Phrases and Names Their Origins and Meanings : 'L' (영어 이름과 표현의 의미와 유래)

 

Labadists. A sect of Protestant mystics founded in the seventeenth century by Jean Labadic of Bourg, Germany.

La Belle Sauvage Yard. The yard of the famous coaching inn of the same name. The history of this sign was curious. Kept by Isabelle Savage, it bore the name of “The Bel Savage”; but its sign was a bell suspended within an iron hoop at the top of the usual “Ale Stake.” Hence its proper name was “The Bell in the Hoop.” When in the year 1616 John Rolfe brought his Virginian bride Pocohontas to London, the story of his remarkable adventures had anticipated his arrival, and people spoke of this Indian heroine as “La Belle Sauvage.” It was odd that these strangers within our gates should put up at the “Bell Savage,” and the association resulted in the change of title on their account.

Labrador. Called by the Portuguese navigators Tierra Labrador, “cultivatable land.”

Lackland. The surname of King John, who, owing to his thriftlessness, was left entirely without provision at the death of his father, Henry II.

Laconics. Terse and pithy replies, so called from the Lacons, which was the name applied to the Spartans, from the country whence they came. When Philip of Macedon sent this message to the Spartan magistrates: “If I enter Laconia I will level Lacedæmon to the ground,” the reply was briefly: “If.”

Lacrosse. This name was given to the game by Charlevoix, who, seeing it played by some Alonquin Indians with a stick between Quebec and Three Rivers, called it le jeu de la Crosse.

Ladbroke Grove. This, with the square of the same name, was built upon by the Ladbroke family, who acquired the lease of the land for the purpose.

Lad Lane. A name frequently met with in connection with the old coaching inn, “The Swan with Two Necks.” It was a corruption of “Our Lady Lane,” so called from a statue of the Virgin.

Ladrones. Expresses the Spanish for “thieves,” the name given to those islands by Magellan because the natives made off with the stores he had landed.

Ladybird. A pretty species of beetle resembling a bug, and anciently called “Our Lady’s Bug.” Bug is the accepted American term for a beetle.

Lady Day. The Feast of Our Lady, otherwise of the Annunciation to the Virgin (25th March). Prior to 1752 this was also the first day of the New Year; now it figures as Quarter Day, when rents and taxes have to be paid.

Lady Freemason. The Hon. Elizabeth St Leger, niece of Sir Anthony St Leger, who founded the stakes named after him at Doncaster Races, and daughter of Lord Doneraile of Dublin. Chancing to overhear the proceedings at a Lodge held at her father’s mansion she was discovered, and, as the only way out of an unprecedented dilemma, initiated to the craft. No other female has ever been made a “Freemason.”

Lager Beer. The German “lager bier” is simply stock beer, the liquor being kept in a lager, or cellar, until it is sufficiently ripened for consumption. All over the United States the demand for “Lager” is enormous.

Laid on the Shelf. A phrase implying that one’s period of usefulness has been passed. The allusion is to books read and clothes laid aside as of no further use.

Laid up in Lavender. Something put away very carefully, as a good housewife preserves linen strewn with lavender in a press against moths. At times we hear the expression allusive to an article put in pawn.

Lake Erie. See “Erie.”

Lake Huron. See “Huron.”

Lake Ontario. See “Ontario.”

Lake School of Poets. A term applied by The Edinburgh Review to the imitators of Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Southey, who communed with Nature in the Lake District of Cumberland and Westmoreland.

Lake Superior. The uppermost and principal of the five great lakes of North America.

Lake Winnipeg. See “Winnipeg.”

La Marseillaise. See “Marseillaise.”

Lambeth. A corruption of “Lamhithe,” the Anglo-Saxon for mud haven, or a muddy landing-place.

Lambeth Palace. The historic residence of the Archbishops of Canterbury.

Lamb’s Conduit Street. After William Lambe, a wealthy clothworker, who at his own cost built “a faire conduit and standard” in the fields here off Holborn in 1577.

Lamb’s Wool. A rural beverage of roasted apple juice and spiced ale. It received its name from the Saxon La Mæs Ubhal, or “Feast of the Apple Gathering.” From lammas ool its further corruption was easy.

Lame Duck. The name given to a member of the Stock Exchange who cannot meet his liabilities on settling day. Instead of walking erect, like a man of strict integrity, he ducks his head, and waddles off, well knowing that he has been black-boarded and struck off the list of members.

