<B>louse, </B>noun, pl. <B>lice</B> (for 1, 2, 3,) <B>louses</B> (for 4,) verb, <B>loused,</B> <B>lousing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a small, wingless insect that infests the hair or skin of people and animals, causing great irritation. It has a flat body and sucks blood. <BR> <I>Ex. a body louse, a crab louse. (Figurative) ... a louse in the locks of literature (Tennyson).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>any one of various other insects that infest animals or plants, such as the bee louse and the plant louse or aphid. <BR> <I>Ex. We spray plants to kill the lice.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>any one of certain other superficially similar arthropods, such as the book louse or the wood louse. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Slang, Figurative.) a mean, contemptible person. <DD><I>v.t. </I> to remove lice from; delouse. <BR><I>expr. <B>louse up.</B> </I>(Slang.) to spoil; get (something) all confused or in a mess. <BR> <I>Ex. to louse up a song, joke, or deal.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="louseberry">
<B>louseberry, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ries.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a spindle tree common in Europe, whose powdered berries were reputed to destroy lice. </DL>
<A NAME="lousewort">
<B>lousewort, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any herbaceous plant of a large group of the figwort family, formerly believed to breed lice in sheep and other livestock that feed on them; wood betony. </DL>
<A NAME="lousy">
<B>lousy, </B>adjective, <B>lousier,</B> <B>lousiest.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>infested with lice. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Slang, Figurative.) <DD><B> a. </B>bad; poor; of low quality. <BR> <I>Ex. The thing about bridge is that nobody can play it well. It's so hard that everybody's lousy at it (New Yorker).</I> <DD><B> b. </B>dirty; disgusting; mean. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Slang, Figurative.) well supplied. <BR> <I>Ex. lousy with money. MacEachern looked up to discover the area was, as he puts it, "lousy with lobsters" (Maclean's).</I> adv. <B>lousily.</B> noun <B>lousiness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="lout">
<B>lout</B> (1), noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> an awkward, stupid fellow; boor; bumpkin. <BR> <I>Ex. Grimes is a rough rustic lout (William Godwin).</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> (Obsolete.) to treat with contempt; mock. </DL>
<A NAME="lout">
<B>lout</B> (2),<DL COMPACT><DD> (Archaic.) <DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to bend; bow; make obeisance. <BR> <I>Ex. He fair the knight saluted, louting low (Edmund Spenser).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to stoop. <DD><I>v.t. </I> to bow (the head). </DL>
<B>loutrophoros, </B>noun, pl. <B>-oroi.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a tall, long-necked vase for carrying water for a bath, especially for a ceremonial nuptial bath in ancient Greece. It was often placed upon the tomb of a young person who died unmarried. </DL>
<A NAME="louver">
<B>louver, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B><B>=louver board.</B> <DD><B> 2. </B>a window or other opening covered with louver boards. <DD><B> 3. </B>a ventilating slit, especially for the escape of heat, as one in the hood of an automobile or the bulkhead of a ship. <DD><B> 4. </B>a turret or lantern constructed on a roof, as in medieval architecture, to supply ventilation or light or allow smoke to escape. Also, <B>louvre.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="louverboard">
<B>louver board,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any one of several overlapping strips of wood or other material set slanting in a window or other opening, so as to keep out rain but provide ventilation and light. </DL>
<A NAME="louvered">
<B>louvered, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>provided with a louver or louvers. <DD><B> 2. </B>arranged like louvers. </DL>
<A NAME="louverfence">
<B>louver fence,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a fence made of louver boards, providing privacy and ventilation. </DL>
<B>lovability, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the quality of being lovable. Also, <B>loveability.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="lovable">
<B>lovable, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> worthy of being loved; endearing. <BR> <I>Ex. She was a most lovable person, always kind and thoughtful.</I> (SYN) likeable, winning, pleasing, amiable. Also, <B>loveable.</B> noun <B>lovableness.</B> adv. <B>lovably.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="lovage">
<B>lovage, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a perennial herb of the parsley family, native to southern Europe, grown in herb gardens for its aromatic seeds and leaves. </DL>
<A NAME="lovastatin">
<B>lovastatin, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a drug that decreases cholesterol by blocking the enzyme which regulates cholesterol production in the liver. <BR> <I>Ex. The FDA approved lovastatin, a drug shown to reduce ... levels of low-density lipoproteins (LDLs), the so-called "bad" cholesterol, by up to 39% (Jenny Tesar).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="lovat">
<B>lovat, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a brownish-green color mixture often blended with other colors in fabrics. </DL>
<A NAME="love">
