNEL a the hole or lair of the fox ...1735
• SCRETHY-HOLE † a lair ...1824 Eng. dial.
LAIR - verbs
• KENNEL of a fox or other wild beast: to retreat into a lair ...1552
LAITY - nouns
• LAY † the lay people, laity; also, a layman ...c1330
• LEALTY †* laity ...1548
LAITY- nouns, person
• LAYMAN a man who is not a cleric; one of the laity ...1432-50
LAKE - adjectives
• LAKISH † abounding in lakes or pools; inhabiting a lake ...1590
LAKE - nouns
• BINNEWATER a small lake ...1901 Amer. dial.
• LAKELET a small lake ...1796
• LAY † a lake, a pool ...a1000 obs. exc. Eng. dial.
• MERE a small lake or sheet of standing water; a pond ...1788 Sc. & Eng. dial.
• MERE-SIDE the margin of a lake ...Bk1905 Eng. dial.
• PANI a sheet of water, a lake ...1923 Sc.
• RAKES line of white foam on lakes, often noticeable before a storm ...Bk1905 Eng. dial.
• SPLASH any form of water, eg. a river, a lake, a sea, a bath ...1940s US Black sl.
LAMB - nouns (also see SHEEP)
• TARGET a leg and breast of lamb combined ...Bk1905 Eng. dial.
LAME - adjectives
• BOISTOUS † halting, lame
• CLAUDICANT † lame, limping, halting ...1624 obs.
• GAM lame, crooked, deformed; disabled, injured, sore; of an eye: wavering, uncertain ...1790 Sc. & Eng. dial.
• GAME lame, crippled, crooked, deformed; disabled, injured, sore; of an eye: wavering, uncertain ...1790 Sc. & Eng. dial.
• GAMMY lame; disabled through injury or pain; injured ...1879 Eng. dial. & sl.
• GAMY lame, crippled ...M19 sl.
• GIMPY lame in the leg ...c1930 sl., orig. US
• HALT lame; crippled; limping ...c893 arch. & literary
• HAMBLE-SHANKED † maimed or lame in the leg ..1661
• HIRPLE lame, limp, tender-footed ...B1900 Eng. dial.
• HOPPER-HIPPED † lame in the hip ...1500-20
• LEFT-HANDED † crippled, lame, defective ...1629
• LIMPY lame; crippled ...1955 Amer. dial.
• PALIE defective, deformed, lame ...1825 Sc.
• QUEER-GAMMED lame, crippled ...L18 sl.
• RICKETY weak, ill-nourished; lame, suffering from rickets ...1896 Sc. & Eng. dial.
LAME - nouns, person
• DECRIPPIT a cripple, a lame person; one who is decrepit ...1887 Eng. dial.
• GAMMY a nickname for a lame person ...B1900 Eng. dial. & sl.
• GIMP a lame person or leg ...1925 sl., orig US
• HAINCHER a lame person ...1887 Sc.
• HENCHER a lame person ...1887 Sc.
• HIRPLE a lame person; a cripple ...1894 chiefly Sc. & N. Eng. dial.
• HOP-AND-GO-KICK one who walks lame ...c1860 sl.
• HOPPING-GILES one who limps; a lame person ...B1900 Eng. dial.
• LAMESTER a lame person; a cripple ...1639
• LAMETER a lame person; a cripple ...1804 Sc. & Eng. dial.
• LAMIGER a lame person; a cripple ...1829 Eng. dial.
• LAMITER a lame person; a cripple ...1804 Sc. & Eng. dial.
• LAMMIGER a lame person, a cripple ...1847 Eng. dial.
• LAMPSIE a nickname for a slightly lame person ...1928 Sc.
• LIMPING JESUS a lame person ...19C sl.
• MR. HOPKINS a lame or limping man ...L18 sl.
• REEVER a man or animal in poor condition; a lame man, horse, etc. ...Bk1904 Eng. dial.
LAME - verbs
• BELAY to fall upon with blows, to lame ...Bk1898 Eng. dial.
• BILT to go lame; to walk with crutches ...Bk1898 Sc.
• CLAUDICATE †* to limp, to be lame, to halt ...1623
• CRIMPLE † to be incurved, or drawn together; hence, to stand or walk lame from this or similar cause; to hobble, to limp; to move with pain or stiffness ...1398 obs. exc. Eng. dial.
