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L'Hombre
L'Hombre is a card game that was developed in Spain in the early 17th century,
as a variation of an earlier four player game, also called Hombre. The three
player version, which in Spain was originally called Hombre Renegado spread
rapidly across Europe and during the 17th and 18th centuries became the premier
card game, occupying a position of prestige similar to Bridge today. It was
variously known as Hombre, Ombre or L'Hombre, and over the years it acquired
many variations, of increasing complexity. Its popularity was eclipsed in the
late 18th century by a new four player variant Quadrille, which was in turn
displaced by Whist, Boston and eventually Bridge. Although L'Hombre died out in
other parts of Europe, it remained popular in Denmark right up to the 20th
century, and is still played there today. The game is organized with a L'Hombre
union in Jutland, the western part of Denmark. L'Hombre was one of the first
games to introduce bidding, through which one player becomes the declarer,
trying to make a contract, with the other players cooperating to prevent him.
The declarer was originally called Hombre (i.e. the man). It was from L'Hombre
that the idea of bidding was adopted into other card games such as Tarot, Skat
and Boston.
L-band
L-band is the frequency band from 390 to 1550 mhz employed in radar.
La Leche League International
La Leche League International is an organization of women who offer information
and encouragement to mothers who want to breast-feed their babies. The league
provides counselling and education to parents and professionals through
meetings, seminars, and publications. Its publications include a book called
The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding. The league also distributes brochures on
childbirth, child care, and related subjects. It directs group discussions for
mothers who are breast-feeding and other interested women.
La Vache
see "Aluette"
Labret
A labret is an ornament inserted in a hole pierced through the lip.
Labyrinth
A labyrinth is a maze like structure.
Lactic acid
Lactic acid is an organic acid formed by certain bacteria during fermentation.
It also occurs in the muscles when they are exercised vigorously. It is used in
food preservation and pharmaceuticals.
Lactoglucose
see "Galactose"
Lactose
Lactose is a sugar found in solution in milk. It is the combination of glucose
and galactose.
Ladanum
Ladanum is a gum resin extracted from plants of the genus Cistus and used in
perfume.
Ladino
Ladino is a Spanish dialect spoken by Sephardic Jews.
Laevulose
see "Fructose"
Lagoon
A lagoon is a shallow stretch of salt water partly or wholly separated from the
sea by a narrow strip of land or a low sand-bank or coral reef.
Lallans
Lallans is a Lowland Scottish language.
Lambda
Lambda is the 12th letter of the Greek alphabet.
Lambert
The lambert is the unit of luminance (the light shining from a surface), equal
to one lumen per square centimetre. In scientific work the candela per square
meter is preferred.
Lambrequin
Lambrequin was originally a material covering worn over a helmet. It is now a
term applied to a short piece of drapery hung over the top of a door or window.
Lamella
A lamella is a thin plate, scale or film of bone or tissue.
Lamina
The lamina is the blade on the leaf on either side of the midrib on flowering
plants. It is usually the primary organ of photosynthesis.
Lamp
A lamp is a vessel filled with oil and fitted with a wick which is then used to
provide light. The term has come to apply to any device which provides
illumination, including electric lamps.
Lampblack
Lampblack is a pigment deroved from oil and resin soot.
Lancastrian
A Lancastrian is an inhabitant of Lancashire.
Lancet
A lancet is a fine pointed, double-edged surgical knife.
Land Rover Defender 90 Tdi
The Land Rover Defender 90 Tdi is a British automobile with 4 x 4 drive and a
2495 CC engine giving a top speed of 85 mph and roughly 28 mpg.
Landau
A landau is a four-wheeled carriage with a top, the back and front of the top
can be raised and lowered independently of each other.
Landscape
Landscape is a term applied to inland scenery, or a picture of inland scenery.
Lane
A lane is a narrow road, usually between hedges, or a passage way.
Lanolin
Lanolin is a wax derived from sheep's wool.
LANSpool
LANSpool is a software utility that lets you share locally attached printers
over a Novell NetWare local area nehuork. Since NetWare allows only five
printers to be attached directly to the server, a utility such as LANSpool can
be an inexpensive way to add printers to a Novell network. LANSpool provides
users with a means to locate printers conveniently. LANSpool lets you connect
networked printers to any PC on the LAN. These can be dedicated as print
servers, or non-dedicated and serve as workstations as well.
Lanthanide
The lanthanides are a group of 15 elements.
Lanthanum
Lanthanum is a rare metal lanthanide element with the symbol La. It was
discovered in the oxide of cerium by Mosander in 1839.
Lanyard
A lanyard is a cord attached to a knife or whistle with which to hold it, or to
serve as a handle.