Lammas Day. The ancient name for the first of August, when every parishioner brought to church a loaf made of new wheat. The name expresses the Anglo-Saxon for “loaf mass,” and the bread was a gift of first-fruits to the clergy. Its modern equivalent is the “Harvest Festival.”

Lamp-black. So called because this pigment was at first obtained by burning resinous matter over the flame of a lamp.

Lancaster. The Roman Lunecastra, or fortified camp on the Lune.

Lancaster Gun. After the name of its inventor.

Lancastrians. During the Wars of the Roses the partisans of the House of Lancaster in the contest for the crown of England as opposed to the House of York.

Lancers. This dance received its name from a company of Lancers who went through the evolutions of a quadrille on horseback about the year 1836.

Landau. After Landau in Germany, where it was first made.

Landes. Expresses the French for heaths. The people of this marshy and, in parts sandy, district walk on long stilts.

Landgrave. The Anglicised form of the German landgraf, count, a ground landlord.

Land o’ Cakes. Scotland, which has always been celebrated for its oatmeal cakes.

Land of Green Ginger. A square at Hull where, as popularly thought, green ginger was anciently landed from the river and sold in open market. The name is, however, a corruption of “Greenhinger,” being the land owned by Moses Greenhinger, a boat builder, who lived in Whitefriargate in the seventeenth century. This is proved by a letter of Sir Willoughby Hickman, a candidate for the borough in 1685. Therein he states that a coach took him from the waterside to the George Inn, “at the corner of the land of Moses Greenhinger.”

Land of Promise. The name of a short street in Hoxton, so called, sarcastically no doubt, because it leads to the workhouse.

Land of Steady Habits. Connecticut, so called on account of the excellent moral character of the people.

Land of Sundown Seas. Alaska. “Sundown” is an Americanism for sunset, just as “Sun-up” is for sunrise.

Land o’ the Leal. The Scottish heaven, or “Dixie’s Land”; according to the Baroness Nairne’s ballad the word Leal means faithful.

Land of the Midnight Sun. Norway.

Landscaper. Local slang in the eastern counties for a tramp, vagrant, or “Loafer.”

Land Shark. The name given by sailors to a boarding-house keeper in a seaport town who preys upon them by systematic overcharges.

Landwehr. The German equivalent for our volunteers, or soldiers for land defence. The term wehr means bulwark, defence.

Lane. Actors refer to the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, as “The Lane,” the playhouse of London par excellence since the palmy days of the Drama.

Langbourn Ward. From the long bourn or stream, of which now no trace remains.

Langholm Place. After the mansion and grounds of Sir James Langham, which occupied what is now the street of the same name.

Laodicea. This ancient city was so called after Laodice, the queen of Antiochus Theos, who founded it.

Lap Dog. One literally nursed in the lap of luxury. Mothers of families are strangers to such pets.

Lapsus Linguæ. Latin for “a slip of the tongue.”

Largess. From the Latin largitso, to give freely, through the French largesse. This word meant originally a fee or present bestowed upon a butler or head servant by a departing guest. In its modern acceptation it is a distribution of money amongst a number rather as a matter of policy or necessity than from choice.

Lascar. The generic name for an East Indian seaman, though it really expresses the Persian for a soldier, from lashkari, a camp-follower. Lascars were first employed by the East Indiamen homeward bound. Nowadays all Asiatic sailors, of whatever nationality, are called Lascars.

Lasso. From the Spanish lazo, a noose.

Latakia. A Turkish tobacco, so called from the place (the ancient Laodicea) where it is produced.

Latch-string is always out. An Americanism for a hearty welcome at all times, without need for a formal invitation. The allusion to the latch-string means: “You have only to walk in, like any member of the family.”

Lath. A subdivision of land while certain portions of Eastern England were held by the Danes, so called from the Norse “Lathing,” a law assembly.

Latins. See “Italy.”

Latin Vulgate. The Roman Catholic Bible authorised by the Council of Trent in 1546. This translation of the Scriptures was made by St Jerome from the Greek into the Latin or vulgar tongue A.D. 405.

Latitudinarians. The opposers of the High Church party, and also of the Puritans, during the Restoration period. Modern Latitudinarians are those who hold very broad views in regard to orthodox doctrine.

Laugh and grow Fat. In allusion to Democritus, “The Laughing Philosopher,” who waxed fat, and lived to be 109 years old.

Laughing Philosopher. Democritus of Abdera, from his habit of humorously exposing the absurdities of his countrymen, whose stupidity, he declared, was proverbial; the feeble powers of mankind, contrasted with the forces of nature, likewise aroused his contempt.

