<B>lots, </B>noun pl.<DL COMPACT><DD> See under <B>lot.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="lottery">
<B>lottery, </B>noun, pl. <B>-teries.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a scheme for distributing prizes by lot or chance. In a lottery a large number of tickets are sold, some of which draw prizes. <DD><B> 2. </B>a similar scheme used to determine the order in which men are drafted into a country's armed forces; draft lottery. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) <BR> <I>Ex. They thought themselves unfortunate in the lottery of life (Tobias Smollett).</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>(Obsolete.) <DD><B> a. </B>chance. <DD><B> b. </B>events as determined by chance. </DL>
<A NAME="lotterywheel">
<B>lottery wheel,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the wheel used for shuffling the numbers on lottery tickets. </DL>
<A NAME="lotto">
<B>lotto, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a game played by drawing numbered disks from a bag or box and covering the corresponding numbers on cards. The first player to complete a blank row is the winner. Also, <B>loto.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="lotus">
<B>lotus, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a water plant having large, often floating leaves, and showy flowers. It belongs to the water-lily family. The lotus was commonly represented in the decorative art of the Hindus and the Egyptians: <DD><B> a. </B>one of two African water lilies, a white-flowered species and a blue-flowered species. <DD><B> b. </B>a perennial plant with large, fragrant rose or pink flowers; sacred lotus of India. <DD><B> 2. </B>a shrubby plant bearing red, pink, or white flowers, such as the bird's-foot trefoil. It belongs to the pea family. <DD><B> 3a. </B>a plant whose fruit was supposed by the ancient Greeks to cause a dreamy mental state in which one forgets real life and loses all desire to return home. <DD><B> b. </B>the fruit itself. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Architecture.) an ornament representing the Egyptian water lily. Also, <B>lotos.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="lotuseater">
<B>lotus-eater, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a person who leads a life of dreamy, indolent ease. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Greek Legend.) a person who lived on the fruit of the lotus, and became content and indolent, having no desire to return home. Also, <B>lotos-eater.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="lotusland">
<B>lotusland, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a land of idleness and delight. <BR> <I>Ex. Oxford, that lotusland, saps the willpower, the power of action (New Yorker).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>the land of the lotus-eaters. </DL>
<A NAME="lotusposition">
<B>lotus position,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a sitting position with the legs folded and the arms resting on the knees, used in yoga. </DL>
<A NAME="lotustree">
<B>lotus tree,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a kind of jujube of northern Africa and southern Europe, supposed by many to have produced the lotus fruit in Greek myth. <DD><B> 2. </B>a nettle tree of Europe, also associated with this myth. </DL>
<A NAME="louche">
<B>louche, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> oblique; not straightforward; sinister; shady. <BR> <I>Ex. ... a bank hold-up by three louche gentlemen who arrive by train on this most fatal Saturday (London Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="loud">
<B>loud, </B>adjective, adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>making a great sound; not quiet or soft. <BR> <I>Ex. a loud bang, a loud voice. The door slammed with a loud noise.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>noisy; resounding. <BR> <I>Ex. loud music, a loud place to study. When all is gay With lamps, and loud With sport and song (Tennyson).</I> (SYN) deafening. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) clamorous; insistent. <BR> <I>Ex. to be loud in demands.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>(Informal.) showy in dress or manner. <BR> <I>Ex. loud clothes.</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>(Informal.) obtrusive; somewhat vulgar. <BR> <I>Ex. a loud person.</I> <DD><I>adv. </I> in a loud manner; with a loud noise or voice; aloud; loudly. <BR> <I>Ex. The hunter called loud and long.</I> noun <B>loudness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="louden">
<B>louden, </B>intransitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> to become loud or louder. <BR> <I>Ex. As the radio loudened tenants began slamming down windows.</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> to make loud or louder. </DL>
<A NAME="loudhailer">
<B>loudhailer, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Especially British.) a loudspeaker. <BR> <I>Ex. The Rev. James Bevels ... used a police loudhailer to address the crowds (London Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="loudish">
<B>loudish, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> somewhat loud. <BR> <I>Ex. A superplump guest in a loudish cape and an oversize Homburg hat (Alexander Woollcott).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="loudly">
<B>loudly, </B>adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>with much noise. <DD><B> 2. </B>in a loud voice. <BR> <I>Ex. He spoke so loudly it startled us all.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="loudmouth">
<B>loudmouth, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Slang.) a loudmouthed person, especially one who is boastful or disparaging. </DL>
<A NAME="loudmouthed">
<B>loudmouthed, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>talking loudly; irritatingly or offensively noisy. <BR> <I>Ex. Yet, though his loudmouthed tabloids spiel sex, crime, and the workingman's cause ... (Time).</I> (SYN) vociferous, blatant, clamorous. <DD><B> 2. </B>talking too much; not discreet. </DL>
