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1849 entries found
ladyfinger (n.)
also lady-finger, used of anything long, slender, and suggestive of grace, 1660s, originally of a type of plant; 1820 in reference to a kind of long, slender confection; see lady + finger (n.).
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ladylike (adj.)
also lady-like, 1580s, "refined, well-bred, courteous;" see lady + like (adj.). Middle English had ladily "queenly, exalted" (late 14c.).
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ladyship (n.)
"rank or dignity of a lady," early 13c.; see lady + -ship.
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Laertes 
king of Ithaca, father of Odysseus, his name is Greek, literally "gatherer of the people," or "urging the men," from laos "people" (see lay (adj.)) + eirein "to fasten together" (see series (n.)) or eirein "to speak, say" (see verb).
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lag (n.)

in the mechanical sense "retardation of movement," 1855, from lag (v.). Also noted in Farmer and Henley ("Slang and Its Analogues") as American theatrical slang for "a wait," with an attestation from 1847. First record of lag time is from 1951.

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lag (v.)
"move slowly, fail to keep pace," 1520s, earlier as a noun meaning "last person" (1510s), later also as an adjective, "slow, tardy, coming behind" (1550s, as in lag-mon "last man"). All are of uncertain relationship and origin, possibly from a Scandinavian source (compare Norwegian lagga "go slowly"), or some dialectal version of last, lack, or delay. Related: Lag; lagging.
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lager (n.)
1858, American English, short for lager beer (1845), from German Lagerbier "beer brewed for keeping" some months before being drunk, from Lager "storehouse" (from Proto-Germanic *legraz, from PIE root *legh- "to lie down, lay") + Bier "beer."
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laggard (adj.)
1702, "slow, sluggish," from lag (v.) + -ard. From 1757 as a noun, "one who lags, a shirker, loiterer." Related: Laggardly.
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lagniappe (n.)

also lagnappe, "dividend, something extra, present or extra item given by a dealer to a customer to encourage patronage," 1849, from New Orleans creole, of unknown origin though much speculated upon. Originally a bit of something given by New Orleans shopkeepers to customers. Said to be from American Spanish la ñapa "the gift." Klein says this is in turn from Quechua yapa "something added, gift."

We picked up one excellent word — a word worth travelling to New Orleans to get; a nice, limber, expressive, handy word — 'lagniappe.' They pronounce it lanny-yap. It is Spanish — so they said. ["Mark Twain," "Life on the Mississippi," 1883]
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