Laugh in your Sleeve. Anciently the sleeves of all outer garments were very wide, and when a person covered his face with his hand there was always a suspicion that he was making merry at someone else’s discomfiture.

Laugh on the wrong Side of your Face. A person may preserve a grave countenance while listening to a story, and at the same time wink significantly to a bystander on the opposite side of the speaker. The expression means that if, for his insolence, he received a castigation, both his eyes would be made to wink or blink.

Laundress. The exclusive designation of a housekeeper or caretaker of bachelor chambers in the Temple. This is because during the Crusades a great many women of the town followed in the train of the Knights Templars to the Holy Land for the purpose of washing their linen. It afterwards transpired that, as a rule, they acted also as mistresses to the Knights, and had tents set apart for them even within sight of Jerusalem. Historians tell us too that, though a religious Order, the Templars did not scruple to introduce these women into their London house after their return from the seat of warfare, and this irregularity, in fact, led to their suppression by Edward II. in 1313.

Laundried. An Americanism for “washed,” in relation to household or personal linen. This, when one comes to look into the word, is correct English, meaning lawn dried.

Lavender. From the Latin verb lavare, to wash, because this shrub yields an essential oil employed in medicine and perfumery. Laundresses also use it for preserving newly washed linen against moths.

Lavender Water. A scent produced from the essential oil of lavender, spirits of wine, and ambergris.

Lawing. An Americanism for “going to law.”

Lawless Parliament. See “Parliament of Dunces.”

Lawn. The finest linen, which has been bleached on a lawn instead of the usual drying ground. The greensward called a lawn received its name from the Celtic allawnt, a smooth, rising ground.

Lawrence Lane. From the Church of St Lawrence, at its foot, in Gresham Street.

Law Sakes. An American corruption of the phrase “For the Lord’s sake!” which, current among the Puritans of New England, found its way in this new form into neighbouring states.

Laws, Laws-a-me. A corruption of “Lord, have mercy on me.”

Lawyer. From the old English Lawwer, literally “lawman”; the suffix is allied to the Latin vir, man.

Lawyer’s Treat. A phrase implying that each shall pay for his own drinks. A lawyer never treats his clients at a refreshment bar; they defray the cost between them.

Lay-by. The name given to an article, generally clothing, purchased on the weekly instalment system, and laid by on a shelf until the whole amount has been paid off.

Lazar-house. The old name for a poor-house, in allusion to Lazarus, who picked up the crumbs under the table at the mansion of Dives. On the Continent such an institution is styled a “Lazaretto.”

Lazarists. An Order of missionaries founded by St Vincent de Paul, so called from their headquarters in Paris, the Priory of St Lazare, between 1632 and 1792.

Lazzaroni. The beggars of Naples, and originally all the poorest people of that city who had no regular habitation save the streets. Their name was derived from the common refuge, the Hospital of St Lazarus.

Leadenhall Street. After the edifice known as the Leadenhall, the first in London ever roofed with lead, built in 1419 by Sir Simon Eyre, and presented to the city for the purposes of a granary in time of scarcity.

Leading Article (or Leader). There are three reasons for this term applied to a large-type newspaper article. It is supposed to be written by the chief of the literary staff, the editor; it leads off the foreign and all other important news on the inside pages of the paper; and it is intended to lead public opinion according to the party views maintained by the journal in question.

League of the Cross. The title of a modern crusade among the Roman Catholics for the total suppression of drunkenness.

Leamington. The town in the meadow on the banks of the Leam.

Leap Year. That which every fourth year leaps to the total of 366 days by adding a day to the month of February.

Leather Lane. From “The Old Leather Bottle,” now modernised, at the corner of this lane and Charles Street.

Leave some for Manners. A dinner-table phrase, which had its origin in the ancient custom of making an offering of a portion of the viands to the gods.

Lebanon. From the Hebrew laban, white; expresses “the white mountain.”

Lee. A variant of the Anglo-Saxon lea and ley, “meadow” or “pasture land.” This word enters into many river and place-names.

Leech. The old name for a medical man in the days when bleeding the patient, no matter what his ailment might be, was the common practice.

L. E. L. The literary pseudonym, formed from the initials of Letitia Elizabeth Landon, the poetess.

Leg and Star. A corruption of “The Star and Garter.” This, of course, arose when a painted device, instead of a mere title, served as an inn and tavern sign.

Legend. An Americanism for a written or printed notice. The term has latterly come into use in England relative to a tradesman’s shop announcement.

