Part 610

Lau`re*a"tion (?), n. [Cf. F. lauréation.] The act of crowning with laurel; the act of conferring an academic degree, or honorary title.

Lau"rel (?), n. [OE. lorel, laurer, lorer, OF. lorier, laurier, F. laurier, (assumed) LL. Laurarius, fr. L. laurus.] 1. (Bot.) An evergreen shrub, of the genus Laurus (L. nobilis), having aromatic leaves of a lanceolate shape, with clusters of small, yellowish white flowers in their axils; -- called also sweet bay. The fruit is a purple berry. It is found about the Mediterranean, and was early used by the ancient Greeks to crown the victor in the games of Apollo. At a later period, academic honors were indicated by a crown of laurel, with the fruit. The leaves and tree yield an aromatic oil, used to flavor the bay water of commerce.

The name is extended to other plants which in some respect resemble the true laurel. See Phrases, below.

2. A crown of laurel; hence, honor; distinction; fame; -- especially in the plural; as, to win laurels.

3. An English gold coin made in 1619, and so called because the king's head on it was crowned with laurel.

Laurel water, water distilled from the fresh leaves of the cherry laurel, and containing prussic acid and other products carried over in the process.

American laurel, or Mountain laurel, Kalmia latifolia. See under Mountain. -- California laurel, Umbellularia Californica. -- Cherry laurel (in England called laurel). See under Cherry. -- Great laurel, the rosebay (Rhododendron maximum). -- Ground laurel, trailing arbutus. -- New Zealand laurel, Laurelia Novæ Zelandiæ. -- Portugal laurel, the Prunus Lusitanica. -- Rose laurel, the oleander. See Oleander. -- Sheep laurel, a poisonous shrub, Kalmia angustifolia, smaller than the mountain laurel, and with smaller and redder flowers. -- Spurge laurel, Daphne Laureola. -- West Indian laurel, Prunus occidentalis.

Lau"reled (?), a. Crowned with laurel, or with a laurel wreath; laureate. [Written also laurelled.]

Lau*ren"tian (?), a. Pertaining to, or near, the St. Lawrence River; as, the Laurentian hills.

Laurentian period (Geol.), the lower of the two divisions of the Archæan age; -- called also the Laurentian.

Lau"rer (?), n. Laurel. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Lau"res*tine (?), n. [NL. lautus tinus, fr. L. laurus the laurel + tinus laurestine. See Laurel.] (Bot.) The Viburnum Tinus, an evergreen shrub or tree of the south of Europe, which flowers during the winter months. [Written also laurustine and laurestina.]

Lau"ric (?), a. Pertaining to, or derived from, the European bay or laurel (Laurus nobilis).

Lauric acid (Chem.), a white, crystalline substance, C12H24O2, resembling palmitic acid, and obtained from the fruit of the bay tree, and other sources.

Lau*rif"er*ous (?), a. [L. laurifer; laurus + ferre to bear.] Producing, or bringing, laurel.

Lau"rin (?), n. [Cf. F. laurine.] (Chem.) A white crystalline substance extracted from the fruit of the bay (Laurus nobilis), and consisting of a complex mixture of glycerin ethers of several organic acids.

Lau"ri*nol (?), n. [Laurin + -ol.] (Chem.) Ordinary camphor; -- so called in allusion to the family name (Lauraceæ) of the camphor trees. See Camphor.

Lau"ri*ol (?), n. Spurge laurel. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Lau"rite (?), n. [Etymol. uncertain.] (Min.) A rare sulphide of osmium and ruthenium found with platinum in Borneo and Oregon.

Lau"rone (?), n. [Lauric + - one.] (Chem.) The ketone of lauric acid.

||Lau"rus (?), n. [L., laurel.] (Bot.) A genus of trees including, ||according to modern authors, only the true laurel (Laurus nobilis), ||and the larger L. Canariensis of Madeira and the Canary Islands. ||Formerly the sassafras, the camphor tree, the cinnamon tree, and ||several other aromatic trees and shrubs, were also referred to the ||genus Laurus. || Laus (?), a. Loose. [Obs.] Chaucer.

La"va (lä"v; 277), n. [It. lava lava, orig. in Naples, a torrent of rain overflowing the streets, fr. It. & L. lavare to wash. See Lave.] The melted rock ejected by a volcano from its top or fissured sides. It flows out in streams sometimes miles in length. It also issues from fissures in the earth's surface, and forms beds covering many square miles, as in the Northwestern United States.

Lavas are classed, according to their structure, as scoriaceous or cellular, glassy, stony, etc., and according to the material of which they consist, as doleritic, trachytic, etc.

Lava millstone, a hard and coarse basaltic millstone from the neighborhood of the Rhine. -- Lava ware, a kind of cheap pottery made of iron slag cast into tiles, urns, table tops, etc., resembling lava in appearance.

Lav"a*ret (?), n. [F.] (Zoöl.) A European whitefish (Coregonus laveretus), found in the mountain lakes of Sweden, Germany, and Switzerland.

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La*vat"ic (l*vt"k), a. Like lava, or composed of lava; lavic.

La*va"tion (?), n. [L. lavatio: cf. OF. lavation.] A washing or cleansing. [Obs. or R.]