• HALT to be lame, to walk lame, to limp ...c825 arch.
• HAMBLE to walk feebly or awkwardly; to walk lame; to limp; to stumble ...1808 Sc. & Eng. dial.
• HIMPLE † to limp, to hobble, to go lame ...1656 obs. exc. Eng. dial.
• HIRPLE to limp, to walk lamely or in a hobbling manner ...c1450 chiefly Scot & N. Eng. dial.
• MAIN † to lame, to maim ...1703
• TORFLE to founder, to go lame; to decline in health, to pine away, to languish; to lose interest in or draw back from an undertaking ...1575-6 Eng. dial.
LAMED - adjectives
• LAMPSED † lamed, disabled, injured ...1746 Eng. dial.
LAMENESS - nouns
• HAINCH a halt or limp in one's walk; lameness ...1887 Sc.
• LAME lameness ...1926 Amer. dial.
• MEANING an indication of pain or lameness ...Bk1905 Eng. dial.
LAMENT - adjectives
• LAMENTFUL * charged with lament; mournful ...1876
LAMENT - nouns
• LAMENTADO †* lament, lamentation ...1618
• QUIRITATION †* a complaint, a lament ...1634
LAMENT - verbs
• BEMOURN † to mourn over; to lament, to bewail ...a1000
• BLOWTER † to blubber; to weep effusively; to wail or lament with many tears ...?16C
• CARE † to mourn, to lament ...a1300
• COLLACHRYMATE †* to weep or lament with, or in sympathy with others; to commiserate ...1593
• GLOPPEN † to lament or mourn ...B1900
• GREET to weep, cry, lament, grieve ...OE
• JAMMER to lament; to cry aloud fretfully; to fret; to whimper; to complain; to grumble ...1774 Ireland
• LACHRYMATE † to weep, lament, bewail ...1623
• LAMENTATE to lament, to complain ...1936 Amer. dial.
• MAKE SITE †* to lament, to mourn ...1338
• QUAIN †* to lament, to bewail, to bemoan ...a1300
• RETURN BY WEEPING CROSS to regret deeply some undertaking, and repent of it; to be in a state of lamentation; to fail; to suffer defeat ...1659
• ROAR to bewail, to lament over ...c1734 Sc.
• SING SOL-FA to lament ...1566
• SING SORROW to lament ...1748
• SING THE BLACK SANCTUS † to lament ...1578
• SING WOE to lament ...1818
• TAKE ON to grieve, to lament ...1876 Sc.
• ULLAGONE to wail or lament loudly ...1828 Anglo-Irish
• ULULATE to howl or wail; to lament loudly ...1623
• YAMMER to lament, to mourn; to utter cries of lamentation or distress, to wail; to cry aloud fretfully; to whine, to whimper, to fret ...1481 obs. exc. Sc. & Eng. dial.
• YAMOUR to lament; to cry aloud fretfully; to fret; to whimper; to complain; to grumble ...1774 Sc.
• YIMMER to lament; to cry aloud fretfully; to fret; to whimper; to complain; to grumble ...1774 N. Ireland
• YOMER to lament; to cry aloud fretfully; to fret; to whimper; to complain; to grumble ...1774 Sc.
LAMENT - interjections
• OY GEVALT! used for expressing a lament, protest, dismay, or delight ...1968 US (Yiddish)
• SIRS, THE DAY! an exclamation of surprise or lament ...1887 Eng. dial.
LAMENTABLE - adjectives
• BEMOANABLE † deplorable, lamentable ...1611
• EARNFUL † causing anxiety or yearning; anxious; full of longing desire; sorrowful, lamentable, melancholy, sad ...c1500 obs. exc. Eng. dial.
• ERNEFUL sad, lamentable, pitiable; sorrowful, melancholy ...1691 Eng. dial.
• ERNFUL † sad, lamentable, pitiable; sorrowful, melancholy ...1679 obs. exc. Eng. dial.
• IMPLORABLE † lamentable; deplorable ...1535
• LACHRYMABLE † lamentable; meet for tears or weeping ...1490
• LACRYMABLE † lamentable; meet for tears or weeping ...1490
LAMENTATION - adjectives
• LAMENTATIOUS †* marked by lamentation ...1387
• PLORABUND †* making great lamentation ...B1900
• LAMENTATIOUS †* marked by lamentation ...1387
• LAMENTATORY †* marked by lamentation ...1576
LAMENTATION - nouns
• CARE † utterance of sorrow; lamentation, mourning ...a1000
• DIRGIE a dirge; a song of lamentation ...1867 Sc.
