Seldom-used words - M to A

[Handley_Page]

Thank you, Handley and Og, for the information on the ancient use of libation. It makes a lot more sense, now.

This one caught my eye, along with all the other words associated with it;

lexeme - noun (1938) a meaningful linguistic unit that is an item in the vocabulary of a language

Perhaps this definition from my little Oxford may be a bit clearer:-

lexeme, noun Linguistics;
a basic lexical unit of a language consisting of one or several words, the elements of which do not separately convey the meaning of the whole.
– origin 1940s: from lexicon + -eme.

 

[AllardChardon]

Yes, Handley, that does help to explain lexeme.

A new older word for me;

lewis - noun (1743) an iron dovetailed tenon that is made in sections, can be fitted into a dovetail mortise, and is used in hoisting large stones

 

[Handley_Page]

Yes, Handley, that does help to explain lexeme.

A new older word for me;

lewis - noun (1743) an iron dovetailed tenon that is made in sections, can be fitted into a dovetail mortise, and is used in hoisting large stones

Near my house runs a canal. There's a lock nearby and it can be an entertaining while watching some incompetent boat-person make a real mess of going up the lock.
A few years ago, the Waterways people decided that the lock needed a serious over-haul, such as new lock gates ($30,000!) and stones were cleaned, old ones ripped out and new ones inserted.
In the top surface there's a hole.
And THATS the hole the Lewis fits in.

Thank you, Allard.

 

[AllardChardon]

Handley, it is always nice to know how a dictionary entry functions in the real world, thanks for sharing.

Because this is Literotica, I must add this one;

lewd - adj (14c) 1. obs: EVIL, WICKED 2.a. sexually unchaste or licentious b. OBSCENE, VULGAR

The obsolete definition is most interesting.

 

[oggbashan]

...

Because this is Literotica, I must add this one;

lewd - adj (14c) 1. obs: EVIL, WICKED 2.a. sexually unchaste or licentious b. OBSCENE, VULGAR

The obsolete definition is most interesting.

Shorter Oxford:

lewd - (Old English of unknown origin) Definitions 1 to 6 are obsolete.

1. lay, not clerical - in use up to 1819 [Og's note the distinction was between those in clerical orders, and those not who were 'lewd']

2. unlearned, unlettered - in use up to 1601 [Og's note - all schools were church based schools and reading and writing was generally restricted to those who were at least in minor clerical orders. But this was wrong because there were women who could write long before 1601, and they weren't in any religious order.]

3. belonging to the lower orders; common, low, vulgar - up to 1640 [Og's note - The Vulgate Bible https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulgate was the Latin Bible in common (hence vulgar) use.]

4. Ignorant, (implying a reproach); unskilful, bungling; ill-bred, ill-mannered - up to 1710.

5. Of persons: bad, wicked, base; unprincipled, ill-conditioned; good-for-nothing - up to 1709. [Og's note: good-for-nothing is a survival of the Anglo Saxon nithing - a person who is literally worthless, an outlaw, an outcast, who could be killed on sight. A nithing had no blood price if killed. Even a slave had a value that had to be paid to his owner if the slave was killed. Good-for-nothing WAS a very strong term.]

6. Of things; worthless, poor, sorry - up to 1692.

7. (From 5) Lascivious, unchaste (the only surviving sense).

 

[Handley_Page]

origin
Old English lǣwede (originally in sense ‘belonging to the laity’, later ‘belonging to the common people, vulgar’): of unknown origin.

 

[AllardChardon]

Very nice, Og and Handley, thank you for giving me all the answers that popped into my mind, plus a few more.

levirate - noun (1725) the sometimes compulsory marriage of a widow to a brother of her deceased husband

 

[Handley_Page]

Very nice, Og and Handley, thank you for giving me all the answers that popped into my mind, plus a few more.

levirate - noun (1725) the sometimes compulsory marriage of a widow to a brother of her deceased husband

Usually refers to the ancient Hebrew practice.
Quite what happens when the man is already married is, as yet, unexplained.

