The Merriam-Webster
`
` ictionarY
`
`.,
`__
`Coiiegiateiv Dictionary, Eleventh Edition
`
`§ More than 75,000 clear and precise definitions
`
`§ 2,000 new words
`
`E Guide to irregular English verbs and common verb
`
`collocations for English~language learners
`
`§ Special new sections include:
`
`Confused and Misusecl Words
`
`English Root Words
`
`Basic English Grammar
`
`Handbook of Style
`
`Overview of the Internet
`
`;' Mem'aJ:n— “,
`
`‘-. Webster ,-‘"\\K_
`
`/e.
`
`Merriam-Webster Inc.
`An Encyclopaedia Britannicaw Company
`Springfield, MA 01102
`www.Merriam—Webster.com
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`AOL keyword: IVIERRIAM
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`15BN-’| 3 978-D-87779-636-7
`ISBN-10 D-87779-636—X
`5’i295
`
`U.S. $12.95
`CAN $17.95
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`9 78087? 796367
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`CC-636-A01-5040
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`

`
`
`
`Contents
`
`Preface
`
`Explanatory Notes
`
`Abbreviations in This Work
`
`Pronunciation Symbols
`
`A Dictionary of the English Language
`
`Foreign Words & Phrases
`Biographical Names
`
`Geographical Names
`
`Brief History of English
`
`English Word Roots
`
`Confused and Misused Words
`
`Guide to Common Verb Collocations
`
`Irregular English Verbs
`
`Basic English Grammar
`
`Handbook of Style
`
`Documentation of Sources
`
`Signs and Symbols
`
`An Overview of the Internet
`
`V1-i
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`ix
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`xvii
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`Xvgji
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`1
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`539
`597
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`610
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`542
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`545
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`656
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`659
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`565
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`570
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`631
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`603
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`697
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`599
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`A GENUINE IVERRIAM-WEBSTER
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`1831 and is your assurance of quality and authority.
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`Copyright © 2005 by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated
`
`Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
`
`The Merriam-Webster dictionary.
`1). cm.
`ISBN-13: 978-0-87779-636-7 (pbk. : alk. paper)
`ISBN-10: 0-87779-636-X (pbk. : alk. paper)
`1. English language—Dictionaries.
`I. Merriam-Webster, Inc.
`PEl628.M353 2005
`423—do22
`
`2005001286
`
`All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyrights
`hereon may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means-
`graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, record-
`ing, taping, or information storage and retrieval systems--without
`written permission of the publisher.
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`Made in the United States of America
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`2345RRDC070605
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`

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`an ally to aid in a common cause with payment made; by
`a return of the items or their use in the cause or by a g1m_
`ilar transfer of other goods and services
`length \'lenth\ n 1 : the longer or longest dimension of an
`object; also : a measured distance 2 : duration or extent
`in time or space 3 : the length of something taken as 3
`unit of measure 4 : a single piece of a series of pieces
`that may be joined together (a he of pipe) — at length
`‘I
`: in full 2: FINALLY
`to make or become lenggr
`length-en \‘len-than\ vb -.
`in the direction of the
`° Synonyms EXTEND, ELONGATE, PROLONG. PROTRAQT l
`length-wise \'lex3th-.wiz\ adv :
`length —- lengthwise adj
`1 : protracted ex.
`lengthy \'1en-the\ rzdf length-i-er; -est
`cessively 2 -. EHENDED, LONG (a ~ journey)
`le-nient \'ie-ne-ant, -nyonI;\ adj : of mild and tolerant dig.
`position or effect 0 Synonyms rNnuLosNT, FORBEAR.