• EJULATION † wailing, lamentation ...a1619
• IMPLORATION †* deploring; lamentation ...1607
• JEREMIAD a lamentation; a writing or speech in a strain of grief or stress; a doleful complaint; a complaining tirade; a lugubrious effusion ...1780
• LAMACHEELIE a noisy lamentation, a loud wail, an outcry ...1925 Sc.
• LAMACHREE a noisy lamentation, a loud wail, an outcry ...1925 Sc.
• LAMENTADO †* lament, lamentation ...1618
• MEAN a moan, a lamentation; a complaint ...1747 Sc. & Eng. dial.
• ROARING weeping, lamentation ...1772 Sc.
• ULLAGONE a cry of lamentation; a wail; a funeral lament ...1828 Anglo-Irish
• ULULATION a howl or wail; a cry of lamentation ...1599
• ULULU a wailing cry; a wail of lamentation ...1854
• VAGIT † a cry, lamentation, wail ...1627
• WAILMENT † wailing, lamentation ...1593
• WAIMING † lamentation ...a1300
• WALAWAY a lamentation ...1822 Sc.
• WALLY-WAEING a lamentation ...1822 Sc.
• WALLY-WALLYING lamentation ...1821 Sc. & N. Eng. dial.
• WALY-WALYING lamentation ...1821 Sc. & N. Eng. dial.
• WAMMING † lamentation ...a1300
• YAMMER a cry of lamentation, a wail; a loud outcry, shout, yell; lamentation, querulous utterance; a whimpering, a continuous loud complaining; grumbling ...1500-20 Sc. & Eng. dial.
LAMENTATION - interjections
• OHONE! a Scottish and Irish exclamation of lamentation ...c1480
LAMENTING - adjectives
• GEMENT † groaning, lamenting ...1656
• ICHABODIAN regretful, lamenting ...1887
• ULULATIVE † wailing, lamenting ...1490
• YAUPING crying in despair, lamenting ...1787 Eng. dial.
LAMP - nouns
• BITCH an improvised lamp consisting of a twisted rag wick in a container of grease ...1904 Amer. dial.
• LAMPADARY * a cluster of lamps; a candelabrum ...1885
• MATCH † the wick of a candle or lamp ...1377
• ŐLLIE-COLLIE an oil lamp ...1892 Sc.
LAMP - nouns, person
• LAMPERS those who call each day and keep in perfect order the lamps of the household ...1886 US colloq.
LAMP - verbs
• QUIRK of a lamp: to flicker ...Bk1905 Eng. dial.
LANCE - verbs
• ELANCE † to launch; to cast or throw a lance or dart ...1718 obs. or arch.
LANCING - nouns
• LAUNCH † the act of lancing; a prick ...1558
LAND - adjectives
• CALLOW of land: bare ...1677
• GAINABLE †* of land: cultivable ...1480
• LABOURSOME † of land: difficult of cultivation ...1604
• LACKLAND of persons: having no land ...1887
• LAND-BRED brought up on land ...1591
• LANDISH † belonging to the land or country; native ...a1300
• LAND-STEAD provided with landed property ....1688 Colonial usage
• OMY † of land: mellow ...1669 Eng. dial.
• PASTINATE † of land: dug, prepared for planting ...c1420
• SEEPY of land: constantly damp ...1859 Amer. dial.
LAND - adverbs
• LAND-GATE † by land ...1536 Sc.
• LANDWAYS by land ...1792 Sc.
LAND - nouns
• ACRE † a piece of tilled or arable land; a field ...c975
• ACRE-LAND † ploughed or arable land ...a1400
• DEVIL'S HALF ACRE a rough or unworkable piece of land ...1968 Amer. dial.
• DEVIL'S HOMESTEAD a rough or unworkable piece of land ...1969 Amer. dial.
• EARTH-HUNGER desire to possess land, greed of territory ...1856
• ENTS † the ends of lands ...1796 Eng. dial.
