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s fabled, in an Irish story, to have fought till nothing was left but their tails. It is probably a parable of a local contest between Kilkenny and Irishtown, which impoverished both towns.

A kind of loose robe or gown tied with a sash, worn as an outer garment by Japanese men and women.

A bending of the knee, as in respect or courtesy. Give them title, knee, and approbation. Shak. Knee breeches. See under Breeches. -- Knee holly, Knee holm (Bot.), butcher's broom. -- Knee jerk (Physiol.) a jerk or kick produced by a blow or sudden strain upon the patellar tendon of the knee, which causes a sudden co…

knock under, to yield; to submit; to acknowledge one's self conquered; -- an expression probably borrowed from the practice of knocking under the table with the knuckles, when conquered. "Colonel Esmond knocked under to his fate." Thackeray.

Drops of some drug put in one's drink to stupefy him for purpose of robbery, etc. [Slang, U. S.]

Something not easily solved; an intricacy; a difficulty; a perplexity; a problem. Knots worthy of solution. Cowper. A man shall be perplexed with knots, and problems of business, and contrary affairs. South.

omestic spirit in German mythology, corresponding to the Scottish brownie and the English Robin Goodfellow.

e Latin, the form of the Greek letter being from the Phoenician, and the ultimate origin prob. Egyptian. Etymologically, it is most closely related to r and u; as in pilgrim, peregrine, couch (fr. collocare), aubura (fr. LL. alburnus).

A robber; a pirate; hence, loosely, a rogue or rascal.

- Lamb's wool. (a) The wool of a lamb. (b) Ale mixed with the pulp of roasted apples; -- probably from the resemblance of the pulp of roasted apples to lamb's wool. [Obs.] Goldsmith.

oldsmith. That man is a bad man who has not within him the power of a hearty laugh. F. W. Robertson.

primitive Indo-European stops, or mute consonants, underwent in the Teutonic languages, probably as early as the 3d century b. c. , often called the first Lautverschiebung, sound shifting, or consonant shifting. (b) A somewhat similar set of changes taking place in the High German dialects (less fully in modern litera…

rranean region, formerly used as a vermifuge, etc., and still used to keep moths from wardrobes. Also called ground cypress. -- Lavender water, a perfume composed of alcohol, essential oil of lavender, essential oil of bergamot, and essence of ambergris. -- Sea lavender. (Bot.) See Marsh rosemary. -- To lay in laven…

ree. (a) (Bot.) A West Indian name for the tropical, leguminous tree, Leucæna glauca; -- probably so called from the glaucous color of the foliage. (b) (Chem.) Lead crystallized in arborescent forms from a solution of some lead salt, as by suspending a strip of zinc in lead acetate. -- Mock lead, a miner's term for bl…

uratively; as, the lean harvest; a lean purse; a lean discourse; lean wages. "No lean wardrobe." Shak. Their lean and fiashy songs. Milton. What the land is, whether it be fat or lean. Num. xiii. 20. Out of my lean and low ability I'll lend you something. Shak.

A bow, esp. in the phrase to make a leg; probably from drawing the leg backward in bowing. [Obs.] He that will give a cap and make a leg in thanks for a favor he never received. Fuller.

of the hands and feet with destruction of the bones and joints. It is incurable, and is probably contagious.Mycobacterium leprae, curable in most cases by therapy with a combination of antibiotics, but cases resistant to therapy are increasing.

ers testamentary (Law), an instrument granted by the proper officer to an executor after probate of a will, authorizing him to act as executor. -- Letter writer. (a) One who writes letters. (b) A machine for copying letters. (c) A book giving directions and forms for the writing of letters.

e a level surface; as, moving fluids seek a level. When merit shall find its level. F. W. Robertson.

Exposed to a certain contingency or casualty, more or less probable; -- with to and an infinitive or noun; as, liable to slip; liable to accident.