`ING, MERCIFUL, TOLERANT ~ le-nl-en-cy \'ié-né-an-sé
`-ny9n4sé\ rz « le-ni-entwly adv
`’
`Ien-i-tive \‘lc~na—tiv\ adj : alleviating pain or harshness
`len-i-ty \'le-noete\ n : LENIENCY
`lens \'lenz\ )1 [L lent-, lens lentil; so called fr. the Shape Qf
`a convex lens]
`1 : a curved piece of glass or plastic used
`singly or combined in an optical instrument for forming
`an image; also : a device for focusing radiation other than
`light 2 -. a transparent body in the eye that focuses light
`rays on receptors at the back of the eye
`Lent \'lent\ n : a 40-day period of penitence and fasting
`observed from Ash Wednesday to Easter by many
`churches — Lenl-en \'len—t“n\ dab"
`Ien-‘til \‘1en-tEl\ n : a Eurasian annual legume grown for it;
`flat edible seeds and for fodder; also : its seed
`Leo \‘lé-o\ n [L, lit., lion]
`1 : a zodiacal constellation bar
`tween Cancer and Virgo usu. pictured as a lion 2 ; the
`5th sign of the zodiac in astrology; also : one born undel-
`this sign
`le-one \le-'on\ n, pl leones or leone - see MONEY table
`1011
`le-0-nine \'le-:;—.nin\ ad?" : oi‘. relating to, or resembling a
`leop-ard \‘1e-pard\r: : a large usu. tawny and biaClt-§p:)‘L-
`ted cat of southern Asia and Africa
`le-o-iard \'le—a-.iélrd\ rt : a close-fitting garment worn esp‘
`by dancers and for exercise
`lep-er \'le—por\ n 1 : a person affected with leprosy 2
`: OUTCAST
`lep-re-chaun \'lc-pr'.:v.k§.n\ n : a mischievous elf of lrish
`folklore
`lep-to-sy \'le-pra—sé\ n : a chronic bacterial disease
`marked esp. if not treated by slow-gs-owing sweliings with
`deformity and loss of sensation of affected parts — lep-
`rous \-1Jros\ ac?
`Iep-tin \'lep-ton\ n : a hormone that is produced by fat=
`containing cells and plays a role in body weight regula-
`tion
`lep-ton \lep-‘t§.n\ n, pl lep-ta \A't:1i\
`: a former monetary
`unit equal to 1.-'m drachma
`Ies-bi-an \'lez-be-:Jn\ n [fr. the reputed homosexual group
`associated with the poet Sappho of Lesbos] : a woman
`who is a homosexual - lesbian adj — les-bi-an-ism
`\—a-.ni-zen1\ n
`lese ma-jesaié or lose ma]-es-iy \'laz—'ma-ja-ste,
`'lez—,
`‘léz-\ rl {Ml-7 lese majesté, fr. L laesa majestas, l_it., injured
`majesty] : an offense violating the dignity of a sovereign
`le-sion \'le-zhon\n : an abnormal structural change in the
`body due to injury or disease; esp : one clearly marked ofl'
`from healthy tissue around it
`lless \'les\ adj, comparative of 1L1’I‘TLE 1 : FEWER (~ than
`six) 2 -. of lower rank, degree, or importance 3 : SMALL-
`ER; also : more limited in quantity
`zless adv, comparative of ZLITTLE : to a lesser extent or de-
`gree
`Sless n,pl less 1 : asmaller portion 2 : something of less
`importance
`“less prep : diminished by : MINUS (list price «w the dis-
`count)
`—less \los\ ac? sufi‘ix 1 : destitute of : not having (child-
`less) 2 : unable to be acted on or to act (in a specified
`way) <dauntless)
`les-see \lev'se\ n : a tenant under a lease
`lessnen \'lers"n\ vb : to make or become less * Synonyms
`DECREASE, DIMTNESH, DwrNDLE, ABATE
`
`legion - lessen
`
`tion of ex-servicernen — le-gion-ary \—je—.nerré\ n we le-
`gion-naire \.le—js~'nar\n
