Buzz
The letter L ranks just outside the top 10 most frequently used letters in the English language, contributing to approximately 4 percent of any page of written text. It also begins about 3 percent of the words in a typical dictionary, including linguipotent (meaning 'highly skilled in language') and logodaedalus (referring to someone 'exceptionally clever in the use of new words,' derived from Daedalus, the Greek mythological figure who constructed the Labyrinth). The 40 largiloquent L-words listed here should enhance your linguipotence and logodaedaly …
1. Labber
An archaic English dialect term meaning 'to drag something through the mud.'
2. Lachanopolist
Originating from Greek, lachanopolist is a 16th-century term referring to a greengrocer.
3. Lachrymiform
Lacrima was the Latin word for a tear (as in a droplet of tears, not a tear in fabric), which is where the term for the eye's lachrymal glands comes from. Similarly, to lachrymate means to weep, a lachrymator is something that induces tears, and anything described as lachrymiform has the shape of a tear.
4. Lack-Latin
Once, a solid understanding of Latin was considered a fundamental part of education. To be a lack-Latin—essentially, unlearned in Latin—was to be seen as ignorant and uneducated. In Tudor England, the term Sir John Lack-Latin was used as a derisive label for an uninformed priest.
5. Lacustrine
Lacustrine refers to something 'lake-like,' or 'located near a lake.' A lacustrine person is one who resides by a lake, while a place that is interlacustrine lies between two lakes.
6. Laetificate
To make someone happy is to laetificate them, and if something is laetificant, it has the power to lift your spirits.
7. Lagniappe
A tip, or a complimentary gift offered alongside a purchase.
8. Lallycodler
An old American slang term for someone who is exceptionally skilled or accomplished in their field.
9. Land-Damn
Shakespeare used the term land-damn in The Winter’s Tale, though its precise meaning remains unclear. Some editions of the play spell it lam-damn instead of land-damn. Regardless, it is generally understood to mean something like 'to thrash' or 'to reprimand,' or, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, 'to make someone’s life a living hell.'
10. Lanspresado
As defined in a 17th-century English slang dictionary, a lanspresado is 'one who enters a gathering with only two pence in his pocket'—in other words, the person in the group who never seems to have enough money on hand.
11. Laodicean
Laodicea, an ancient city in Asia Minor located about 100 miles east of Ephesus, is mentioned in the biblical Book of Revelation. In this text, Christ criticizes the church there, saying to the Laodiceans: 'I know … that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue [vomit] thee out of my mouth.' The meaning of this passage is often debated, but it is commonly understood that Christ disapproves of the Laodicean Church’s lackluster, wavering faith. Hence, the term laodicean describes someone who is 'apathetic' or 'indifferent.'
12. Largiloquent
If you're largiloquent, it means you're loquacious or excessively talkative.
13. Last-Feather
An old English slang term used to refer to the most current or trendy fashion.
14. Latebra
Borrowed directly from Latin in the 1600s, a latebra refers to a hiding spot. It is the origin of several similar terms, including latebrous, which describes places filled with hiding spots, and …
15. Latebricole
… a zoological term used to describe any animal (especially a spider) that inhabits a hidden burrow.
16. Latericumbent
If you're latericumbent, it means you're reclining on your side.
17. Latitate
Derived from a Latin word meaning 'to lie hidden,' to latitate means to lurk. Latitation is a 17th-century term describing 'the act of lying concealed or lurking.'
18. Latrate
To bark like a dog.
19. Leasty
If the weather is leasty, it means it's dreary and rainy.
20. Leatherdoom
An 18th-century term for a quilt or bedcover. It comes from a corrupted form of l’édredon, the French word for an eiderdown.
21. Leatherlaps
An old Yorkshire dialect term for a forgetful person.
22. Leg-Stretcher
Because taking a walk to the bar is often a reason to stretch your legs, a leg-stretcher was a term for an alcoholic beverage in 19th-century slang.
23. Lemnisc
An 18th-century term for a ribbon, which is etymologically connected to …
24. Lemniscate
… lemniscate, a formal term for a figure-eight shape, which also represents the infinity symbol, ∞. The word itself means 'adorned with ribbons.'
25. Lennochmore
A lennochmore refers to a child or baby who is larger than average. It comes from the Scots Gaelic leanabh mor, which translates literally as 'big child.'
26. Lentitude
A formal term for slowness or sluggishness.
27. Leppy
Derived from a Scandinavian word for a lip, a leppy refers to a cup or bowl with one side higher than the other. It can also be used to describe a person with a lopsided or downturned mouth.
28. Ligibed
Lig is an old English dialect term meaning 'to lie' or 'to lounge,' so a ligibed is a late riser, or someone who stays in bed longer than usual in the morning.
29. Lip-Salve
A 17th-century word for flattery or sycophancy.
30. Litotes
Litotes (pronounced 'lye-toe-teas') is essentially the reverse of hyperbole—while hyperbole involves exaggeration or overstatement, litotes is a rhetorical technique that downplays or intentionally understates something serious.
31. Loblolly
The term loblolly originated in the Tudor era as a word for a thick stew or gruel. It’s derived from two dialect words: lob, meaning 'to bubble while boiling,' and lolly, meaning 'broth or soup.' Over time, it came to refer to any thick or sticky liquid or mixture, such as the medicines a ship’s doctor might dispense, and eventually became slang for a mudhole in American English. In the 17th century, it also became a term for a slow-witted fool or clumsy, lazy person.
32. Lococession
Allowing someone to enter somewhere is referred to as lococession.
33. Locupletative
When something is described as locuplete, it means it is richly supplied, and anything that is locupletative has the power to enhance or enrich.
34. Long-Catching
In the 18th century, long-catching was a term used to describe someone who is easily scared or startled.
35. Long-Tongue
A person who constantly talks, gossips, or can't stop blabbering is known as a long-tongue.
36. Lorrach
In Scots, a lorrach refers to a soggy or poorly prepared piece of food, often in a disappointing or unappetizing state.
37. Loutch
Thought to be a combination of lout, an old Scots word meaning “to bend or stoop,” and slouch, to loutch is to walk with your head and shoulders hunched.
38. Love-Darg
Darg is an old English dialect word for a full day’s work, and a love-darg is a task or job done out of love for someone else, or to catch the romantic attention of someone you like.
39. Lowe
A lowe is a fire or flame, and a lilly-lowe is a fire that captivates a child. Should you need to, you can also use lowe as a verb meaning “to burn” or “to glow like a flame,” or, in reference to a relationship or romance, “to flourish passionately.”
40. Lust-Dieted
Another Shakespearean term, literally meaning “self-indulgent” or “driven by pleasure.”