Legitimate Drama. That which is dependent upon its intrinsic literary and constructive merits, quite apart from scenic effects.

Leg Stretcher. A Far Western expression for a drink. This arose from the common travellers’ exclamation while the stage coach was waiting for the mails: “I’ll get off a bit, and stretch my legs.”

Leicester. The Leirecastra of the Romans, being the fortified camp on the Leire, now called the Soar.

Leicester Square. Originally Leicester Fields, from the town mansion built on its east side by Robert Sidney, Earl of Leicester, in 1636.

Leipsic. Expresses the Slavonic for linden or lime tree town, from lipa, lime-tree.

Leman Street. Properly “Lemon Street,” from a wharf at the Thames side, where, before the construction of the docks, lemons were landed and sold.

Lemon Sole. The species of sole found on the south coast of England; really a mud sole, from the Latin lima, mud.

Lent. From the Anglo-Saxon lencten, the spring. The word has the same origin as “lengthen,” since at this season of the year the lengthening of the days becomes perceptible.

Lent Crocking. A popular old-time diversion of the schoolboys on Shrove Tuesday. The ringleader, having knocked at a house door and recited a garbled set of verses, to the effect that he had come a-shroving, his companions kept up an incessant din with old saucepans and kettles until they were paid to go away.

Leonine Verses. Those which rhyme both in the middle and at the end of each line, so called after Leoninus, a canon of St Victor in Paris midway in the twelfth century.

Let the Cat out of the Bag. To disclose a trick unwittingly. The illusion is to a very old device at country fairs of selling a cat for a sucking pig. One pig only was exposed to view; all the others were supposed to be ready tied up for carrying away. If, on occasion, a purchaser insisted on untying the sack before paying for it, the cat leapt out, and the fraud was discovered. As to the other victims who had taken away theirs on trust, they were forced to admit, because their sack contained no sucking pig, that they had been “sucked in.”

Levant. An Italian term for the Orient or East--i.e. all those parts of the Mediterranean eastward of Italy. The word is also used in the sense of to depart, and a defaulter was said to have levanted, or gone to the Levant. This was in allusion to the “Grand Tour” which all scions of the nobility were expected to make on reaching their majority.

Levee. A French word applied to a royal reception, from lever, arising, because in former times such a function took place in the King’s bed-chamber at the hour of rising.

Levellers. The primitive Radicals or Socialists of the time of Charles I. and long afterwards; their plea was that all men should be on a common level in regard to office-seeking. Also the original name of the “White Boys” in Ireland, who commenced their agrarian outrages by levelling the hedges and fences on enclosed lands.

Leviticus. That book of the Old Testament which sets forth the laws pertaining to the priests or Levites, the descendants of Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah.

Lewisham. From Leesham, the home or family settlement in the meadow. See “Lee.”

Leyden. Originally Lugdunum, the Latinised form of the Celtic llwch, a morass, and dun, a hill, fortress.

Leyton. The town in the lea or meadow.

Leytonstone. A corruption of “Leytonstowe,” the stock or wooded place in the vicinity of a meadow.

Lhassa. A Tibetan word for “full of gods.”

Liberal. The modern designation of the Progressive or “Whig” Party. This arose out of Lord Byron’s political magazine, The Liberal, in 1828, though the name was not formally assumed until the agitation for the Reform Bill in 1831.

Liberator. The surname of Simon Bolivar, who established the independence of Peru.

Liberia. An independent republic of free Negroes on the west coast of Africa. The word is derived from the Latin liber, free, and the Celtic suffix ia, country.

Library. From the Latin librarium, a bookcase, through liber, a book.

Lifting. This technical term in the printing trade, because type is lifted out of the columns prior to distribution, or, as may happen in a newspaper, to be held over until the next issue for want of space, has come to be applied by journalists to literary theft. Facts, anecdotes, or jokes stolen from a contribution submitted to an editor on approval are said to have been “lifted.” One newspaper, too, often “lifts” matter from another without acknowledgment.

Light. A journeyman printer’s term for “credit.” Derived from the old saying: “He stands in a good light with his neighbours.” The boast: “My light is good,” has about it little to find fault with.

Liguorians. Another name for the Redemptorists or Preachers of the Redemption, an Order founded by St Francis Liguori in 1732.

Like a Thousand of Brick. An Americanism for very heavily, as if a waggon-load of bricks had been dumped down on one.

Lille. Properly L’Isle, the island.