`ilegion adj : MANY. NUMEROUS
`Legionnaires’ disease also Legicnnaire’s disease
`\~'ne1z~\ rt : a lobar pneumonia caused by a bacterium
`legls abbr
`legislation; legislative: legislature
`leg-is-late \‘le-jcs-.lat\ vb -lat-ed: -lat-ing :
`to make or
`enact laws; also : to bring about by legislation —- |eg-is-
`la-tor \-.la—tor\ n
`leg-is-la-fion \.1e—jos—'la~shan\n
`1 '. the action of legislat-
`ing 2 : laws made by a legislative body
`leg.is-la-tive \'le—jos-.li—tiv\ ad!‘
`1
`: having the power of
`legislating 2 : of or relating to a legislature or legislation
`leg-is-lanture \'le—jas—.la—ch:nr\ n : an organized body of
`persons having the authority to make laws
`le-git \1i~'jit\ adj, slang -. LEG1T1.MATE
`‘le-git-i-mate \liA'ji—to-met\ call
`1
`: lawfully begotten 2
`: GENUINE 3 : LAWFUL 4 : conforrning to recognized
`principles or accepted rules or standards — le-git-i-ma-cy
`\-mo—sé\ n —— le-git-i-mate-ly adv
`lle-git mate \-.mat\ vb : to make legitimate
`
`le-git -mise Brit var of LEGITLVILZE
`le-git-I-mize \li-'ji-to-.miz\ vb -mized; -miz-ing : 1.EGrr1—
`MATE
`leg-man \'1eg—.man\ n 1 : a reporter assigned usu. to gath-
`er information 2 : an assistant who gathers information
`and runs errands
`le-gume \'le-.gyiim, li-'gy1'.im\ n [F]
`1 : any of aiarge fam-
`ily of plants having fruits that are dry pods and split when
`ripe and including important food and forage plants (as
`beans and clover); also : the part (as seeds or pods) of a
`legume used as food 2 : the pod of a legume —— le-gu-mi-
`nous \li—'gyi‘1-mo-nas\ adj
`‘
`
`
`
`legume 2
`
`‘lei \'ta, 'la—.,e\ rt : a wreath or necklace usu. of flowers
`Zlei \'la\ pl of LEU
`lei-sure \'le-zhor, 'le—, ‘la-\ n 1 : time l'ree from work or
`duties 2 : EASE; also : coNyEN'rENcE 0 Synonyms RE-
`LAXATION. REST, REPOSE —— lei-sure-Iy adj or adv
`leit-rno-tif also Ieit-mo-tiv \‘1it-rno—.tef\ r1 [G Leitmcttv, fr.
`leiren to lead + Motiv motive} : a dominant recurring
`theme
`Iek \'lelc\ n, pl leks or le-ke or leké \‘le~lca\ -r see MONEY
`table
`lem-ming \'le-min\ n [Norw] -. any of various short-tailed
`rodents found mostly in northern regions and noted for
`recurrent mass migrations
`Iem-on \'le—mon\ n
`1 : an acid yellow usu. nearly oblong
`citrus fruit; also : a citrus tree that bears lemons
`2
`something (as an automobile) unsatisfactory or delec-
`tive —— lerrt-any ad,-'
`a beverage of lemon juice,
`lem-on-ade \.le-ma-'nad\ rt
`:
`sugar. and water
`Iernon curd n : a custard made with lemon juice, butter,
`sugar, and eggs
`Iern-on-grass \'le-rnanr.gras\ n : a tropical Asian grass
`grown for its lemon-scented foliage used as a seasoning
`lem-pi-ra \1em-‘pit-9\ n ~ see MONEY’ table
`le-rnur \"lé~mar\ 1:
`: any of various arhoreal primates large-
`ly of Madagascar that have large eyes, very soft woolly
`fur, and a long furry tail
`Len-a-pe \'le-no-pe, 1::-‘na-pé\ n, pl Lenape or Lenapes
`: DELAWARE
`lend \'lend\ vb lent \'lent\; lend-Ing 1 : to give for tem-
`porary use on condition that the same or its equivalent be
`returned 2 -. AFFORD, FURNISH 3 : ACCOMMDDATE ——
`lend-er n
`lend—lease \-'les\ H : the transfer of goods and services to