Lattermath. Aftermath (A.B.). Lattermass at Cherhill.—N.W.
Lave. (1) Of a candle, to gutter down (H.Wr.).—N.W. (2) To splash up water over yourself, as in a bath. 'Lave it well over ye.'—N.W.
Law. In N. Wilts, when speaking of relations-in-law, the in is always omitted, as brother-law, father-law, &c., the only exception being son-in-law.
Lay. (1) To lay a hedge, to trim it back, cutting the boughs half through, and then bending them down and intertwining them so as to strengthen the fence (A.).—N. & S.W. (2) To lay rough, to sleep about under hedges like a vagabond.—N. & S.W. (3) To lay up a field, to reserve it for mowing.—S.W. (4) To lay a tool, to steel its edge afresh. This appears to be the same as Davis's lain, which is probably a contraction of lay in. At Mildenhall you often hear of laying or laying in a pickaxe, and the word is to be traced back for a century or more in the parish accounts there.—N. & S.W. (5) An idle dissipated man is said to lay about.—N.W.
Laylocks. Usually Syringa vulgaris, L., Lilac, but rarely applied to Cardamine pratensis, L., Lady's Smock, in S. Wilts.
*Lay-over. A wooden bar, or a rope, used to fasten tackle together.
'Two or three horses go abreast, each drawing a harrow diagonally, all the harrows being fastened together with a lay-over or rider.'—Agric. of Wilts, ch. v.
Leach. A strand of a rope.—N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
Lear, Leer. (1) Empty (A.B.C.G.).—N. & S.W. (2) Hence, craving for food, hungry (A.C.S.).—N. & S.W. Leary is the usual form on the Som. bord.