Lima. A Spanish corruption of the Peruvian Rima, the name of the river on which it is situated.

Limavady. From the Irish Leim-a-madha, “The Dog’s Leap.”

Limehouse. A corruption of Limehurst, or wood of lime-trees.

Lime Street. Where lime was sold in ancient times.

Limoges. Anciently called “Lemovica,” from the Lemovices, the people who settled in this portion of Gaul.

Lincoln. Originally Llyn-dun, the Celtic for “Pool hill,” or the town built on the eminence overlooking the Swanpool, which was not drained until the eighteenth century. When the Romans established themselves here they called it Lindum Colonia, or the colony beside the pool. Of this name, therefore, Lincoln is a softened abbreviation.

Lincoln College. Founded at Oxford by Richard Fleming, Bishop of Lincoln, in 1427.

Lincoln’s Inn. Anciently the town mansion of the Earls of Lincoln, built by Henry de Lacey, Earl of Lincoln, in the fourteenth century.

Line of Business. A theatrical phrase for the special kind of parts in which an actor is experienced. One who plays the “Juveniles” would not be entrusted with an “Old Man’s” part, and so forth.

Liner. A steamship belonging to a regular line or service of fast sailers--e.g. the Cunard Line.

Lingo. Slang for language, derived from the Latin lingua, the tongue.

Lingua Franca. A common language along the Mediterranean shores, being a mixture of French and Italian. See “Lingo.”

Linoleum. A floorcloth, into the manufacture of which linseed oil enters largely.

Linseed Lancers. The nickname of the Army Medical Corps.

Lion. An ancient inn sign derived from the heraldic device of a particular monarch, or it might be, the Lord of the Manor. According to the colour of the animal in that device, so the name of the inn, after a mere name was substituted for the painted representation, came to be designated. Hence “Red Lion,” “Black Lion,” etc.

Lion and Key. A corruption of “The Lion on the Quay,” by way of distinguishing an inn or tavern from other Lions in the same seaport.

Lion Comique. The name bestowed upon George Leybourne and other music-hall vocalists of his class in days when comic singing was very different to what it is now. The modern type of vocal comedians is, happily, not “lionised” in the strict sense of the word.

Lionise. See “Lion of the Season.”

Lion of the Season. A distinguished musical executant or other celebrity, generally a foreigner, at whose shrine society metaphorically worships while his fame is at its zenith. The expression is the outcome of the anxiety of the country folk in former days to see the “London Lion” at the Tower. Hence to “lionise,” make the most of a “stranger within our gates.”

Lion Sermon. This is delivered once a year at the Church of St Katherine Cree in commemoration of Sir John Gayer’s miraculous escape from death by a lion when he found himself separated from his companions in the African desert. He bequeathed the sum of £200 a year to the poor on condition of this sermon being annually preached.

Lisbon. Anciently Olisipo or Ulyssippo, after Ulysses, who, visiting Portugal with Lucus, is traditionally stated to have laid the foundations of the city.

Lisson Grove. Formerly Lidstone Green, a corruption of “Ossulton Green,” the name of a Hundred cited in Domesday Book. Ossulton Street in the Euston Road preserves the name in the original form.

Litany. See “Rogation Days.”

Little Bit of All Right. A popular expression meaning “Just the thing I wanted,” or “It couldn’t have happened better.”

Little Britain. From the ancient residence of the Dukes of Brittany.

Little Corporal. The name bestowed upon Napoleon I., at the commencement of his military career, from his rank and low stature.

Little John. The real name of this Sherwood forester was John Little, but Robin Hood playfully inverted it because its owner was a tall, strapping fellow.

Little Man. The affectionate sobriquet of the late Mr Alfred Beit, the “Diamond King,” on account of his diminutive stature.

Little Mary. A modern euphonism for the stomach, popularised by J. M. Barrie’s successful comedy of this title.

Little too Thick. The antithesis of a “thin” story; one so crowded with extraordinary statements that it is hard to grasp or credit.

Little Turnstile. The lesser turnstile on the north side of Lincoln’s Inn Fields, set up to prevent sheep from straying into Holborn.

Live like Fighting Cocks. From the days of the Greeks down to comparatively modern times game-cocks were fed luxuriantly, so as to increase their pugnacity; hence the application of the phrase to good living.

Live Man. An Americanism for an energetic agent or canvasser.

Liverpool. From an extinct bird, somewhat resembling the heron, and called the liver, that made the pool on which this city was built its home.