• FALLOW † a piece of ploughed land; also, collectively, ploughed land in general, arable land ...c1300
• GOBACK LAND land once cultivated but long since neglected ...Bk1913-17 Amer. dial.
• HALSE † a narrow neck of land or channel of water ...c1470
• HARD dry land ...1950 Amer. dial.
• HASKINESS dryness and insipidity of food; the parched condition of land ...Bk1902 Eng. dial.
• LABEL † a narrow piece of land ...1577-87
• LAIRDOCRACY lairds as forming a ruling class ...1848 Sc.
• LAND-GATE † 1. way or passage over land ...1637 Sc.
† 2. (usually as 'landgate') a long and narrow piece of land ...1726
• LAND-LINE the outline of the land against sky and sea ...1875
• LAND-METE † a measurement of land ...1608
• LAND-WAY † a way or path over land ...c1250
• MANISHMENT the method of cultivating and nourishing the land; manure and other fertilizers ...Bk1905 Eng. dial.
• NECKLAND † a neck or narrow strip of land ...1598
• PAFFLE a small parcel of land ...1818 Sc.
• PARCEL GROUND † a 'parcel' of land ...1632
• PARCELMENT * division into parcels of land ...1847
• PARTICLE † a small portion of land ...1839 Sc.
• POFFLE a small parcel of land ...1818 Sc.
• QUILLET † a small plot or narrow strip of land ...1533-4 obs. exc. Eng. dial.
• RAND † a border, margin, or brink of land ...a1300 obs. exc. Eng. dial.
• RANGE a strip of land; a border ...1865 Sc. & Eng. dial.
• RANGLE COMMON a piece of common land over which anyone may wander at will ...Bk1905 Eng. dial.
• RAP a thin strip of land; the crop grown on such a strip ...1884 Eng. dial.
• SCOPE a tract of land, woods, etc. ...1895 Amer. dial.
• SCRIBE a long and narrow strip of arable land ...Bk1904 Eng. dial.
• TAIL † a piece or 'slip' of irregularly bounded land jutting out from a larger piece ...1472 Sc.
• THREAP-GROUND land the ownership of which is disputed ...1825 Eng. dial.
• YERD-HUNGER voracious desire for land ...1823 Sc.
LAND - nouns, person
• HADLAND † a humorous title for one who formerly owned land and has lost it ...1592
• LACKLAND a person owning no land: one who has no landed possessions; one who rules over no territory ...1594
• LAIRD a lord; a landed proprietor; a land owner, a yeoman ...c1450
• LAIRDESS a laird's wife ...1863 Sc.
• LAIRDIE a petty laird ...1700s Sc.
• LAND BIRD a landlubber; a person having no experience at sea ...1827 US nautical sl.
• LAND-COUPER one who buys and sells land ...1830 Sc.
• LAND CRAB a landlubber' a person having no experience at sea ...1861 US nautical sl.
• LAND-DOCTOR a professional valuer of land ...1808 Eng. dial.
• LANDLOOKER a land agent or speculator ...1840 Amer. dial.
• LAND-LOPER † a land-lubber; a freshwater seaman; a landsman ...1694
• LAND-LUBBER a sailor's term of contempt for a landsman ...a1700
• LANDMAN † 1. one who lives or has his business on land, as opposed to a 'seaman' ...1480 now rare or obs.
† 2. a man having landed property ...1562
• LANDMASTER n. a proprietor of land, a landowner ...1795 Sc.
• LAND-METER † a land-measurer or surveyor ...1582
• LAND-METSTER a land-measurer, a surveyor ...1714 Sc.
• LAND-METTER a land-measurer, a surveyor ...1726 Sc.
• LAND-SHARK * land-grabber ...1857
• LANDSMAN one who lives or has his business on land, as opposed to a 'seaman' ...1666-7
• LEVEL-LANDER a dweller on level land ...1864 nonce word
• MAILANDER one who rents land as a farmer ...1714 Sc.
• OLD JOHN COE a man with large land holdings ...1967 Amer. dial.
LAND - verbs
• CALIFORNICATE to overdevelop the land ...20C Amer. sl.
• LAND to bestow land upon ...1624 obs. nonce usage
• MANNER to manure; to prepare land for crops ...Bk1905 Sc. & Eng. dial.
• PEACOCK † to acquire the best pieces of land in such a way that the surrounding land is useless to others ... Aust. sl.