Lap-Link
Lap-Link III is a data migration product that takes a different approach from
most other products. The package is ideally suited to those who find DOS
commands cryptic, since Lap-Link III presents users with a completely
menu-driven operation. Unlike other data migration products that only operate
as DOS device drivers, Lap-Link III can perform lightning fast file transfer
from one format to another without its optional device driver being installed.
Lap-Link IIl's unique split-screen design helps you keep track of what files
you are working with. You can even tag several files or use wildcards when
tagging files marked for transfer.
Lapel
A lapel is a part of the front of a coat which is folded back towards the
shoulder.
Larder
A larder is a room or cupboard used for storing provisions.
Larixinic Acid
see "Maltol"
Laryngoscope
The laryngoscope is an instrument consisting of a concave mirror, by which
light is thrown upon a small plane mirror placed in the posterior part of the
cavity of the mouth. It is used in the examination of the vocal cords and the
interior of the larynx. The laryngoscope was invented by Manuel Garcia in 1855.
Laser
Laser is an acronym for Light amplification by stimulated emission of
radiation. It is a device producing an intense narrow beam of light.
Lasso
A lasso is a rope with a running noose used for catching cattle.
Last
A last was a British measure which when applied to cod was equal to 12 barrels;
applied to hides 12 dozen; appled to leather 200 skins; applied to pitch or tar
14 barrels; appled to wool 12 sacks.
Last One
see "Crazy Eights"
Last One
Last One is a variation of the card game Crazy Eights which originated in Walla
Walla prison in Washington State, USA in the 1980's.
Latches
Latches version 4 is an access control product for remote access or the office
allowing increased security for data stored on a computer.
Latchet
A latchet was a thong used for fastening a shoe.
Latent heat
In chemistry, latent heat is the heat absorbed in the changing of a substance
from solid to liquid, or from a liquid to a gas.
Lath
A lath is a thin narrow strip of wood. Laths are used for supporting plaster,
and to construct trellis.
Lathe
A lathe is a machine used for turning wood, metal and other materials by
rotating the article against tools which cut it to shape.
Laths
see "Lath"
Latin
Latin is an Indo-European language which originated amongst the people of
ancient Latium and the Romans.
Latin-1
Latin-1 (ISO 8859-1) is one of the ISO 8859 computer character sets. It covers
most Western European languages such as Albanian, catalan, Danish, Danish,
Dutch, English, Faroese, Finnish, French, German, Galician, Irish, Icelandic,
Italian, Nowegian, Portugese, Spanish and Swedish but lacks the ligatures Dutch
ij, French oe and the old-style German quotation marks. It is the base
character set of HTML.
Latin-2
Latin-2 (ISO 8859-2) is an ISO 8859 computer character set supporting most
Latin-written Slavic and Central European languages such as Czech, German,
Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, Croatian, Slovak and Slovene.
Latten
Latten is a yellow alloy of copper, zinc, lead and tin used for making
monumental brasses and church candlesticks.
Lattice
A lattice is a framework of laths crossed diagonally so as to form a net-like
structure to be used as a screen or door.
Laudanum
Laudanum is a tincture of opium.
Laugh and Lie Down
Laugh and Lie Down is a rather unusual fishing game for five players, that was
played in England in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Lauramide DEA
Lauramide DEA is a white, waxy, nonionic, artificial chemical used in shampoos,
bubble baths and detergents as a surfactant and foam-builder.
Lava
Lava is the molten material expelled by a volcano. It cools to form igneous
rock.
Lawrence Tube
The Lawrence tube is a form of picture tube for colour television, having a
single electron gun, the beam from which scans the luminescent screen in
horizontal lines, each line consisting of three closely spaced lines of three
phosphors producing red, green and blue luminescence respectively. The beam is
deflected to the line of appropriate colour by information contained in the
signal waveform.
Lawrencium
Lawrencium is an artificial radioactive element with the symbol Lr.
Laxative
A laxative is a substance which loosens the bowels assisting or encouraging the
excretion of faeces.
Lazaret
A lazaret is a hospital for the poor, especially for lepers.
Lead
Lead is a soft, malleable, metallic element with the symbol Pb. It occurs in
many ores, the most important of which is galena. It is a very dense metal, and
is used as a shield in environments where radiation abounds, such as x-rays and
the nuclear industry.
Leaflet
In botanical terms, a leaflet is a division of a compound leaf.
League
A league was a measurement of distance, it was equivalent to roughly 3 miles or
just under 5 km.
Leather
Leather is a material prepared from the hides of dead animals.
Lebensraum
Lebensraum was the theory of living space used by the Nazis to justify their
annexation of neighbouring states on the grounds that Germany was overpopulated
during the 1930s.
Lecithin
Lecithin is a lipid containing nitrogen and phosphorus. It forms a vital part
of plant and animal cell membranes. It is used as an emulsifier in foods, but
is a perfectly natural additive.