Liverpool Landseer. The sobriquet of William Huggins, who acquired an equal celebrity for animal painting in his native place, as Sir Edwin Landseer in the country at large.

Liverpool Street. After Lord Liverpool, one of the most popular members of the Ministry at the accession of George IV. There is another Liverpool Street named after him at King’s Cross.

Liverymen. Freemen of the city of London who on great special occasions wear the distinctive livery of the companies to which they belong.

Llandaff. Properly Llan Taff, the church on the Taff.

Lloyd’s. After Edward Lloyd, a coffee-house keeper in Abchurch Lane, whose premises were first used by merchants and shippers as a sort of club.

LL Whisky. That distilled by Messrs Kinahan of Dublin. When the Duke of Richmond was Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland between 1807 and 1813 he in the former year sent to various distilleries for samples of good whisky, and preferring that tendered by Messrs Kinahan, he ordered a large vat of the same quality to be exclusively reserved for him. This vat had LL painted on it, denoting “Lord-Lieutenant Whisky.”

Lo. An American term for an Indian. This originated in Pope’s “Essay on Man,” a couplet of which reads:

“Lo, the poor Indian! whose untutored mind

Sees God in clouds or hears Him in the wind.”

Loaded. An Americanism for intoxicated or “primed.”

Loafer. This word is neither Dutch nor German, as generally stated; it is distinctly Spanish-American. The early settlers of Mexico and Texas gave the name of gallofo to a vagrant, who, like the lazzaroni of Naples, hung about the churches begging for alms. From the western states this word travelled to New York, and in the process became changed into “Loafer.”

Loan. An Americanism for “lend.”

Lock-out. When artisans have struck for an advance of wages, and afterwards decide to return to work on the former scale, the masters retaliate by shutting them out of the works altogether and employing fresh hands from elsewhere.

Lock, Stock, and Barrel. A sportsman’s phrase for the whole of a thing, in allusion to the three parts of a gun. In the modern sense it is used to imply the complete discomfiture of an adversary in argument or of one utterly outwitted in his schemes.

Loco-Focos. The American term for lucifer matches. By a patent dated 16th April 1834 John Marck, a storekeeper of Park Row, New York, brought out a self-lighting or friction cigar, which he called a Loco-Foco. The first portion of this name was taken from the newly introduced locomotive, which people generally thought to mean self-moving; the latter half was a euphonism of his own. When friction or self-firing matches came in they received the same designation. The Democratic Party of the United States received the name of “Loco-Focos” from the circumstance that at a great general meeting held in Tammany Hall to confirm the nomination of Gideon Lee as the Democratic candidate for Congress, a tumult arose, and the lights were turned out; whereupon the adherents of the candidate, who had provided themselves with loco-focos and candles, relighted the hall in a moment.

Loft. An Americanism for storey. In the United States it is usual to say a house contains so many “lofts” instead of storeys.

Logger. One employed in the North American forests cutting down trees and sawing them into logs.

Loggerhead. A dull, stupid fellow with no more sense in his head than a “logger” or lumberman. These loggers often quarrel for no visible cause; hence the expression to be “at loggerheads.”

Log-rolling. Primarily a political term descriptive of mutual co-operation on the part of individuals for the furtherance of a general cause. It means: “You help me and I’ll help you”; “If your party further my Bill through Congress I’ll pledge my party to push yours along too.” The expression obtains also in a social and journalistic sense: “If I propose a testimonial for you I expect you to do the same for me”; “I’ll write you up in the Press if you engage to return the compliment.” For the origin of the term we must look to the lumber regions of the state of Maine, where the loggers of different camps assist one another by turns to roll their logs down to the river.

Lollards. Originally an association of pious people in Germany at the commencement of the thirteenth century banded together for the purpose of burying the dead. They were so called on account of the solemn dirges they sang, from the Low German lollen, to sing softly. After a time the same title was assumed by the followers of one Walter Goilard, a dissolute priest, who was burned for heresy at Cologne in 1322. The Wycliffites assumed this name still later, and some of these it must have been who were imprisoned in the “Lollards’ Tower,” Lambeth Palace.

Lombard Street. From the Jews of Lombardy, who here set up banks and money-lending establishments, at the instance of Pope Gregory IX., as a means of assisting the people of England to raise money for the payment of their taxes early in the thirteenth century.

Lombardy. Called by the Romans Longobardi after its people, whom they subdued. This name was not derived from their long beards, as generally stated, but from the longis bardis, or long battle-axes, with which they were armed.