LANDED - nouns
• ACREOCRACY the landed interest ...Bk1921 sl.
LANDING - nouns
• DESS a step; a small landing-place ...1838 Sc.
• LANDAGE † landing, coming ashore ...1470-85
LANDLADY - nouns, person
• LANDPROP a landlady or landlord ...1936 US Black sl.
• MARM POOSEY a flashily dressed public house landlady ...L19 sl.
• MARM-PUSS a flashily dressed public house landlady ...L19 sl.
• MAT a public house or lodging-house landlady ...M19 sl.
• MIVEY the landlady of a lodging-house ...L19 sl.
• MIVVY the landlady of a lodging-house ...L19 sl.
• MIVY the landlady of a lodging-house ...L19 sl.
• MOT a public house or lodging-house landlady ...M19 sl.
• MOTT a public house or lodging-house landlady ...M19 sl.
• MOTTE a public house or lodging-house landlady ...M19 sl.
• SAW the landlady of a cheap rooming house ...1940s US Black sl.
• WARDIN †* a landlady, a hostess ...1493
LANDLORD - nouns
• LANDLORDRY †* landlords as a class ...1597-8
LANDLORD - nouns, person
• LANDPROP a landlady or landlord ...1936 US Black sl.
• MASTER a landlord, a laird ...Bk1905 Sc.
• OMEE a landlord ...M19 sl.
• OMER a landlord ...M19 sl.
• OMEY a landlord ...M19 sl.
• OMI a landlord ...M19 sl.
• RAMROD a landlord ...M19 sl.
LANDMARK - nouns
• MARCH † a boundary mark; a landmark ...1513
• MEAR a boundary, a limit; a landmark ...1622 Eng. dial.
• MEAR-STANG † a landmark ...Bk1905 Eng. dial.
LANDMARK - verbs
• MARCH † to mark the boundaries of with landmarks ...1541 Sc.
LANDMINE - nouns
• DEVIL EGG a landmine ...Amer. World War I sl.
• EGG a bomb; a mine; a depth charge ...Amer. World War I sl.
LANDSCAPE - nouns
• GARNITURE natural objects, as trees, etc., as ornaments of the landscape ...1684
• SCAPE a landscape; a portion of ground ...1788 Sc. & Eng. dial.
LANDSCAPE - nouns, person
• LANDSCAPE-WORKER † one who paints landscapes ...1598
LANDSLIDE - adjectives
• LANDSLIPPY characterized by landslips or landslides ...1893
LANDSLIDE - nouns
• BREAK-A-LOOSE a landslide ...1970 Amer. dial.
• CALVE a fall of earth, a landslip, a bulging or falling in of a wall, etc. ...1873 Eng. dial.
• CAVE a landslide ...1965 Amer. dial.
• CAVE-IN a landslide ...1957 Amer. dial.
• CAVE-OFF a landslide ...1965 Amer. dial.
• EARTHFALL a fall of earth or a landslide
• EARTHSLIDE a landslide ...1942 Amer. dial.
• LAND-RUSH † landslip ...1549
• LANDSLIP the sliding down of a mass of land on a mountain or cliff side; land which has so fallen; a landslide ...1679
LANE - adjectives
• LANEY pert. to a lane ...1876 nonce word
LANE - nouns
• BATER a lane leading to a high road ...Bk1898 Eng. dial.
• DRONG a narrow lane or passage ...L18 Eng. Dial.
• ENTRY-MOUTH the end or entrance of a narrow lane or passage ...1856 N. Ireland
• OCCUPATION ROAD a by-road or lane ...1895 Eng. dial.
• RUELLE in France, a small street; a lane, an alley ...B1900
• TEWER a narrow lane or passage; an alley ...1869 Eng. dial.
• TUER a narrow lane or passage; an alley ...1869 Eng. dial.
• VENNEL a narrow lane, passage, or thoroughfare in a town or city; an alley or wynd ...1435 chiefly Sc.
• VINNAL a narrow alley or lane between houses ...1702 Sc. & N. Eng. dial.
• VINNEL an alley; a narrow lane or passage ...1853 Sc.
LANGUAGE - adjectives
• ALL NICELY WRAPPED UP in seemly language ...L19 colloq.