 

[AllardChardon]

Handley, the Hebrew men were allowed more than one wife, weren't they?

levin - noun (13c) archaic: LIGHTNING

 

[oggbashan]

Very nice, Og and Handley, thank you for giving me all the answers that popped into my mind, plus a few more.

levirate - noun (1725) the sometimes compulsory marriage of a widow to a brother of her deceased husband

That word reminds me of the Victorian obsession with the legality of 'marriage with deceased wife's sister'.

http://mentalfloss.com/article/49722/65-year-battle-over-deceased-wifes-sisters-marriage-act

What was the big deal? Opponents of the bill saw it as a slippery slope that would lead to the legalization of all kinds of incest. They drew arguments from the Bible: Genesis 2 states that husband and wife "became one flesh," therefore your wife's sister was really your own sister. Leviticus prohibits a man from uncovering "the nakedness of thy brother's wife," and so, by analogy, he shouldn't do it to his wife's sister either. Arguments from science included the bizarre claim that married couples become blood relations through some biological consequence of sexual intercourse, or that the idea that in-law marriage was wrong came from evolutionary instinct. People also thought it would destroy the family by encouraging husbands and their wives' sisters to lust after each other while the wives were still alive.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deceased_Wife's_Sister's_Marriage_Act_1907

 

[Handley_Page]

I wonder what the modern translation of Leviticus and the others would say?
Then again, the part would need to be in a logical 'history'

 

[AllardChardon]

Og, thank you very much for bringing my attention to yet another detail about English history I had no knowledge of. Did America follow suit, I wonder? Can a man marry his deceased wife's sister here?

levigate - vt (1612) 1. POLISH, SMOOTH 2.a. to grind to a fine smooth powder while in moist condition b. to separate (fine powder) from coarser material by suspending in a liquid

 

[AllardChardon]

Greetings, Lit fans. I hope your weekend was pleasant.

leveret - noun (15c) a hare in its first year

I suppose a leveret was often used in the culinary arts.

 

[trysail]

Keloid n., a raised scar.

I ran across the word in T. J. Stiles' Custer's Trials: A Life on the Frontier of a New America as the author used the phrase keloid Braille to describe the story told by a slave's back.



​

 

[AllardChardon]

Thank you, Trysail, for that interesting, if not gruesome, entry. I have seen enough raised scars from the Ken Burns' Civil War series to know of what you speak.

levant -vi (1797) chiefly Brit: to run away from a debt

 

[oggbashan]

...

levant -vi (1797) chiefly Brit: to run away from a debt

The Levant was the East. What we now call the Middle East.

Shorter Oxford:

levant 1487 from the French lever - the point where the Sun rises.
1. Geographical a. the countries of the East b. the Eastern part of the Mediterranean including the islands and countries adjoining.
2. A Easterly wind blowing up the Mediterranean: a levanter.

The High Levant - the Far East e.g. China, Japan

levant 1714 transferred use of above: to be stolne, filched, or purloyned away. 'to come the levant' or 'run' or 'throw a levant' - to make a bet with the intention of absconding if it is lost.

levant 1760 1. to steal away, bolt. 1781 (of a betting man) to abscond. 2. 1776 to cheat by absconding.

An 18th or 19th Century Englishman facing financial ruin did not have to go as far as the Levant. Any other country would do, and Calais, just across the Channel from Dover, was far enough.

 

[AllardChardon]

Og, your latest post was as amusing as it was interesting. Thank you for the additional information.

lettre de cachet - noun (1718) a letter bearing an official seal and usually authorizing imprisonment without trial of a named person

 

[Handley_Page]

Og, your latest post was as amusing as it was interesting. Thank you for the additional information.

lettre de cachet - noun (1718) a letter bearing an official seal and usually authorizing imprisonment without trial of a named person

The prisoner in the Iron Mask ?

 

[AllardChardon]

Yes, Handley, I suppose that would be true enough. I obviously have a thing for French words used by English speakers.

letters patent - noun plural (14c) a writing (as from a sovereign) that confers on a designated person a grant in a form open for public inspection

 

[Handley_Page]

Yes, Handley, I suppose that would be true enough. I obviously have a thing for French words used by English speakers.

letters patent - noun plural (14c) a writing (as from a sovereign) that confers on a designated person a grant in a form open for public inspection

I think they do a bit more than that.
Take a look at the Wiki entry HERE.

