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LAST

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Originally appearing in Volume V16, Page 238 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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LAST . 1. (A syncopated See also:

form of "latest," the superlative of O.E. laet, See also:late), an See also:adjective applied to the conclusion of anything, all that remains after everything else has gone, or that which has just occurred. In See also:theology the "four last things " denote the final scenes of See also:Death, See also:Judgment, Heavenand See also:Hell; the " last See also:day " means the Day of Judgment (see See also:ESCHATOLOGY). 2. (O.E. last, footstep; the word appears in many See also:Teutonic See also:languages, meaning See also:foot, footstep, track, &c.; it is usually referred to a Teutonic See also:root lais, cognate with See also:Lat. See also:lira, a furrow; from this root, used figuratively, came " learn " and " See also:lore "), originally a footstep, trace or track, now only used of the See also:model of a foot in See also:wood on which a shoemaker makes boots and shoes; hence the See also:proverb " let the cobbler stick to his last," " ne sutor ultra crepidam." 3. (O.E. hlaest; the See also:work is connected with the root seen in " lade," and is used in See also:German and Dutch of a See also:weight; it is also seen in " See also:ballast "), a commercial weight or measure of quantity, varying according to the commodity and locality; originally applied to the load of goods carried by the See also:boat or See also:wagon used in carrying any particular commodity in any particular locality, it is now chiefly used as a weight for See also:fish, a " last " of See also:herrings being equal to from ro,000 to 12,000 fish. The German Last= 4000 lb, and this is frequently taken as the nominal weight of an See also:English " last." A " last " of See also:wool= 12 sacks, and of See also:beer =12 barrels.

End of Article: LAST

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