London. This name claims the same origin as “Lincoln,” the first rude habitations beside the Thames being situated on the rising ground now known as Tower Hill.

London Bridge was built on Woolpacks. This expression had its origin in the fact that, when the construction of Old London Bridge was stopped for want of funds, Henry II. expedited its completion by imposing a tax upon wool.

Londonderry. The town built by a company of London adventurers, to whom it, with the county of the same name, was granted by a royal charter of James I. Derry is Celtic for a grove or oak forest.

London Lion. An expression derived from the Royal Menagerie at the Tower of London ere the metropolis rejoiced in a Zoological Gardens, and when travelling menageries were unheard of. Country visitors up in town for a few days never failed at that period to feast their eyes upon a real live lion, and on returning to their homes boasted of having seen the London Lion.

London Stone. Marked the centre of Roman London, from which all the great roads through the country radiated.

London Wall. From the Roman wall which here defined the northern limits of the city. A portion of this old wall may yet be seen in Cripplegate Churchyard.

Lone Star State. Texas, from the single star in her flag.

Long Acre. The Anglo-Saxon acer, like the modern German acker, expresses a field. This was anciently a path across the fields between Lincoln’s Inn and “Lomesbury Village,” or the manor now known as Bloomsbury in the parish of St Giles’s-in-the-Fields.

Long Friday. The old name for Good Friday, both on account of the length of the Church service and the long fast imposed on all good Catholics.

Longford. The long ford on the River Camlin.

Long Island. So called from its shape.

Long Lane. This was a long, narrow lane extending from Barbican to Farringdon Road before the greater portion of its one side was cleared for the Smithfield Market.

Long Lane that has no Turning. An expression meaning that sooner or later a turn of fortune must come, since no lane, however long, exists that has no turning.

Long Peter. This name was merited by the celebrated Flemish painter, Peter Aartsen, by reason of his abnormal stature.

Long Parliament. That which was dissolved by Oliver Cromwell after it had lasted more than twelve years.

Longshanks. The surname of Edward I. on account of his spindle legs.

Longshoreman. Properly “Along-shoreman”--namely, a wharfinger, or one employed in loading and unloading vessels.

Look Daggers. A phrase used when two persons look fixedly at each other as if their eyes were dagger points ready to make a fatal thrust.

Loosen your Purse Strings. See “Purse Strings.”

Lord Bobs. The later nickname of Lord Roberts since the close of the South African War.

Lord’s Cricket Ground. After Thomas Lord, the founder of the earliest private Cricket Club in London, in 1780. First in Dorset Square, and eventually on its present site--his own landed property--he set up a private pitch for genteel folk far from the haunts of the city apprentices and other enthusiasts of the game.

Lord’s Day. The name given to Sunday by the Quakers.

Lordship Lane. From the Lord of the Manor of Dulwich.

Loretto. Called by the Romans Lauretana after Laureta, the lady to whom the country villa, and a large tract of land on which the town was afterwards built, belonged.

Lorraine. Anciently Lotharingia, the duchy of Lotharius II., grandson of the Emperor Lewis I.

Los Angeles. Originally called by the Spaniards “Pueblo de los Angeles,” the city of the angels, on account of its delightful situation and climate.

Lo Spagnoletto. The surname of Guiseppe Ribera, the celebrated Spanish painter. It means “Little Spaniard.”

Lothbury. A corruption of “Lattenbury,” where the workers in latten ware, a species of bronze, had their shops in the Middle Ages. In the modern sense latten is a kind of sheet brass.

Loudoun Road. After the name of the builder on the estate.

Louis d’Or. A gold coin first struck in the reign of Louis XIII. of France. The name means a “Louis of gold.”

Louisiana. The name bestowed upon this State by M. de la Sale in 1682 in compliment to Louis XIV. of France.

Louvre. An adapted French word, from l’ouvert, “the opening,” which expressed a kind of turret on the roof of a building by way of a chimney to let out the smoke. A rude contrivance of this kind distinguished the ancient hunting seat of Dagobert, on the site of which Francis I. commenced the famous Parisian palace of this name in 1528, completed twenty years later by Henry II. A louvre window partakes of the same character.

Lower Berkeley Street. See “Berkeley Street.”

Lower Thames Street. The eastern portion of Thames Street, from London Bridge to the Tower.

Lowndes Square. After the ground landlord, lineally descended from William Loundes, secretary to the Treasury, temp. Queen Anne.

Low Sunday. Not only was this Sunday at the bottom of the Lenten or Easter Calendar, but prior to the alteration of New Year’s Day it was frequently also the last Sunday of the year.

