Lac, lak, n. the term used in India for 100,000 rupees, the nominal value of which is £10,000.—Also Lakh. [Hind. lak—Sans. laksha, 100,000, a mark.]
Lac, lak, n. a dark-red transparent resin produced on the twigs of trees in the East by the lac insect, used in dyeing.—adj. Laccic (lak′sik).—ns. Laccine (lak′sin), a brittle, translucent, yellow substance, obtained from shell-lac; Lac′-dye, Lac′-lake, scarlet colouring matters obtained from Stick′-lac, the twigs, with attached resin, enclosed insects, and ova; Seed′-lac, the granular portion remaining after removing the resin, triturating with water, and drying; Shell′-lac, Shel′lac, thin plates of resin prepared by melting the seed-lac in cotton-cloth bags, straining, and allowing it to drop on to sticks or leaves. [Pers. lak—Sans. lákshá, the lac insect—rañj, to dye.]
Lace, lās, n. a plaited string for fastening: an ornamental fabric of linen, cotton, silk, or gold and silver threads, made by looping, knotting, plaiting, or twisting the thread into definite patterns, of contrasted open and close structure; three distinct varieties are made, two by handiwork, known respectively as Needle or Point lace and Pillow or Bobbin Lace, and one by machinery.—v.t. to fasten with a lace: to adorn with lace: to streak: to mark with the lash: to intermix, as coffee with brandy, &c.: to intertwine.—v.i. to be fastened with a lace.—ns. Lace′-bark tree, a lofty West Indies tree, the inner bark like coarse lace; Lace′-boot, a boot fastened by a lace.—p.adj. Laced, fastened or adorned with lace.—ns. Lace′-frame, a machine used in lace-making; Lace′-leaf (see Lattice-leaf); Lace′-man, one who deals in lace; Lace′-mend′er, one who repairs lace; Lace′-pā′per, paper stamped or cut by hand with an open-work pattern like lace; Lace′-pill′ow, a cushion on which many various kinds of lace are made, held on the knees.—adj. Lā′cy, like lace.—Alençon lace, a very fine point-lace, the most important made in France; Appliqué lace, lace having sprigs or flowers sewed on net; Balloon-net lace, a form of woven lace in which the freeing threads are peculiarly twisted about the warps; Brussels lace, an extremely fine lace with sprigs applied on a net ground; Duchesse lace, a Belgian pillow-lace having beautiful designs with cord outlines, often in relief; Guipure lace, any lace without a net ground, the pattern being held together by bars or brides; Honiton lace, a lace made at Honiton in Devonshire, remarkable for the beauty of its figures and sprigs; Imitation lace, any lace made by machinery; Mechlin lace, a lace with bobbin ground and designs outlined by thread or flat cord; Spanish lace, needle-point lace brought from Spanish convents since their dissolution—but probably of Flemish origin: cut and drawn work made in convents in Spain, of patterns usually confined to simple sprigs and flowers: a modern black-silk lace with large flower-patterns, mostly of Flemish make: a modern needle-point lace with large square designs; Tambour lace, a modern kind of lace made with needle-embroidery on machine-made net; Torchon lace, peasants' bobbin laces of loose texture and geometrical designs, much imitated by machinery; Valenciennes lace, a fine bobbin lace having the design made with the ground and of the same thread. [O. Fr. las, a noose—L. laqueus, a noose.]
Lacerate, las′ėr-āt, v.t. to tear: to rend: to wound: to afflict.—adjs. Lac′erable, that may be lacerated; Lac′erant, harrowing; Lac′erate, -d, rent, torn: (bot.) having the edges cut into irregular segments.—n. Lacerā′tion, act of lacerating: the rent made by tearing.—adj. Lac′erative, tearing: having power to tear. [L. lacerāre, -ātum, to tear—lacer, torn.]
Lacerta, la-sėr′ta, n. a genus of saurian reptiles, the name properly restricted to slender, active lizards.—n. and adj. Lacer′tian, an animal belonging to the genus Lacerta.—n. Lacertil′ia, an order of reptiles, including the lizards proper, &c.—adjs. Lacertil′ian; Lacertil′ioid; Lacer′tine. [L.]
Laches, läsh′ēz, n. (law) negligence or undue delay, such as to disentitle a person to a certain remedy, any negligence. [O. Fr. lachesse.]
Lachesis, lak′e-sis, n. the one of the three Fates who assigned to each mortal his destiny—she spun the thread of life from the distaff held by Clotho. [Gr.]
Lachrymal, Lacrymal, lak′ri-mal, adj. of or pertaining to tears, secreting tears, as in 'lachrymal duct,' the nasal duct, conveying tears from the eye to the nose.—n. one of the bones of the face, the os unguis, or nail-bone, in man.—adj. Lach′rymary, containing tears.—n. Lach′rymātory, a small slender glass vessel found in ancient sepulchres, apparently filled with the tears of mourners.—adj. Lach′rymose, Lac′rymose, shedding tears, or given to do so: lugubrious, mournful.—adv. Lach′rymosely.—Lachryma Christi, a wine of a sweet but piquant taste, produced from grapes grown on Mount Vesuvius, the best light red. [L. lacryma (properly lacrima), a tear; Gr. dakru, Eng. tear.]
Lacing, lās′ing, n. a fastening with a lace or cord through eyelet-holes: a cord used in fastening: in bookbinding, the cords by which the boards of a book are fastened to the back: in shipbuilding, the knee of the head, or lace-piece, a piece of compass or knee timber secured to the back of the figure-head: in mining, lagging, or cross-pieces of timber or iron placed to prevent ore from falling into a passage.
Lacinia, lā-sin′i-a, n. a long incision in a leaf, &c.—also a narrow lobe resulting from such: in entomology, the apex of the maxilla.—adjs. Lacin′iāte, -d, cut into narrow lobes, fringed; Lacin′iform, fringe-like; Lacin′iolāte, finely fringed. [L., a flap.]