<B>lantana, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any of a group of tropical or subtropical, chiefly American plants of the verbena family, noted for their bright flowers. <BR> <I>Ex. Lantana in glowing shades of orange, yellow or rose ... (New York Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="lantern">
<B>lantern, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a case to protect a light from wind or rain. A lantern has sides of glass, paper, or some other material through which the light can shine and can be carried from place to place. <DD><B> 2a. </B>the room at the top of a lighthouse where the light is. <DD><B> b. </B>(Obsolete.) a lighthouse. <DD><B> 3a. </B>an upright structure on a roof or dome for letting in light and air or for decoration. <DD><B> b. </B>a louver on a roof. <DD><B> 4. </B><B>=magic lantern.</B> <DD><B> 5. </B><B>=lantern pinion.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="lanternfish">
<B>lantern fish,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any of various fishes, chiefly deepsea, having organs or glands that give off light. </DL>
<A NAME="lanternfly">
<B>lantern fly,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any of certain homopterous insects of the tropics; plant hopper. The lantern fly has a long head and was formerly thought to produce light in the dark. </DL>
<A NAME="lanternjaw">
<B>lantern jaw,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a protruding lower jaw. <BR> <I>Ex. He has the long, slow step of a countryman, the lantern jaw of a Scotsman ... (Observer).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B><B>lantern jaws,</B> long, thin jaws, giving a hollow appearance to the cheeks. </DL>
<A NAME="lanternjawed">
<B>lantern-jawed, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having a lantern jaw or lantern jaws. </DL>
<A NAME="lanternpinion">
<B>lantern pinion</B> or <B>wheel,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a kind of gear, used especially in clocks. Lantern pinions have a circular top and bottom connected along the circumferences by staves inserted at equal distances, that serve as teeth; trundle; lantern. </DL>
<A NAME="lanternslide">
<B>lantern slide,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a small thin sheet of glass with a picture on it that is shown on a screen by a slide projector or a magic lantern. </DL>
<A NAME="lanthanide">
<B>lanthanide, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any of the rare-earth elements. </DL>
<A NAME="lanthanideseries">
<B>lanthanide series,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the rare-earth elements. <BR> <I>Ex. Cerium is the first of the lanthanide series of the periodic table, so-called because they follow lanthanum in the table (Science News Letter).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="lanthanon">
<B>lanthanon, </B>noun. <B>=lanthanide.</B></DL>
<A NAME="lanthanum">
<B>lanthanum, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a soft, malleable, metallic chemical element which occurs in certain rare minerals such as monazite, cerite, and samarskite. Lanthanum is one of the most common of the rare-earth elements, belonging to the cerium metals, and is used in making alloys. Some series do not include lanthanum. </DL>
<B>Lantian man,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an extinct species of man, thought to be older than Peking man, identified from bones discovered in central China in 1964. </DL>
<B>lanuginous, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>covered with lanugo or soft, downy hairs. <DD><B> 2. </B>like down; downy. </DL>
<A NAME="lanugo">
<B>lanugo, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Biology.) a growth of fine soft hair, as on the surface of a leaf or fruit, on the body of an insect, or on the skin of a newborn child. </DL>
<A NAME="lanyard">
<B>lanyard, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1a. </B>a short rope or cord used on ships to fasten rigging, especially upper rigging, by a tarred rope passed through deadeyes. <DD><B> b. </B>Also, <B>knife lanyard.</B> a loose cord around the neck on which to hang a knife, whistle, or other small tool. <BR> <I>Ex. Aboard ship he carried his crutch by a lanyard round his neck (Robert Louis Stevenson).</I> <DD><B> c. </B>an ornamented or braided cord worn as a symbol of a military decoration or as part of a uniform. <DD><B> 2. </B>a short cord with a small hook, used in firing certain kinds of cannon. Also, <B>laniard.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="lao">
<B>Lao, </B>noun, pl. <B>Lao</B> or <B>Laos,</B> adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B><B>=Laotian.</B> <DD><B> 2. </B>a member of a Sino-Tibetan people of Laos whose Buddhist religion, language, and culture are dominant. <DD><I>adj. </I> <B>=Laotian.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="laocoon">
<B>Laocoon, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Greek Legend.) a priest of Apollo at Troy who warned the Trojans against the wooden horse. He and his two sons were killed by two sea serpents sent by Athena. </DL>
<A NAME="laodamia">
<B>Laodamia, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Greek Legend.) <DD><B> 1. </B>the wife of Protesilaus, with whom she voluntarily died. <DD><B> 2. </B>the mother of Sarpedon. </DL>
<A NAME="laodicean">
<B>Laodicean, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a lukewarm or indifferent Christian. Revelation 3:15-16. <DD><B> 2. </B>a lukewarm or indifferent person. <DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>of or having to do with Laodicea, an ancient city of Phrygia in Asia Minor, or its inhabitants. <DD><B> 2. </B>lukewarm in religion. <BR> <I>Ex. Again the humor seems to me painfully grim, and ... in my view Miss O'Connor rewards Laodicean Mrs. Turpin with a vision of herself in hell (Saturday Review).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>indifferent. </DL>
<A NAME="laomedon">
<B>Laomedon, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Greek Legend.) a king of Troy, and father of Priam. </DL>
<A NAME="laosize">
<B>Laosize, </B>transitive verb, <B>-sized,</B> <B>-sizing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to make Laotian. </DL>
<A NAME="laotian">
<B>Laotian, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> of or having to do with Laos, a country in southeastern Asia, in Indochina, its people, or their language. <BR> <I>Ex. Laotian troops.</I> <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a person born or living in Laos. <BR> <I>Ex. The big problem is how to give Laos back to the Laotians (Saturday Review).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>the Thai language spoken by Laotians. </DL>