Luciferians. A sect of Christians in the fourth century, under Lucifer, Bishop of Cagliari in Sardinia, who separated from the Orthodox Church on the ground that the reconverted “Arians” should not again be admitted to the fold.

Lucifer Matches. Early friction matches, so called from the Latin lucis, light, and ferre, to bring.

Lucullus Feast. A sumptuous banquet, so called after Licinius Lucullus, a famous Roman general, who in the days of his retirement was no less distinguished for the costly suppers he gave to the greatest men of the Empire. The sums expended on those entertainments were enormous. As an epicure he was unrivalled; he could also be a glutton on occasion. There is a story told that after the feast had been prepared no guests arrived. “Lucullus will sup to-night with Lucullus” was the explanation of the host.

Lud-a-massy. A corruption of the old exclamation “Lord, have mercy!”

Luddites. A name borne by the wilful destroyers of machinery in the manufacturing districts; said to have been adopted from Ned Lud, an imbecile of Leicester, who being, chased by boys, took refuge in a house, and there broke a couple of stocking frames. These rioters caused great havoc during the second decade of the last century.

Ludgate Hill. The testimony of Old Stow notwithstanding, there is grave doubt whether King Lud, the reputed builder of the western gate of the city, ever existed. In much greater likelihood this gate received its name from its situation near the River Fleet, and meant simply Flood Gate. See “Fleet Street.”

Lug. Northern and Scottish for “ear.” In England generally this word is regarded as slang except when employed in connection with “Lugger” and “Luggage.”

Luggage. So called because it is lugged about in transit by the handles, as a Lancashire man would pull another by the lug or ear.

Lugger. A small craft having lugs, or drooping sails, like a dog’s ear.

Lumber. An Americanism for timber sawn into logs and sent floating down the rivers for eventual shipment.

Lumber-room. One set apart for odds and ends of no practical utility. The name is derived from “Lombard Room,” in which the Lombards, who were the first goldsmiths and money-lenders in England, stored the articles pledged with them.

Lunatic. From the Latin luna, the moon. The Romans persistently cherished the idea that a person’s mind was affected at the several changes of the moon.

Lupercalia. A Roman festival in honour of Lupercus, the god of fertility. This occurred on the 15th of February.

Lupus Street. This keeps alive the name of Henry Lupus, first Earl of Chester, from whom the Grosvenors, the ground landlords, are descended.

Lurid Waistcoat Banquet. The latest style of “Freak Dinner” in America, each guest disporting himself in a waistcoat of startling hue and design.

Lutherans. After Martin Luther, the German Reformer.

Luxembourg. This celebrated palace of the French capital stands on the site of that purchased and enlarged in 1583 by the Duke of d’Epinay, Luxembourg. The title of the Dukes of Luxembourg is very ancient, having been derived from a beautiful chateau called Luici burgum, which was acquired by Siegfried, Count of Ardennes, in 963.

Lyceum Theatre. Opened in 1834 as the English Opera House. This was originally a lyceum or academical establishment connected with the Society of Arts. The word Lyceum was correctly applied in this case from the academy formed by Aristotle in the temple of Apollo Lyceus, near the River Illissus.

Lych-Gate. A large gateway at the entrance to the churchyard where the coffin can be set down while the mourners await the arrival of the clergyman to lead the funeral service. The word comes from the Gothic leik, and German leiche, a corpse.

Lyddite. So called because experiments with this explosive were first made at Lydd in Kent.

Lying around Loose. An Americanism for being out of a situation, lounging about the town.

Lyme Regis. This little Dorsetshire seaport on the River Lym was honoured with a royal charter and the title of Regis because it furnished Edward III. with three ships to aid in the siege of Calais in 1346.

Lynch Law. The summary justice meted out to public offenders in the western states of North America. This term was derived from James Lynch, a farmer of Piedmont on the western frontier of Virginia. There being no Court of Law for many miles around he was always appealed to in cases requiring a legal decision, and his judgments were so sound and impartial that the people gave him the name of Judge Lynch. The death sentence was by hanging at the nearest tree. To “lynch a man,” however, in the modern sense is to dispense with legal formalities altogether.

Lynn Regis. See “King’s Lynn.”

Lyon King at Arms. The principal at Heralds’ College in Scotland, so called from the lion rampant on the armorial bearings of the Scottish kings.

Lyre Bird. So called from the resemblance of the sixteen feathers of its tail when spread erect to a lyre.

 

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