<B>love, </B>noun, verb, <B>loved,</B> <B>loving.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>fond or tender feeling; warm liking; affection; attachment. <BR> <I>Ex. He had a deep love for his parents.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>strong or passionate affection for a person of the opposite sex. <BR> <I>Ex. But we loved with a love that was more than love (Edgar Allan Poe).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>an instance of such feeling; being in love. <BR> <I>Ex. I suppose, the Colonel was crossed in his first love (Jonathan Swift).</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>this feeling as a subject for books or as a personified influence. <BR> <I>Ex. There is no love. The whole plot is political (Macaulay). I bow before thine altar, Love (Tobias Smollett).</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>strong liking. <BR> <I>Ex. a love of books, a love of freedom.</I> <DD><B> 6. </B>a person who is loved, especially a sweetheart. <BR> <I>Ex. Live with me and be my love (Christopher Marlowe). The young May moon is beaming, love (Thomas Moore).</I> <DD><B> 7. </B>(Informal.) something charming or delightful. <BR> <I>Ex. What a love of a bracelet! The garden is quite a love (Jane Austen).</I> <DD><B> 8. </B>the kindly feeling or benevolence of God for His creatures, or the reverent devotion due from them to God, or the kindly affection they should have for each other. <BR> <I>Ex. Ye have not the love of God in you (John 5:42).</I> <DD><B> 9. </B>no score for a player or side in tennis and certain other games, such as bridge. <BR> <I>Ex. West was the dealer at love all (Manchester Guardian Weekly).</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to be very fond of; hold dear. <BR> <I>Ex. I love my country. She loves her mother.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to have a lover's strong or passionate affection for; be in love with; feel love for. <BR> <I>Ex. And I will love thee still, my dear, Till a' the seas gang dry (Robert Burns).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to like very much; take great pleasure in. <BR> <I>Ex. He loves music. Most children love ice cream. All that hate contentions, and love quietness, and virtue, and angling (Izaak Walton).</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>to embrace affectionately. <DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to have affection. <BR> <I>Ex. He can hate but cannot love.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to be in love; fall in love. <BR> <I>Ex. One that loved not wisely, but too well (Shakespeare).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>fall in love,</B> </I>to begin to love; come to feel love. <BR> <I>Ex. The young couple fell in love at first sight.</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>for love,</B> <DD><B> a. </B>for nothing; without pay. </I> <I>Ex. He did the work for love.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>for pleasure; not for money. <BR> <I>Ex. They played the game for love.</I> <DD><B> c. </B>by reason of love; out of affection. <BR> <I>Ex. It is commonly a weak man who marries for love (Samuel Johnson).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>for love or money,</B> <DD><B> a. </B>on any terms. </I> <I>Ex. He would not do the work for love or money.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>at any price; by any means. <BR> <I>Ex. ... Anglo-Saxon texts not elsewhere to be had for love or money (Francis A. March).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>for the love of,</B> </I>for the sake of; because of. <BR> <I>Ex. He did it for the love of his country. For the love of God, peace (Shakespeare).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>in love,</B> </I>feeling love. <BR> <I>Ex. My sister is in love and wants to get married.</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>in love with,</B> <DD><B> a. </B>feeling love for. </I> <I>Ex. Romeo was in love with Juliet.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>very fond of; enamored of. <BR> <I>Ex. He is in love with his profession.</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>make love,</B> <DD><B> a. </B>to caress or kiss, and do as lovers do; pay loving attention (to); woo. </I> <I>Ex. Demetrius ... made love to Nedar's daughter (Shakespeare).</I> <DD><B> b. </B>to have sexual intercourse (with). <BR><I>expr. <B>no love lost between,</B> <DD><B> a. </B>dislike between persons. </I> <I>Ex. There was no love lost between the two ladies (Thackeray).</I> <DD><B> b. </B>no love lacking, as between persons who love each other. <BR> <I>Ex. We grumble a little now and then ... But there's no love lost between us (Oliver Goldsmith).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="love">
<B>Love, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the god or goddess of love: <DD><B> a. </B>Venus. <DD><B> b. </B>Cupid or Eros. <DD><B> 2. </B>(in the belief of Christian Scientists) God. </DL>
<B>love affair,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a particular experience of being in love; amour. <DD><B> 2. </B>an affinity, as between two persons or groups. <BR> <I>Ex. The love affair between the Administration and Pakistan worries many people in Britain (Harper's).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="loveapple">
<B>love apple,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an old name for the tomato. </DL>
<A NAME="lovebeads">
<B>love beads,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a long string or chain of beads worn around the neck. </DL>
<A NAME="lovebird">
<B>lovebird, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a small tropical parrot that shows great affection for its mate. Lovebirds are often kept in cages as pets. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Informal.) a person in love. </DL>
<A NAME="lovebombing">
<B>love-bombing, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the practice of overwhelming potential recruits into a cult with a show of warm fellowship, concern, and affection. </DL>
