The Facts on File Dictionary of Foreign Words and Phrases (Writers Reference) (45 page)

latte (lahtay) ITALIAN [from caf latte
milk coffee] noun espresso coffee served in a tall cup, filled to the top
with steamed hot milk. A skinny latte
is a latte made with skimmed milk: "We
ordered two lattes to go."

laudator temporis acti (lowdaytar
temporis akti) LATIN [a praiser of times
past] noun phrase a person who praises
the way things were in the past.

laureate (loreeat) LATIN [from laureatus crowned with laurel, from laurea
laurel wreath] noun a person who
has received official honors in recognition of some achievement, usually
in the academic sphere: "Nature crowded
them for him with imagery such as no
Laureate could copy in the cold mosaic
of language" (Oliver Wendell Holmes,
Elsie Venner, 1859-60). 'adjective of or
relating to someone who has received
official honors in recognition of his or
her achievements.

laus Deo (lows do) LATIN [praise to
God] interjection praise be to God.
"abbreviated form L.D.

lava (lahva) ITALIAN [from Latin labes
fall] noun molten rock from a volcano or from cracks in the earth's
surface: "Lava gushed from fissures in the
side of the volcano."

lavabo (lavahbo) LATIN [I shall wash,
from lavare] noun a ceremony during
the Roman Catholic Mass in which
celebrants ritually wash their hands

after offering oblations, or the prayer
spoken at this point in the Mass.
May also refer more generally to any
handbasin, washroom, or lavatory.

layette (la)'er) FRENCH [baby linen,
diminutive of laye box, drawer, from
Middle Dutch laege] noun a complete set of clothing, bedding, and
other items for newborn babies
obtained in advance of the birth of a
child: "She began to assemble a layette in
advance of the happy event."

lazaretto (lazareto) ITALIAN [from
lazareto, derived from Nazaretto, a
quarantine station by the Santa Maria
di Nazaret church in Venice and from
lazaro leper] noun a hospital or other
institution for patients suffering from
leprosy or other infectious diseases,
or more generally any place of quarantine: "Why, my dear, what would any
man think of having his house turned into
an hotel, habited by freaks who discharge
his servants, borrow his money, and insult
his neighbors? This place is shunned like
a lazaretto!" (Willa Cather, The Troll
Garden and Other Stories, 1905).

I'chaim (lokhim), lechayim HEBREW
[to life] interjection to your health, to
life (a drinking toast).

L.D. See LAUS DEC.

Lebensraum (l4b1.nzrowm) GERMAN
[living space] noun additional terri tory required by a nation in order to
continue economic development or
to defend the overall interests of the
state or other community (usually
referring specifically to the argument
on these lines quoted by Nazi German), as justification for territorial
expansion before and during World
War II) .

lechayim See L'CHAIM.

lector (lektor, lektor) LATIN [reader,
from legere to read] noun an assistant
who reads lessons during a religious
service; may also refer to a reader
or lecturer at a college or university:
"The lector droned on and on, his voice
seeking out plaintive echoes in the far
reaches of the cathedral vault."

lederhosen (lidarhozan) GERMAN
[from Middle High German Leder
leather and Hosen trousers] noun
leather shorts with suspenders, of a
type traditionally worn in Bavaria and
neighboring Alpine areas: "The only
aspect of the role he did not like was the
fact that he had to wear a pair of tightfitting German lederhosen."

legato (ligahto) ITALIAN [tied, bound,
past participle of legare to bind] adverb
(in music) smoothly. -adjective (in
music) smooth, connected. noun a
passage of music written to be played
in a smooth manner, or the practice of
playing music in such a manner.

legerdemain (lejardamain) FRENCH
[from Middle French Leger de main
light of hand] noun sleight of hand,
trickery, deception, adroitness, skill.
-adjective of or relating to such
deception or trickery: "..you juggling
mountebank! This is some legerdemain
trick of yours to get off from the performance of your promise, as you have so
often done before" (Walter Scott, The
Antiquary, 1816).

legionnaire (leejanair), legionaire
FRENCH [from legionnaire, ultimately
from Latin legionarius legionary]
noun a member of a legion (such as
the French Foreign Legion) : "The former
legionnaires meet once a year for a formal
reunion dinner at which they exchange
memories of past glories." -noun Legionnaire a member of the American
Legion.