<A NAME="loudspeaker">
<B>loudspeaker, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a device for making sounds louder, especially in a radio or phonograph or a public-address system. </DL>
<B>lough, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Anglo-Irish.) <DD><B> 1. </B>a lake. <DD><B> 2. </B>an arm of the sea. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Obsolete.) any body of water. </DL>
<A NAME="louis">
<B>louis, </B>noun, pl. <B>louis.</B> <B>=louis d'or.</B></DL>
<A NAME="louisdor">
<B>louis d'or,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a French gold coin issued 1640-1795, worth from about $4 to about $4.60 at various times. <DD><B> 2. </B>a later French gold coin, worth 20 francs. </DL>
<A NAME="louisheel">
<B>Louis heel,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a curved heel on a woman's shoe about 1 1/2 inches high and flared at the base. </DL>
<A NAME="louisianaheron">
<B>Louisiana heron,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a grayish-purple heron with a white throat and breast, common in the southern United States and south to Brazil. </DL>
<B>Louisiana water thrush,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a brownish warbler with a striped breast, found in wooded areas of North America, especially along small streams. </DL>
<A NAME="louisianian">
<B>Louisianian, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> of or having to do with Louisiana, a Southern state of the United States. <DD><I>noun </I> a native or inhabitant of Louisiana. </DL>
<A NAME="louisquatorze">
<B>Louis Quatorze,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the French title of Louis XIV of France, used to designate the styles in architecture, furniture, decorative art, and the like, characteristic of his reign (1643-1715) or of approximately that period. </DL>
<A NAME="louisquinze">
<B>Louis Quinze,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the French title of Louis XV of France, used to designate the styles in architecture, furniture, decorative art, and the like, characteristic of his reign (1715-1774) or of approximately that period. <BR> <I>Ex. a Louis Quinze chair.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="louisseize">
<B>Louis Seize,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the French title of Louis XVI of France, used to designate the styles in architecture, furniture, decorative art, and the like, characteristic of his reign (1774-1792) or of approximately that period. </DL>
<A NAME="louistreize">
<B>Louis Treize,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the French title of Louis XIII of France, used to designate the styles in architecture, furniture, decorative art, and the like, characteristic of his reign (1610-1643) or of approximately that period. </DL>
<A NAME="loukoum">
<B>loukoum, </B>noun, pl. <B>-koumi.</B> <B>=fig paste.</B></DL>
<A NAME="loun">
<B>loun, </B>noun. <B>=loon</B> (2).</DL>
<A NAME="lounge">
<B>lounge, </B>verb, <B>lounged,</B> <B>lounging,</B> noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to stand, stroll, sit, or lie at ease in a lasy way; loll. <BR> <I>Ex. He lounged in an old chair. I lounged on the beach.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to pass time lazily; idle at one's ease. <DD><I>v.t. </I> to pass (time) away with lounging. <BR> <I>Ex. She lounged away the weekend.</I> <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a comfortable and informal room in which one can lounge and be at ease. <BR> <I>Ex. a theater lounge.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a sofa, couch, or other article of furniture, used for reclining. <DD><B> 3. </B>an act or state of lounging. <BR> <I>Ex. We went for a lounge in the park after dinner.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>a lounging gait or manner of reclining. <BR> <I>Ex. tall, raw-boned Kentuckians ... with the easy lounge peculiar to the race (Harriet Beecher Stowe).</I> noun <B>lounger.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="loungecar">
<B>lounge car,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a special railroad passenger car equipped with lounge seats, sofas, and bar. </DL>
<A NAME="loungelizard">
<B>lounge lizard,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S. Slang.) a lady's man. </DL>
<A NAME="loungesuit">
<B>lounge suit,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (British.) a business suit. </DL>
<A NAME="loungewear">
<B>loungewear, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> leisurewear for lounging indoors. </DL>
<A NAME="loup">
<B>loup</B> (1), noun, intransitive verb, transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Scottish.) leap. <BR> <I>Ex. The horses gave a sudden loup (John Galt).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="loup">
<B>loup</B> (2), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a light mask or half mask of silk or velvet, worn by women. </DL>
<A NAME="loupcervier">
<B>loup-cervier, </B>noun, pl. <B>loup-cerviers.</B> <B>=Canada lynx.</B></DL>
<A NAME="loupdemer">
<B>loup de mer,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a food fish of European waters similar to the sea bass, valued as a delicacy. </DL>
<A NAME="loupe">
<B>loupe, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a small eyepiece fitted with a powerful magnifying lens, used especially by jewelers and watchmakers. <BR> <I>Ex. Finally, Mr. Cohen took out a loupe, a diamond man's magnifying glass, and studied the stone (New Yorker).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="loupgarou">
<B>loup-garou, </B>noun, pl. <B>loups-garous.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a werewolf; lycanthrope. </DL>
<A NAME="loupingill">
<B>louping ill,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an acute, infectious nervous and paralytic disease of sheep, caused by a tick-borne virus and characterized by involuntary leaping; trembles. </DL>
