Label, lā′bel, n. a small slip of writing affixed to anything to denote its contents, ownership, &c.: (law) a paper annexed to a will, as a codicil: (her.) a fillet with pendants: (archit.) the dripstone over a Gothic window or doorway arch.—v.t. to affix a label to: to describe by or on a label:—pr.p. lā′belling; pa.t. and pa.p. lā′belled. [O. Fr. label (Fr. lambeau); perh. from Old High Ger. lappa (Ger. lappen).]
Labellum, la-bel′um, n. the lower petal of a flower, esp. an orchis. [L., dim. of labium, a lip.]
Labial, lā′bi-al, adj. pertaining to the lips: formed by the lips.—n. a sound formed by the lips: a letter representing a sound formed either by both the lips, or by the upper lip and under teeth—p, b, m, f, v.—v.t. Lā′bialise.—adv. Lā′bially.—n.pl. Labiā′tæ, a natural order of gamopetalous plants, the mint family having four-cornered stems and opposite branches.—adjs. Lā′biate, -d (bot.), having two unequal divisions, as in the monopetalous corolla of the mints.—adj. and n. Labioden′tal, of a sound pronounced both by the lips and teeth: a letter representing such (f, v.).—n. Lā′bium, a lip or lip-like part:—pl. Lā′bia. [Fr.,—L. labium, labrum, a lip.]
Labis, lā′bis, n. the cochlear or eucharistic spoon. [Late Gr. from lambanein, to take.]
Laboratory, lab′or-a-tor-i, n. a chemist's workroom: a place where scientific experiments are systematically carried on: a place for the manufacture of arms and war material: a place where anything is prepared for use. [L. laborāre—labor, work.]
Labour, lā′bur, n. toil or exertion, esp. when fatiguing: work: pains: duties: a task requiring hard work: the pangs of childbirth.—v.i. to undergo labour: to work: to take pains: to be oppressed: to move slowly: to be in travail: (naut.) to pitch and roll heavily.—adj. Labō′rious, full of labour: toilsome: wearisome: devoted to labour: industrious.—adv. Labō′riously.—n. Labō′riousness.—adj. Lā′boured, bearing marks of labour or effort in the execution.—ns. Lā′bourer, one who labours: one who does work requiring little skill; Lā′bourist, one who contends for the interests of workmen.—adjs. Lā′bour-sav′ing, intended to supersede or lessen the labour of men; Lā′boursome (Shak.), made with labour and diligence.—Labour Day, a legal holiday in some parts of the United States, as in New York (the first Monday in September); Labour market, the supply of unemployed labour in relation to the demand for it; Labour of love, work undertaken merely as an act of friendliness, and without hope of emolument; Labour with, to take pains to convince.—Hard labour, compulsory work imposed on certain criminals in addition to imprisonment. [O. Fr. labour, labeur—L. labor.]
Labradorite, lab′ra-dōr-īt, n. one of the group of the Feldspars, and a very important rock-forming mineral. [Labrador.]
Labret, lā′bret, n. a piece of bone, shell, &c. inserted into the lip by savages for ornament.—adj. Lā′brose, having thick lips.—n. Lā′brum, a lip or lip-like part:—pl. Lā′bra. [L. labrum, labium, a lip.]
Laburnum, la-bur′num, n. a small tree with large pendulous racemes of beautiful yellow flowers, a native of the Alps. [L.]
Labyrinth, lab′i-rinth, n. a place full of inextricable windings: (orig.) a building consisting of halls connected by intricate passages: an arrangement of tortuous passages in which it is difficult to find the way out: an inexplicable difficulty, a perplexity: (anat.) the cavities of the internal ear.—adjs. Labyrinth′al, Labyrinth′ian, Labyrinth′ine, pertaining to or like a labyrinth: winding: intricate: perplexing; Labyrinth′iform, having the form of a labyrinth: intricate.—n. Labyrinth′odon, a race of extinct gigantic amphibians found in the Permian, Carboniferous, and Triassic strata, so called from the mazy pattern exhibited on a transverse section of the teeth of some genera. [Fr. labyrinthe—L. labyrinthus—Gr. labyrinthos; akin to laura, a passage.]