Leeward
Leeward is a nautical expression, referring to the opposite side of the ship to
that from which the wind is blowing.
Legacy
A legacy is a sum of money or article bequeathed by will and handed down from a
predecessor.
Leo
Leo is a sign of the zodiac represented by a lion.
Liang
see "Tael"
Libra
Libra is a sign of the zodiac represented by a set of scales.
Librax
Librax is a tradename for Chlordiazepoxide hydrochloride.
Libritabs
Libritabs is a tradename for Chlordiazepoxide hydrochloride
Librium
Librium is a tradename for Chlordiazepoxide hydrochloride
Ligan
Ligan is a wreck consisting of goods sunk in the sea, but tied to a buoy so
that they may be found again.
Light
Light is electromagnetic radiation detectable by the eye and of wavelengths
between approximately 4000 and 7000 Angstrom units. The different colours are
represented by different wavelengths ranging from violet at 3600 - 4300
Angstroms to red at 6470 - 7600 Angstroms.
Lightning
Lightning is a spark discharge of electricity between two charged clouds or
between a charged cloud and the earth.
Limonene
Limonene is a terpene occurring in the oil of lemon, lime, lavender, caraway
and bergamot.
Link
The link is a unit of the imperial scale of measurement of length equivalent to
7.92 inches.
Lipid
A lipid is an organic substance that is soluble in solvents such as alcohol but
not in water.
Lipowitz's Alloy
Lipowitz's alloy is a fusible alloy consisting of 50 per cent bismuth, 26.5
percent lead, 13.3 per cent tin and 10.2 per cent cadmium.
LISP
LISP (from `LISt Processing language', but mythically from `Lots of Irritating
Superfluous Parentheses') is a computer programming language. It is a language
based on the ideas of (a) variable-length lists and trees as fundamental data
types, and (b) the interpretation of code as data and vice-versa. It was
Invented by John McCarthy at MIT in the late 1950s, and is actually older than
any other high-level language still in use except FORTRAN. Accordingly, it has
undergone considerable adaptive radiation over the years; modern variants are
quite different in detail from the original LISP 1.5.
Lithium
Lithium is a metal element with the symbol Li.
Lithography
Lithography is a printing process invented by Senefelder in 1796.
Litmus
Litmus is a dye derived from lichens and used to test acidity.
Litz
see "Litzendraht"
Litzendraht
Litzendraht (Litz) is a composite conductor designed for use in high-frequency
circuits, and composed of a large number of fine wires, each separately
insulated, and interwoven in a special way. This construction ensures a high
ratio of surface area per unit length to cross-sectional area, and thus reduces
the skin effect.
Load
The load was a British measure which when applied to bricks was equal to 500
lbs; applied to earth and gravel equal to a cubic yard; applied to hay and
straw equal to 36 trusses; applied to lime equal to 32 bushels.
Loba
Central American Loba is a card game requiring two ordinary 52-card decks plus
four jokers, making 108 cards in all. It is usually played with from two to
four players, but can be played with as many as five.
Localizer
A localizer is a form of radio beacon used in instrument landing systems for
aircraft. It is located about 230 meters beyond the stop end of an airfield
runway and radiates two signals of different frequencies from two aerials whose
polar diagrams overlap in such a way that their signals are of equal strength
along the centre of the runway. In the receiving equipment fitted in the
aircraft the two signals are applied to a centre-zero instrument. When the
indicating pointer of the instrument is in the centre (zero) position the pilot
knows that he is correctly aligned with the runway.
Loch
Loch is a Scottish term applied to both lakes and inlets.
Lockjaw
see "Tetanus"
Logo
Logo is a computer programming language designed to teach mathematical
concepts. It was developed in the early 1970s in America.
London Commodity Exchange
The London Commodity Exchange is a company that provides services for commodity
markets in non-metals, including cocoa, sugar, grain, coffee, petroleum,
rubber, and wool.
Long Friday
Long Friday was the Saxon name for the festival now called Good Friday.
Long Waves
Long Waves are radio waves having wavelengths between 1000 and 10,000 meters,
corresponding to frequencies from 300 khz down to 30 khz.
Loofah
A loofah or luffa is the fibrous skeleton of the cylindrical fruit of the
dishcloth gourd (Luffa cylindrica). It is used as a bath sponge.
Looking for Friends
Looking for Friends is a Chinese trick taking card game for 6 to 12 or more
players. It is an expanded version of the well known four player game of
Hundred (Da Bai Fen). Looking for Friends is played with multiple packs and has
several extra features: at any time there are two teams but the partnerships
are variable and unknown at the start of the play (hence the name of the game),
and there are extra opportunities to play several cards at once to a trick. It
is one of the most successful games for 6 or more people, and is almost the
only trick-taking game of this size that works well. Looking for Friends is
played with two or more identical standard packs shuffled together. 6 or 7
players use two packs, from 8 to 11 players use 3 packs, and 12 or more players
use 4 packs. Sufficient red and black jokers are included so that all the cards
can be distributed equally to the players, with a kitty of six cards left over.
