Leconte de Lisle.
1878.—"... and the lichi hiding under a shell of ruddy brown its globes of translucent and delicately fragrant flesh."—Ph. Robinson, In My Indian Garden, 49.
1879.—"... Here are a hundred and sixty lichi fruits for you...."—M. Stokes, Indian Fairy Tales (Calc. ed.) 51.
LEMON, s. Citrus medica, var. Limonum, Hooker. This is of course not an Anglo-Indian word. But it has come into European languages through the Ar. leimūn, and is, according to Hehn, of Indian origin. In Hind. we have both līmū and nīmbū, which last, at least, seems to be an indigenous form. The Skt. dictionaries give nimbūka. In England we get the word through the Romance languages, Fr. limon, It. limone, Sp. limon, &c., perhaps both from the Crusades and from the Moors of Spain. [Mr. Skeat writes: "The Malay form is limau, 'a lime, lemon, or orange.' The Port. limão may possibly come from this Malay form. I feel sure that limau, which in some dialects is limar, is an indigenous word which was transferred to Europe.">[ (See [LIME].)
c. 1200.—"Sunt praeterea aliae arbores fructus acidos, pontici videlicet saporis, ex se procreantes, quos appellant limones."—Jacobi de Vitriaco, Hist. Iherosolym, cap. lxxxv. in Bongars.
c. 1328.—"I will only say this much, that this India, as regards fruit and other things, is entirely different from Christendom; except, indeed, that there be lemons in some places, as sweet as sugar, whilst there be other lemons sour like ours."—Friar Jordanus, 15.
1331.—"Profunditas hujus aquae plena est lapidibus preciosis. Quae aqua multum est yrudinibus et sanguisugis plena. Hos lapides non accipit rex, sed pro animâ suâ semel vel bis in anno sub aquas ipsos pauperes ire permittit.... Et ut ipsi pauperes ire sub aquam possint accipiunt limonem et quemdam fructum quem bene pistant, et illo bene se ungunt.... Et cum sic sint uncti yrudines et sanguisugæ illos offendere non valent."—Fr. Odoric, in Cathay, &c., App., p. xxi.
c. 1333.—"The fruit of the mango-tree (al-'anba) is the size of a great pear. When yet green they take the fallen fruit and powder it with salt and preserve it, as is done with the sweet citron and the lemon (al-leimūn) in our country."—Ibn Batuta, iii. 126.
LEMON-GRASS, s. Andropogon citratus, D.C., a grass cultivated in Ceylon and Singapore, yielding an oil much used in perfumery, under the name of Lemon-Grass Oil, Oil of Verbena, or Indian Melissa Oil. Royle (Hind. Medicine, 82) has applied the name to another very fragrant grass, Andropogon schoenanthus, L., according to him the σχοῖνος of Dioscorides. This last, which grows wild in various parts of India, yields Rūsa Oil, alias O. of Ginger-grass or of Geranium, which is exported from Bombay to Arabia and Turkey, where it is extensively used in the adulteration of "Otto of Roses."
LEOPARD, s. We insert this in order to remark that there has been a great deal of controversy among Indian sportsmen, and also among naturalists, as to whether there are or are not two species of this Cat, distinguished by those who maintain the affirmative, as panther (F. pardus) and leopard (Felis leopardus), the latter being the smaller, though by some these names are reversed. Even those who support this distinction of species appear to admit that the markings, habits, and general appearance (except size) of the two animals are almost identical. Jerdon describes the two varieties, but (with Blyth) classes both as one species (Felis pardus). [Mr. Blanford takes the same view: "I cannot help suspecting that the difference is very often due to age.... I have for years endeavoured to distinguish the two forms, but without success." (Mammalia of India, 68 seq.)]