• BABYLONISH confused in language...1663
• BAGGY of language: inflated, verbose ...1866
• BAWDY † of language: vile, abominable, barbarous ...1519
• BILINGUOUS † bilingual, speaking two languages ...1730
• BLACKGUARD characterized by abusive or obscene language ...1806 Amer. dial.
• BLASPHEMATORY † blasphemous; cursing and swearing; using vile reproachful language ...1611
• BRAID having a strong dialect language or accent ...Bk1911 Sc.
• DIGLOSSAL using the same language in two ways, as colloquially and formally ...Bk1913-17 Amer. dial.
• FAIR † of language, diction: elegant ...c1380
• GALLANT † of language; full of showy expressions, ornate, specious ...1484
• GLOTTICAL † concerned with the study of languages ...1660
• ILL-GABBED foul-mouthed; having a habit of using insolent, abusive language ...1895 Sc.
• ILL-TONGUED having a malicious tongue; speaking evil; slanderous; using bad language; foul-mouthed ...a1300
• LARGE †* of language: used in a wide sense, loose, inaccurate ...c1400
• LINGUISHED † skilled in languages ...1607
• MONOGLOT 1. speaking or using only one language ...1830
2. written in only one language...1890
• NEAT †* of a language: pure ...1686
• OCTOGLOT written in eight languages ...1888
• OMNILINGUAL speaking or understanding all languages ...1893
• PANTOGLOSSICAL †* belonging to all tongues or languages ...1716
• PANTOGLOT knowing or speaking all languages ...1895
• PENTAGLOTTICAL † skilled or written in five languages ...1656
• POLYGLOTTOUS speaking or writing in many or several languages; using many languages ...1861
• QUADRILINGUAL using or written in four languages ...1876
• QUEER PROPER of language: formal or standard, as opposed to colloquial or dialectal ...1963 Amer. dial.
• SALTY unpleasant, uncouth, crude; of language: obscene ...1920s US teen sl.
• UGLY-MOUTHED foul-mouthed, given to bad language ...1889 Eng. dial.
• VERNACULARY † of a language or dialect: that is naturally spoken by the people of a particular country or district; native, indigenous ...1652
• VERNACULE †* of a language or dialect: that is naturally spoken by the people of a particular country or district; native, indigenous ...1669
• VERNACULOUS † that writes, uses, or speaks the native or indigenous language of a country or district ...1658
LANGUAGE - adverbs
• VERNACLY † vernacularly, in the native or mother tongue ...1673
LANGUAGE - nouns
• ABSONISM †* something discordant in the use of language ...1593
• ACYROLOGY † incorrect use of language or words; improper speech ...1656
• ALSATIA PHRASE terms from slang or criminal jargon ...E17 sl.
• AMPERLASH saucy, abusive language ...1879 Eng. dial.
• ANGUAGELA language ...L19 sl.
• ANIMAL a translation of a foreign language text ...1900 Amer. students' sl.
• ARMY LATIN foul or profane language ...1864 US jocular
• AUSSIE Australian English ...1945 Aust. sl.
• AUSTRALIAN Australian English ...1902 Aust.
• BACK-JAW impudence; abusive language ...1932 Sc.
• BAFFLEGAB incomprehensible or pretentious verbiage or jargon ...1952 colloq., chiefly N. Amer.
• BALDERDASH filthy or obscene talk or writing; impudent language; abuse ...1715 Eng. dial.
• BARBARY † uncultivated speech as opposed to a classical language or classic diction ...1509
• BARNYARD EXPRESSION coarse or vulgar language; slang ...1968 Amer. dial.
• BARRIKIN high-flown language; unintelligible language; gibberish, jargon ...1851 Eng. sl.
• BAT, THE the colloquial speech or language of a foreign country ...1892
• BAWDY lewd, obscene language, lewdness, obscenity ...1698
• BESTIALITY filthy language, obscenity ...1879
• BRAVERIE fine or ornate language ...Bk1911 Sc.
• CANT † 1. the peculiar phraseology of a religious sect or class ...1681
2. a stock phrase that is much affected at the time, or is repeated as a matter of habit or form ...1681 arch.
3. the special phraseology of a particular class of persons, or belonging to a particular subject; professional or technical jargon; always depreciative or contemptuous ...1684
4. the secret speech or jargon of the vagrant classes - gypsies, thieves, beggars, etc; hence, contemptuously, the peculiar phraseology of a particular class or subject ...1706
• CHAT terminology, a special language, jargon ...1950s sl.