 

[AllardChardon]

I will be gone for a few days, visiting my daughter.

Handley, that was an understatement. My goodness gracious, what a lot of things letters patent can do.

This one I have heard of before, thanks to learning about Pierre Lafitte and other pirates/privateers.

letters of marque - noun (15c) written authority granted to a private person by a government to seize the subjects of a foreign state or their goods; specif: a license granted to a private person to fit out an armed ship to plunder the enemy

 

[Handley_Page]

I will be gone for a few days, visiting my daughter.

Handley, that was an understatement. My goodness gracious, what a lot of things letters patent can do.

This one I have heard of before, thanks to learning about Pierre Lafitte and other pirates/privateers.

letters of marque - noun (15c) written authority granted to a private person by a government to seize the subjects of a foreign state or their goods; specif: a license granted to a private person to fit out an armed ship to plunder the enemy

Wiki:- "King Henry III of England first issued what later became known as privateering commissions in 1243. These early licences were granted to specific individuals to seize the king’s enemies at sea in return for splitting the proceeds between the privateers and the crown.
"

It's worth looking at that Wiki. The letters are quite widely interpreted.

 

[JackLuis]

Thank you, Trysail, for that interesting, if not gruesome, entry. I have seen enough raised scars from the Ken Burns' Civil War series to know of what you speak.

levant -vi (1797) chiefly Brit: to run away from a debt

Is this the root to Gallivanting?
*See Oggs below.*

 

[Handley_Page]

Is this the root to Gallivanting?
*See Oggs below.*

According to my Oxford:-
gallivant: go from place to place in pursuit of pleasure.
– origin C19: perhaps an alteration of gallant.

 

[oggbashan]

Y

letters patent - noun plural (14c) a writing (as from a sovereign) that confers on a designated person a grant in a form open for public inspection

In my book shop I had a letters patent from the Court of Tasmania authorising a solicitor in Auckland, New Zealand, to act for the Court of Tasmania IN New Zealand.

The interesting thing about it was its seal. The document was sealed for "Van Dieman's Land" - the former name of Tasmania, and every mention of Tasmania in the document was followed by "formerly Van Dieman's Land" and the ending said "Given under the seal of the Court of Van Dieman's Land, now Tasmania".

I sold it to a man from Tasmania.

This one I have heard of before, thanks to learning about Pierre Lafitte and other pirates/privateers.

letters of marque - noun (15c) written authority granted to a private person by a government to seize the subjects of a foreign state or their goods; specif: a license granted to a private person to fit out an armed ship to plunder the enemy

Letters of Marque caused endless trouble between countries and between ships' captains right up to the mid-19th Century. A country's ruler could issued Letters of Marque to any ship's master to wage war = rob and steal from any ship of an enemy state, so if France was a war with England, France would issue Letters of Marque to French Captains e.g. Jean Bart, to capture English ships, and England could issue Letters of Marque to ships from the Channel Islands to capture French ships.

BUT - Letters of Marque were only valid in times of conflict and when issued by countries. If the conflict ended, so did the validity of the Letters of Marque. Without a valid Letters of Marque, the ship's captain and crew were Pirates and criminals. Several 'pirates' were hung by the English because they had lost their Letters of Marque.

The other problems with Letters of Marque is that a single ship could have more than one set - one from the French to fight the British, and one from the British to fight the French, and one from the Dutch...; and the country issuing the Letters of Marque had to be recognised as a country. When the Dutch (Netherlands) were fighting for their freedom from the Spanish, the Spanish didn't recognise the Dutch as a country. Any Letters of Marque issued by the Dutch wouldn't save a captain captured by the Spanish.

The CSS Alabama, built in the UK, was 'commissioned' as a ship of the Confederate Navy, but in practice was preying on Northern Shipping under a Letters of Marque. Since the Confederacy wasn't recognised as a 'country', the Alabama's Letters of Marque were void - hence the British had to pay compensation to the US for damage caused by the Alabama.