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The tonic or first tone of the scale in which a piece or passage is written; the fundamental tone of the chord, to which all the modulations of the piece are referred; -- called also key tone.

The packet of vellum leaves in which the gold is first beaten into thin sheets.

er hanging from a crosspiece, and surmounted by a golden crown. It bore a monogram of the first two letters (CHR) of the name of Christ in its Greek form. Later, the name was given to various modifications of this standard.

In most of the States and Territories of the United States, a day, usually the first Monday of September, set aside as a legal holiday, in honor of, or in the interest of, workingmen as a class. Also, a similar holiday in Canada, Australia, etc.

everage. [Old Slang] Addison. Alencon lace, a kind of point lace, entirely of needlework, first made at Alencon in France, in the 17th century. It is very durable and of great beauty and cost. -- Bone lace, Brussels lace, etc. See under Bone, Brussels, etc. -- Gold lace, or Silver lace, lace having warp threads of si…

. The fourth Sunday of Lent; -- so named from the Latin word Lætare (rejoice), the first word in the antiphone of the introit sung that day in the Roman Catholic service.

the tide, the interval by which the time of high water falls behind the mean time, in the first and third quarters of the moon; -- opposed to priming of the tide, or the acceleration of the time of high water, in the second and fourth quarters; depending on the relative positions of the sun and moon. -- Lag screw, an…

The first day of August; -- called also Lammas day, and Lammastide.

A race run by young men with lighted torches in their hands. He who reached the goal first, with his torch unextinguished, gained the prize.

A sailor on his first voyage.

n a line of soldiers; the last page in a book; his last chance. Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. Neh. viii. 18. Fairest of stars, last in the train of night. Milton.

cleavage parallel to the lateral planes. -- Lateral equation (Math.), an equation of the first degree. [Obs.] -- Lateral line (Anat.), in fishes, a line of sensory organs along either side of the body, often marked by a distinct line of color. -- Lateral pressure or stress (Mech.), a pressure or stress at right angle…

tinguished by such honorary title, the office being a sinecure. It is said this title was first given in the time of Edward IV. [Eng.]

t 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 literary German) from the 6th to the 8th century, known as the sec…

The first coat on laths of plasterer's two-coat work.

ng, influencing, directing with authority, etc.; to have precedence or preëminence; to be first or chief; -- used in most of the senses of lead, v. t.

One who goes first.

te color, consisting of the sulphate and carbonate of lead; -- so called from having been first found at Leadhills, Scotland.

of a triangle, the sides of a triangle; -- a name seldom used unless one of the sides is first distinguished by some appropriate term; as, the hypothenuse and two legs of a right-angled triangle. On one's legs, standing to speak. -- One's last legs. See under Last. -- To have legs (Naut.), to have speed. -- To stan…

Legion of honor, an order instituted by the French government in 1802, when Bonaparte was First Consul, as a reward for merit, both civil and military.