• DAGO (derogatory) a southern European language, esp. Italian or Spanish; broadly, a foreign language ...1823 US sl.
• DAMSON-PIE abuse; a slanging match; obscene language ...c1865 colloq.
• DAMSON TART a humorous term for profane language ...1887 Eng. dial.
• DOUBLE DUTCH unintelligible or garbled speech or language ...1875 sl.
• FAGLISH gay slang ...1980s US gay sl.
• FIVE-DOLLAR EXPRESSIONS language that the speaker considers to be unnecessarily difficult or intellectual ...20C US sl.
• FIVE-DOLLAR WORDS language that the speaker considers to be unnecessarily difficult or intellectual ...20C US sl.
• FLASH-LINGO patter interlarded with cant words and phrases ... Bk1893 sl.
• FLUBDUB bombastic or inept language; nonsense, balderdash ...1888 Amer. dial.
• FRENCH dirty words or swear words in English ...20C US colloq.
• GAB a language ...a1845 jocular nonce use
• GALEE bad language ...Bk1892 Anglo-Indian sl.
• GALLEY-SLANG the neological barbarisms foisted into sea-language ...1867
• GAMMON † the language of cant ...1797 UK sl.
• GAMMON AND PATTER † the language of cant ...1789 UK sl.
• GAMMY cant or criminal language ...1812 UK criminals' sl.
• GANSEL a severe rebuke; a scolding; insolent language ...1710 Sc.
• GOO-GOO an unintelligible foreign language ...1970s US sl.
• GOOK (derogatory) any foreign language ...1910s sl., orig. US military
• GUM-CHEWING WORDS slang ...Bk1942 Amer. sl.
• IDIOTISM † the speech, language, or dialect peculiar to a country, age, etc. ...1588
• ILL-GAB insolent, impudent language; the power to use such language ...Bk1905 Sc.
• ILL-JAW bad language; an abusive tongue ...1824 Sc.
• ILL TONGUE bad language, an abusive tongue ...1785 Sc.
• ILL-MOUTH insolent, abusive language ...Bk1905 Sc.
• ILL-WEEN bad language; an abusive tongue ...Bk1905 Sc.
• HAGGERSNASH tart language ...B1900 Sc.
• JABBERWOCK nonsense language or verse ...19C
• JAZZ JARGON slang ...Bk1942 Amer. sl.
• JIBS language; speech ...Bk1896 cant
• KABAC GENALS backslang ...L19 sl.
• KABGNALS backslang ...L19 sl.
• KENNICK a mixture of 'flash-patter' (cant) and 'padding-ken' (low lodging-house) talk ...1860s sl.
• KIM-KAM an altercation; irritating language ...B1900 Eng. dial.
• KING'S ENGLISH standard American English ...1920s US Black sl.
• LAND-SPEECH † a language, tongue ...c1250
• LANGUE †* a tongue or language ...c1330
• LEDEN † the language of a nation, people, or race; a 'tongue' ...c1000
• LEED † language, tongue ...1513
• LEFT-HAND TONGUE † a language written from right to left, as Hebrew or Arabic ...a1632
• NASH-GAB insolent language; impertinence ...Bk1902 sl.
• NATIVE native speech ...Bk1905 Eng. dial.
• NATURAL †* native language ...1665
• OFFICIALESE the language characteristic of officials or of official documents ...1884 nonce word
• OLIGOGLOTTISM slight knowledge of languages ...Bk1909
• OLLAPOD a hotchpotch; a medley; an incongruous mixture; a mixture of languages ...1804
• OLLAPODISM a sentence made up of various languages ...1837 nonce word
• OLLA PODRIDA a hotchpotch, a medley; a mixture of languages ...a1634
• ORDURE foul language 'thrown' at a person ...c1374
• ORIENTALS † oriental languages ...1680
• PARL † language, parlance, vocabulary ...1733 Sc. nonce use
• PARLEYVOO the French language ...M18 sl.
• PEDDLER'S FRENCH underworld slang ...1530
• PEDLAR'S FRENCH underworld slang ...1530
• QUEER PATTER a foreign language ...E19 UK criminals' sl.