Loran
Loran is a radio navigation system of the hyperbolic type and developed in
America chiefly for long-range navigation over the sea. Chains of transmitters
radiate high power 50 micro-second pulses on frequencies in the order of 2 mhz.
Los Angeles Angeles
see "California Angels"
Lotus Freelance
Lotus Freelance is an integrated-graphics program that gives charting
capabilities and lets you add text and graphic images to presentations. With
the various tools provided, you can create presentations that include
organization charts, text charts, logos, diagrams, business graphs, and
free-form drawings. Lotus Freelance includes a Portfolio feature that assists
you in planning, organising, previewing, and printing multiple files. If you
have created graphs within your spreadsheet, Freelance can enhance them with
symbols, text, diagrams, and icons. Graphics may be edited by changing the
size, colour, fill pattern, line type, and font. Objects may be copied, moved,
replicated, deleted, undeleted, turned, flipped, and joined into a single
symbol which can then be edited as a single object. Freelance automatically
scales, sizes, and formats its charts. You can create high-quality graphics by
using Freelance's drawing aids such as grids, rulers, over 40 templates, or by
merging any of over 700 library symbols into any diagram or drawing. You can
even create special symbols such as your company logo. Freelance's unique
drawing area lets you keep frequently used symbols on one page and import them
to your graph on the other page with a single keystroke. Freelance is similar
to drawing programs because it is object-oriented rather than a bit-mapped. It
recognizes the pieces of your image as unique objects and manipulates and
modifies objects in a way similar to stand-alone drawing programs. For example,
Freelance understands that a pie chart created in Lotus 1-2-3 is made up of
individual slices that can be edited individually. The product has its own
basic charting capabilities for creating 12 chart types including pie, bar,
line, mixed, exploded, table, bar-line, XY scatter, high-low-close text, and
multiple charts. Data entry is consistent across all chart types. A built-in
chart composition system automatically adjusts datadriven chart layouts to
accommodate data,
ven when it changes. Freelance is a WYSIWYG program that lets you accurately
preview graphics files on-screen. The WYSIWYG preview displays colours and font
attributes, as well as true placement of graphics elements on the page.
Freelance includes Datalinks and Visible Data Import that creates a lasting
link between a chart form and a spreadsheet, database, ASCII, or SYLK file.
When a chart file is retrieved, you can choose to have it automatically updated
with the latest data for the source file.
Lotus Symphony
Lotus Symphony is a multi-function, fully integrated business software package
which provides users with the ability to create documents which mix text,
numeric data, and graphs and produce presentation quality output. It includes a
windowing capability, macros, and a command programming language. Symphony's
powerful word processor includes an 80,000-word add-in dictionary and a
text-outliner to help you organise ideas. There is automatic paragraph
reformatting and wildcard characters may be used to assist in
search-and-replace tasks. Symphony's database is form-oriented. You can insert,
move, edit, and delete fields directly from the form environment. There are
several database statistical functions that find averages, totals, and maximum
values for records meeting selected criteria. The communications function
accesses information from mainframes, minis, or other personal computers.
Symphony comes with pre-configured settings for many on-line information
services. Symphony's spreadsheet is based on that of Lotus 1-2-3. In addition,
the Viewer function lets you browse and retrieve files from within Symphony.
Symphony files are fully compatible with Lotus 1-2-3 files and have a similar
interface. The product includes several add-ins. Allways lets you add fonts,
shading, boxes, and lines to a spreadsheet. Magellan Viewer makes it easy to
browse, retrieve, or link files. @BASE lets you create, edit, and manage dBase
files stored on disk from within Symphony, or access multiple database files
simultaneously.
Lough
Lough is an Irish term applied to both lakes and inlets.
Lumen
The Lumen the unit of luminous flux, equal to the amount of light emitted per
unit solid angle by a standard international candle.
Luminescence
Luminescence is the emission of light as the result of any stimulus other than
heat. If the stimulus is heat the emission of light is termed incandescence.
Luminous flux
Luminous flux is the amount of light emitted from a light source.
Lute
The lute is a family of stringed musical instruments that were in use during
the 14th to 18th centuries.
Lutetium
Lutetium is a metal element with the symbol Lu.
Lux
The lux is the SI unit of illuminance or illumination (the light falling on an
object). It is equivalent to one lumen per square meter or to the illuminance
of a surface one meter distant from a point source of one candela.
Lysis
In biology, a lysis is any process that destroys a cell by rupturing its
membrane or cell wall.
