Part 670

Ley, n. [OF.] Law. Abbott.

Ley (l), n. [Obs.] See Lye.

Ley (l), n. Grass or meadow land; a lea.

Ley, a. Fallow; unseeded. [Obs.] Beau. & Fl.

{ Ley"den jar" (l"d'n jär"; 277). Ley"den phi"al (f"al).} (Elec.) A glass jar or bottle used to accumulate electricity. It is coated with tin foil, within and without, nearly to its top, and is surmounted by a brass knob which communicates with the inner coating, for the purpose of charging it with electricity. It is so named from having been invented in Leyden, Holland.

Ley"ser (l"zr), n. Leisure. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Leze` maj"es*ty (lz` mj"s*t). [F. lese-majesté, fr. L. laesus, fem. laesa, injured (see Lesion) + majestas majesty; that is, crimen laesae majestatis.] [Written also lese majesty.] (Law) Any crime committed against the sovereign power.

Lher"zo*lite (lr"z*lt), n. [From Lherz, a place in the Pyrenees + -lite.] (Min.) An igneous rock consisting largely of chrysolite, with pyroxene and picotite (a variety of spinel containing chromium).

Li (l), n. 1. A Chinese measure of distance, being a little more than one third of a mile.

2. A Chinese copper coin; a cash. See Cash.

Li`a*bil"i*ty (l`*bl"*t), n.; pl. Liabilities (- tz).

1. The state of being liable; as, the liability of an insurer; liability to accidents; liability to the law.

2. That which one is under obligation to pay, or for which one is liable. Specifically, in the pl., the sum of one's pecuniary obligations; -- opposed to assets.

Limited liability. See Limited company, under Limited.

Li"a*ble (l"*b'l), a. [From F. lier to bind, L. ligare. Cf. Ally, v. t., Ligature.] 1. Bound or obliged in law or equity; responsible; answerable; as, the surety is liable for the debt of his principal.

2. 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.

Syn. -- Accountable; responsible; answerable; bound; subject; obnoxious; exposed. -- Liable, Subject. Liable refers to a future possible or probable happening which may not actually occur; as, horses are liable to slip; even the sagacious are liable to make mistakes. Subject refers to any actual state or condition belonging to the nature or circumstances of the person or thing spoken of, or to that which often befalls one. One whose father was subject to attacks of the gout is himself liable to have that disease. Men are constantly subject to the law, but liable to suffer by its infraction.

Proudly secure, yet liable to fall.

Milton.

All human things are subject to decay.

Dryden.

Li"a*ble*ness, n. Quality of being liable; liability.

Li"age (l"j), n. [Cf. OF. liage a bond. See Liable.] Union by league; alliance. [Obs.]

||Li`ai`son" (l``zôN"), n. [F., fr. L. ligatio, fr. ligare to bind. See ||Ligature, and cf. Ligation.] A union, or bond of union; an intimacy; ||especially, an illicit intimacy between a man and a woman. || { Li*ane" (l*n"), Li*a"na (l*"n), } n. [F. liane; prob. akin to lien a band, fr. L. ligamen, fr. ligare to bind. Cf. Lien, n. ] (Bot.) A luxuriant woody plant, climbing high trees and having ropelike stems. The grapevine often has the habit of a liane. Lianes are abundant in the forests of the Amazon region.

Li"ar (l"r), n. [OE. liere. See Lie to falsify.] A person who knowingly utters falsehood; one who lies.

Li"ard (l"rd), a. [OF. liart, LL. liardus gray, dapple.] Gray. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Used by Chaucer as an epithet of a gray or dapple gray horse. Also used as a name for such a horse.

||Liard (lyär), n. [F.] A French copper coin of one fourth the value of ||a sou. || Li"as (l"as), n. [Cf. F. lias, fr. liais sort of limestone, OF. also liois; perh. of Celtic origin, cf. Armor. liach, leach, a stone, Gael. leac, W. llech. Cf. Cromlech.] (Geol.) The lowest of the three divisions of the Jurassic period; a name given in England and Europe to a series of marine limestones underlying the Oölite. See the Chart of Geology.