legume (loom, ligyoom) FRENCH
[from legume, ultimately from Latin
legumen leguminous plant, pulse, itself
from legere to gather] noun a vegetable
or the fruit or seed of a leguminous
plant used for food; can also refer to
leguminous plants in general.

leitmotiv (litmoteef), leitmotif
GERMAN [leading motive, from Leitmotiv, from leiten to lead and Motiv motive]
noun a basic recurring theme or
image underlying a piece of music,
opera, or literary work: "The repeated use of this leitmotiv throughout the work
helps to unify the whole composition."

lemma (lema) GREEK [from lambanein to take] noun (plural lemmas
or lemmata, lemata) the theme or
subject of a composition, indicated as
a heading or title.

lento (lento) ITALIAN [slow, ultimately
from Latin lentus sluggish, slow] adverb
in music) slowly. adjective (in music)
slow. 'noun a piece of music written
to be played at a slow pace.

Leo (leeo) LATIN [lion] noun (in
astronomy) the Lion, a large constellation in the northern hemisphere,
near Ursa Major; (in astrology) the
fifth sign of the zodiac, occurring
between Cancer and Virgo.

leprechaun (le~rakon) IRISH GAELIC
[from leipreachtn little person, itself
ultimately from Old Irish luchorpcn,
from lu small and chore body] noun a
breed of mischievous elf or goblin in
Irish folklore reputed to know the
location of hidden treasure: "The story
goes that the old man offended a leprechaun and was at once carried off to a
subterranean kingdom, never to return."

lese-majeste (layz-majastee, lez-majastee, leez-majastee), lese majesty
FRENCH [from lese majeste, ultimately
from Latin laesa majestas injured
majesty] noun (plural lese-majestes)

disrespect, insulting behavior, an
affront to dignity or status (originally high treason or another serious
offense committed against a sovereign or sovereign power): "Such an act
of lese-majeste could not go unpunished."

I'etat, c'est moi (layta say mti) FRENCH
[the state, it is I, quoting the French
king Louis XIV (1638-1715)] noun
phrase I am the state (meaning, the
control of the state, company, organization rests with me); typically quoted
in criticism of someone who believes
he or she wields supreme power.

lettre de cachet (letra da kas )
FRENCH [letter of seal] noun phrase
(plural lettres de cachet) a sealed
letter, a letter with an official seal
(often referring to one granting permission for a person to be detained
without trial or sent into exile).

levee (levee) FRENCH [from levee act
of raising, feminine past participle of
lever to raise] noun an embankment
or ridge raised to prevent flooding;
can also refer to such an embankment
built up naturally by silting: "Water
finally poured over the top of the levee and
the town was rapidly inundated."

levee en masse (levay on(g) mas), levy
en masse FRENCH [rising in mass]
noun phrase (plural levees en masses
or levies en masse) a mass uprising
(usually referring to a popular or mili tart' uprising or mobilization against
an invader or other external enemy).

leviathan (laviathan) HEBREW [liwyathan coiling up] noun a biblical sea
monster and hence any large seagoing
creature or anything huge or vastly
complicated: "You wonder for a long time
how she goes on, for there seems to be nobody
in charge of her,• and when another of these
dull machines comes splashing by, you feel
quite indignant with it, as a sullen cumbrous, ungraceful, unshiplike leviathan: quite
forgetting that the vessel you are on board of,
is its very counterpart" (Charles Dickens,
American Notes, 1842). 'adjective huge,
vast, massively complicated.

levy en masse See LEVEE EN MASSE.

lex (leks) LATIN [law] noun (plural
leges, leejeez) law, statute.

lex aeterna (leks aytern5) LATIN
[eternal law] noun phrase eternal law,
the law of God.

lexicon (leksakahn, leksakan) GREEK
[from lexikon, neuter of lexikos of
words] noun (plural lexicons or lexica, leksaka) a dictionary or other
alphabetically arranged wordbook
containing the vocabulary of a language, or more generally any inventory, record, or repertoire: "I'll be
better able to tell you when I find out
what it is,, said Priscilla, casting aside a
Greek lexicon and taking up Stella's letter" (Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of the
Island, 1915).

lexis (leksis) GREEK [word] noun
the total stock of words in a language.

lex loci (leks losee) LATIN [law of
the place] noun phrase the law of the
country where a contract is made or
where some other event relevant to a
legal case takes place.

