Langholm Place. After the mansion and grounds of Sir James Langham, which occupied what is now the street of the same name.
Laodicea. This ancient city was so called after Laodice, the queen of Antiochus Theos, who founded it.
Lap Dog. One literally nursed in the lap of luxury. Mothers of families are strangers to such pets.
Lapsus Linguæ. Latin for “a slip of the tongue.”
Largess. From the Latin largitso, to give freely, through the French largesse. This word meant originally a fee or present bestowed upon a butler or head servant by a departing guest. In its modern acceptation it is a distribution of money amongst a number rather as a matter of policy or necessity than from choice.
Lascar. The generic name for an East Indian seaman, though it really expresses the Persian for a soldier, from lashkari, a camp-follower. Lascars were first employed by the East Indiamen homeward bound. Nowadays all Asiatic sailors, of whatever nationality, are called Lascars.
Lasso. From the Spanish lazo, a noose.
Latakia. A Turkish tobacco, so called from the place (the ancient Laodicea) where it is produced.
Latch-string is always out. An Americanism for a hearty welcome at all times, without need for a formal invitation. The allusion to the latch-string means: “You have only to walk in, like any member of the family.”
Lath. A subdivision of land while certain portions of Eastern England were held by the Danes, so called from the Norse “Lathing,” a law assembly.