Latins. See “[Italy].”
Latin Vulgate. The Roman Catholic Bible authorised by the Council of Trent in 1546. This translation of the Scriptures was made by St Jerome from the Greek into the Latin or vulgar tongue A.D. 405.
Latitudinarians. The opposers of the High Church party, and also of the Puritans, during the Restoration period. Modern Latitudinarians are those who hold very broad views in regard to orthodox doctrine.
Laugh and grow Fat. In allusion to Democritus, “The Laughing Philosopher,” who waxed fat, and lived to be 109 years old.
Laughing Philosopher. Democritus of Abdera, from his habit of humorously exposing the absurdities of his countrymen, whose stupidity, he declared, was proverbial; the feeble powers of mankind, contrasted with the forces of nature, likewise aroused his contempt.
Laugh in your Sleeve. Anciently the sleeves of all outer garments were very wide, and when a person covered his face with his hand there was always a suspicion that he was making merry at someone else’s discomfiture.
Laugh on the wrong Side of your Face. A person may preserve a grave countenance while listening to a story, and at the same time wink significantly to a bystander on the opposite side of the speaker. The expression means that if, for his insolence, he received a castigation, both his eyes would be made to wink or blink.
Laundress. The exclusive designation of a housekeeper or caretaker of bachelor chambers in the Temple. This is because during the Crusades a great many women of the town followed in the train of the Knights Templars to the Holy Land for the purpose of washing their linen. It afterwards transpired that, as a rule, they acted also as mistresses to the Knights, and had tents set apart for them even within sight of Jerusalem. Historians tell us too that, though a religious Order, the Templars did not scruple to introduce these women into their London house after their return from the seat of warfare, and this irregularity, in fact, led to their suppression by Edward II. in 1313.
Laundried. An Americanism for “washed,” in relation to household or personal linen. This, when one comes to look into the word, is correct English, meaning lawn dried.
Lavender. From the Latin verb lavare, to wash, because this shrub yields an essential oil employed in medicine and perfumery. Laundresses also use it for preserving newly washed linen against moths.