Chapter L to Labourer is Worthy of his Hire of L by Brewer's Phrase & Fable

L to Labourer is Worthy of his Hire

L

L This letter represents an ox-goad, and is called in Hebrew lamed (an oxgoad).

L for fifty is half C (centum, a hundred).

L for a pound sterling, is the Latin libra, a pound. With a line drawn above the letter, it stands for 50,000.

L. E. L Letitia Elizabeth Landon (afterwards Mrs. Maclean), a poetess of the “Lara” and “Corsair” school (1802-1839).

LL.D Doctor of Laws- i.e. both civil and canon. The double L is the plural; thus MSS, is the plural of MS. (manuscript); pp., pages.

L.L. Whisky Lord-Lieutenant whisky. Mr. Kinahan being requested to preserve a certain cask of whisky highly approved of by his Excellency the Duke of Richmond, marked it with the initials L.L., and ever after called this particular quality L.L. whisky. The Duke of Richmond was Lord-Lieutenant from 1807 to 1813.

L.S Locus sigilli, that is, the place for the seal.

L. S. D Latin, libra (a pound); solidus (a shilling); and denurius (a penny); through the Italian lire (2 syl.), soldi, denari. If farthings are expressed the letter q (quadrans) is employed. Introduced by the Lombard merchants, from whom also we have Cr. (creditor), Dr. (debtor), bankrupt, do or ditto, etc.

La-de-da A yea-nay sort of a fellow, with no backbone. “Da,” in French, means both oui and nenni, as Oui-da (ay marry), Nenni-da (no forsooth).

“I wish that French brother of his, the Parisian la-de-da, was more like him, more of an American.”- A. G. Gunter: Baron Montez, book iii. 8.

La Garde Meurt ne se Rend pas The words falsely ascribed to General Cambronne, at the battle of Waterloo; inscribed on his monument at Nantes.

La Joyeuse The sword of Charlemagne. (See Sword .)

La Muette de Portici Auber's best opera. Also known as Masaniello.

La Roche (1 syl.). A Protestant clergyman, whose story is told in The Mirror, by Henry Mackenzie.

Labadists A religious sect of the seventeenth century, so called from Jean Labadie, of Bourg in Guyenne. They were Protestant ascetics, who sought reform of morals more than reform of doctrine. They rejected the observance of all holy days, and held certain mystic notions. The sect fell to pieces early in the eighteenth century.

Labarum The standard borne before the Roman emperors. It consisted of a gilded spear, with an eagle on the top, while from a cross staff hung a splendid purple streamer, with a gold fringe, adorned with precious stones. Constantine substituted a crown for the eagle, and inscribed in the midst the mysterious monogram. (See Constantine's Cross .) Rich (Antiquities, p. 361) says “probably from the Gaulish lab, to raise; for Constantine was educated in Gaul.” The Greek laba is a staff. (See Gibbon: Decline and Fall, etc. chap. xx.)

Labe (Queen). The Circe of the Arabians, who, by her enchantments, transformed men into horses and other brute beasts. She is introduced into the Arabian Nights' Entertainments, where Beder, Prince of Persia, marries her, defeats her plots against him, and turns her into a mare. Being restored to her proper shape by her mother, she turns Beder into an owl; but the prince ultimately regains his own proper form.