• RIBBLE-RABBLE confused meaningless language; rigmarole, gibble-gabble ...1601 arch. or Sc. & Eng. dial.
• SCOOSE discourse, altercation, dispute, bad language ...Bk1904 Eng. dial.
• SILLABUB inconsequential puff; florid, inane language
• SINGLISH a Singaporean adaptation of the English language; a variety of English used in Sri Lanka ...2001 Singapore
• SLANGUAGE slang ...Bk1942 Amer. sl.
• SMUT obscene language ...17C
• SOUTHRON † the English tongue or language ...1513 Sc.
• SPIG the Spanish language ...1913 US sl.
• SPIGGOTY the Spanish language ...1910s US sl.
• ST. GILES'S GREEK slang, cant ...L18 sl.
• STREAMLINE SPEECH slang ...Bk1942 Amer. sl.
• TALE †* speech, language ...c1250
• TALKEE-TALKEE imperfect or broken English used by some native races ...1808
• TATHERUM-A-DYAL complicated or unintelligible language ...Bk1905 Eng. dial.
• THIEVES' LATIN the secret language or 'cant' of thieves ...1821
• THREE TONGUES, THE † Hebrew, Greek, and Latin ...1560
• TONGUES, THE foreign languages; often the classical or learned languages ....1535
• TIGHT JEFF well-rehearsed patter ...1960s US Black sl.
• TRENCH TALK military slang ...World War I Amer. sl.
• TUMMUS-AN-MEARY broad Lancashire dialect ...Bk1905 Eng. dial.
• TWO-DOLLAR WORDS. language that the speaker considers to be unnecessarily difficult or intellectual ...20C US sl.
• UNPARLIAMENTARY LANGUAGE language unfit for polite discussion; violent or obscene language ...Bk1958 sl.
• WOG any language that isn't English ...1988 Aust. sl.
• WOODS FRENCH a limited ability in French ...1980 Can.
• YABBER speech, language, talk, chatter; applied to the speech of the Australian aborigines ...1874 Aust.
• YANKEE the dialect of New England; loosely, American English generally ...1824
• YANKEESE American English ...1883 nonce word
• YARDNEY a manner of speech combining West Indian and London accents and vocabularies; 'Yardie and Cockney' ...1999 UK sl.
LANGUAGE - nouns, person
• LANGUAGER †* one versed in languages ...c1570
• MONOGLOT one who knows only one language ...1894
• NEEDLE-SPITTER one who uses sharp language ...1805 nonce word
• PANTOGLOT one who speaks many languages ...1895
• POLYGLOTTER a person that speaks several languages ...1912 colloq.
• SLEEPING DICTIONARY a foreign woman with whom a man has a sexual relationship and from whom he learns the rudiments of her language ...1928 sl.
LANGUAGE - verbs
• CANT 1. to speak the jargon of gypsies, beggars, and other vagrants ...1592
† 2. to use the special phraseology or jargon of a particular class or subject ...1625
† 3. to say or exclaim in the pet phraseology of the day; to use the phrases currently affected at the time ...1648
• GAMMON † to speak criminal slang or cant ...1789 UK sl.
• HAPPER-GALLICKS to speak the Gaelic tongue ...1787 Sc.
• JABBER to talk a foreign language ...M16 sl.
• PARLEYVOO to speak a foreign language, esp. to speak French ...M18 sl.
• PARLEY-VOUS to speak a foreign language, esp. to speak French ...M18 sl.
• PATTER FLASH to talk in thieves' lingo ...1827 sl.
• RAMP to use violent language ..1827 Sc. & Eng. dial.
• RAUNCH OUT to offend by making sexual remarks or using offensive language ...1970s US campus sl.
• SCOOSE to discourse; to dispute, to use bad language ...1869 Eng. dial.
• SLING THE BAT to speak the 'lingo' of a foreign country ...1892 orig. military usage
• TALK PROPER to talk Standard English ...20C sl.
• TALK SAILOR LIKE AN OLD SALT to use nautical language ...1881
• TEAR THE TARTAN to speak Gaelic ...1934 Sc.
• VERNACULATE † to use native language ...1895 US
• VERNACULIZE † to translate into the native speech of a people; to make vernacular ...a1802
LANGUAGE - interjections
• OH, MISS WESTON! expressing disapproval of strong language ...c1910 Royal Navy sl.