List, list, v.t. and v.i. original form of listen: now poetical.—v.t. Listen (lis′n), to hear or attend to.—v.i. to give ear or hearken: to follow advice.—n. List′ener, one who listens or hearkens.—adjs. List′ful, attentive; List′less, having no desire or wish: careless: uninterested: weary: indolent.—adv. List′lessly.—n. List′lessness. [A.S. hlystan—hlyst, hearing; Ice. hlusta.]
Listel, lis′tel, n. (archit.) a narrow fillet.
Lister, lis′tėr, n. a form of plough for throwing up ridges.—n. List′ing.
Listerism, lis′tėr-izm, n. an antiseptic method of operating introduced by the English surgeon, Lord Lister, born 1827.—v.t. Lis′terise, to treat by Listerism.
Lit, pa.t. and pa.p. of light, lighten, light, to alight.
Litany, lit′a-ni, n. a prayer of supplication, esp. in processions: an appointed form of responsive prayer in public worship in which the same thing is repeated several times at no long intervals.—ns. Lit′any-desk, -stool, in the English Church, a movable desk at which a minister kneels, facing the altar, while he recites the litany.—Lesser litany, the common formula, 'Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison, Kyrie eleison.' [O. Fr.,—Low L. litania—Gr. litaneia—litesthai, to pray.]
Literal, lit′ėr-al, adj. according to the letter: plain: not figurative or metaphorical: following the letter or exact meaning, word for word.—v.t. Lit′eralise.—ns. Lit′eraliser; Lit′eralism, strict adherence to the letter: interpretation that is merely verbal: (art) exact and unimaginative rendering of objects; Lit′eralist; Literal′ity.—adv. Lit′erally.—n. Lit′eralness. [Fr.,—L. literalis—litera, a letter.]
Literary, lit′ėr-ar-i, adj. belonging to letters or learning: skilled in learning.—n. Lit′eracy, state of being literate:—opp. to Illiteracy.—adj. Lit′erāte, acquainted with letters of learning: learned.—n. one educated, but not having taken a university degree, esp. a candidate for holy orders who has not been at a university.—n.pl. Literā′tī, men of letters, the learned (sing. forms, Literā′tus, Literä′to).—adv. Literā′tim, letter for letter: without the change of a letter.—n. Literā′tor, a dabbler in learning: a man of letters, a literary man—sometimes in the French form Littérateur.—adj. Lit′erose, distinctively literary.—n. Literos′ity. [L. literarius.]
Literature, lit′ėr-a-tūr, n. the science of letters or what is written: the whole body of literary compositions in any language, or on a given subject: all literary productions except those relating to positive science and art, usually confined, however, to the belles-lettres.—adj. Lit′eratured (Shak.), learned, having literary knowledge.—Light literature, books which can be read and understood without mental exertion: fiction; Polite literature, belles-lettres. [Fr.,—L. literatura—litera, a letter.]
Lith, lith, n. (prov.) a joint, segment, or portion of anything. [A.S. lið, a member; Ger. glied.]