lex talionis (leks taleeonis) LATIN
[law of recompense] noun phrase the
law of retaliation, "an eye for an eye."

liaison (leeazan, lee4zon) FRENCH
[joining, linking, connection, from her
to bind] noun a close (often sexual)
relationship between two individuals;
more generally any cooperative interrelationship involving two or more
parties: "Their liaison lasted several years
but eventually foundered over their inability to compromise."

lib. See LIBRETTO.

liberty, egalite, fraternite (libairtay
aygalitay fraternitay) FRENCH [liberty,
equality, fraternity] noun phrase liberty, equality, brotherhood (an expression of the ideals of freedom originally
coined as a slogan of French revolutionaries in the late 18th century):
"The young man died with the words liberte, egalite, fraternite' on his lips."

libido (libcedo) LATIN [desire, lust,
longing, from libere to please]
noun sexual desire, or the psychic
drive in general: "He complained that his
libido needed a boost."

Libra (leebra) LATIN [balance or
scales] noun (in astronomy) the Balance, a constellation in the southern
hemisphere; (in astrology) the seventh
sign of the zodiac, occurring between
Virgo and Scorpio.

libretto (libreto) ITALIAN [diminutive
of libro book] noun (plural librettos or
libretti, libretee) the text for an
opera, musical, or other form of theatrical entertainment with music, or
an actual book or booklet containing
this: "The libretto of the opera had lain
forgotten on top of the wardrobe for some
50 years." 'abbreviated form lib.

licit (lisit) LATIN [from licitus permitted, past participle of licere to be permitted] adjective permitted, lawful.

lido (leedo) ITALIAN [shore, beach,
from Latin litus] noun a bathing
beach, beach resort, or an outdoor
swimming pool open to the public:
"He saw them together on the Lido and
(those writing fellows are horrible) he
wrote what he calls a vignette (I suppose
accidentally, too) under that very title"
(Joseph Conrad, The Arrow of Gold,
1919).

lied (Iced) GERMAN [song] noun (plural lieder, lecdar) an art song per

formed by a solo voice with piano
accompaniment (as developed by Austrian and German Romantic composers of the 19th century).

lien (1en, leean) FRENCH [bond, tie,
fetter, ultimately from Latin ligare to
bind] noun a legal charge, right, or
obligation concerning property that
usually comes to an end only when
some debt or other duty is finally
discharged: "Mr. Casaubon was out of the
question, not merely because he declined
duty of this sort, but because Featherstone
had an especial dislike to him as the rector
of his own parish, who had a lien on the
land in the shape of tithe..." (George
Eliot, Middlemarch, 1871-72).

lieu (loo) FRENCH [place, stead, ultimately from Latin locus place] noun
place, stead. adverb in lieu instead.
-preposition in lieu of instead of,
in the place of: "The company offered
replacement tickets in lieu of refunding the
money she had paid."

limbo (limbo) LATIN [ablative of limbus border, edge] noun a supernatural region between hell and heaven
where unbaptized souls must spend
eternity, according to Roman Catholic theology, and, by extension, any
indeterminate place that lies between
two more definite locations or any
state of uncertainty, oblivion, or passivity: "The family was condemned to
remain in agonizing limbo until the court
came to its decision."

limousine (limazeen, limazeen) FRENCH
[cloak, after Limousin, France] noun
a large, luxurious car, often one in
which the driver is separated from
the passengers by a glass partition:
"On her 10th birthday she persuaded
her parents to hire a limousine in which
she could ride round town, waving to her
envious friends."

lingerie (lonzharay, lonjaray, lonzharee, lonjaree) FRENCH [from Middle
French linge linen, ultimately from
Latin linens made of linen] noun underwear and nightwear for women:
"Lingerie and nightwear are now on sale
on the top floor of the store."

lingua franca (lingwa franka) ITALIAN
[Frankish language] noun phrase (plural lingua francas or linguae francae, lingwee frankee) a common
language adopted as a means of
communication among people who
speak various different native languages (originally a mixture of Italian, French, Spanish, Greek, Turkish,
and Arabic formerly spoken in ports
around the Mediterranean): "..not
understanding a word of German, Latin,
or French, he had been obliged to have
recourse to his Greek, Turkish, and the
Lingua Franca, which did not procure
him much in the country he was traveling through; his proposal, therefore, to
me was, that I should accompany him in
the quality of secretary and interpreter."
(Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Confessions,
1782-89).