| 释义 |
L|ɛl|
the twelfth letter of the modern and the eleventh of the ancient Roman alphabet, represents historically the Gr. lambda and ultimately the Semitic lamed. The earliest known Semitic forms of the character are {semlamed1} and {semlamed2}; both these occur in early Greek inscriptions; the latter was adopted from the Greek into the Latin alphabet, and is the ancestor of the modern Roman forms, but in Greece itself was superseded by the inverted form {eglambda}, which eventually became λ.
The sound normally expressed by the letter is the ‘point-side’ consonant, i.e. a sound produced by the emission of breath at the sides, or one side, of the oral passage when it is partially closed by contact of the ‘point’ of the tongue with the gums or palate.
In phonetic treatises l is used as a general name for consonants produced by lateral emission of breath, whether the stoppage is produced (as above) by the ‘point’, or by some other part of the tongue; thus we speak of a ‘guttural l’ and a ‘palatal l’ as occurring in various foreign languages.
The ‘point-side’ consonant admits of considerable diversity in mode of articulation and consequently in acoustic quality. The Eng. l differs from that of Fr. and Ger. in being uttered with the ‘front’ of the tongue more concave; hence its sound is ‘duller’ or ‘thicker’. Its precise place of articulation varies according to the nature of the adjacent sounds. In Eng. it is normally voiced; an unvoiced l occurring only as a ‘glide’ connecting the voiced l with a preceding or following unvoiced consonant. Like r and the nasals, l may be used as a sonant or vowel (in the phonetic notation of this Dictionary indicated by |(ə)l|); but this occurs only in unstressed syllables, as in little |ˈlɪt(ə)l|, buckled |ˈbʌk(ə)ld|.
The mod. Eng. l represents not only the OE. l, but the OE. hl (early ME. lh) and wl.
In certain combinations an original l has regularly become silent, after having modified the sound of the preceding vowel. In most of these cases the l is still written, and serves to indicate the pronunciation of the preceding vowel. The following combinations of letters (when occurring in the same syllable, or in derivatives of words in which they were tautosyllabic) may be regarded as compound phonetic symbols of almost unvarying value: alf |ɑːf|, alve |ɑːv|, alm |ɑːm|, alk, aulk |ɔːk|, aulm |ɔːm|, olk |əʊk|. In many dialects, esp. in Sc., the instances in which an original l regularly disappears are much more numerous than in standard Eng.; cf. Sc. awfu', fou, ca', etc.; in Sc. the regular representative of ol(l is ow, as in fowk, pow.
I.
1. Illustrations of the literary use of the letter.
c1000ælfric Gram. iii. (Z.) 6 Semivocales syndon seofan: f, l, m, n, r, s, x. 1530Palsgr. 32 The soundyng of this consonant L. Ibid. 46 So often as l cometh before h havyng his aspiracion..it is the errour of the printers whiche knowe nat their owne tonge. 1588Shakes. L.L.L. iv. ii. 60 If Sore be sore, then ell to Sore, makes fiftie sores O sorell: Of one sore I an hundred make by adding but one more L. 1597A. M. tr. Guillemeau's Fr. Chirurg. 24/1 Wordes in the which manye R.R.R. and L.L.L. come. 15..Gude & Godl. B. Calendar (S.T.S.), Where ye shal finde a Capital L there begine for the finding of Lent. 1727–52Chambers Cycl. s.v. L, The French louis d'ors have a cross on them consisting of eight L's interwoven, and disposed in form of a cross. 1892Daily News 5 Sept. 5/2 There are pedantic persons who would bid us pronounce the ‘l’ in ‘salmon’. 1897Spectator 2 Jan. 13/1 For the sake of Learning, with a capital ‘L’.
2. An object shaped like the letter L. (Also written ell.)
a. An extension of a building at right angles to the main block, giving the whole the shape of the letter L. See also ell2.
1843‘R. Carlton’ New Purchase I. xi. 80 On the first floor were two rooms, and connected with a Lilliputian half-story kitchen forming an L—as near as possible. 1873T. B. Aldrich Marj. Daw etc. 167 Mr. Jaffrey's bedroom was in an L of the building. 1874Rep. Vermont Board Agric. II. 510 To save expense, it is apt to be the case that no cellar is put under the L part of the house. 1879Webster, Suppl. s.v., L (of a house). 1883Harper's Mag. Feb. 358/2 An L of the house where she was born is still standing.
b. A pipe-joint connecting two pipes at right angles; an elbow-joint (Knight Dict. Mech. Suppl. 1884).
3. attrib. and Comb., as L-shaped adj.; L desk, a reading-desk of which the ground-plan is of the form of the letter L; L-head, -headed adjs., applied to (a reciprocating internal-combustion engine having) L-shaped combustion chambers, in which the valves are situated in a side arm.
1874J. T. Micklethwaite Mod. Par. Ch. ix. 57 That glorious compromise called an L desk. 1882Macm. Mag. XLVI. 332/2 It is..an L-shaped room. 1897Allbutt's Syst. Med. IV. 347 An L-shaped pad. 1916L. Mantell Man. Motor Mech. iii. 17 One of the most frequent errors made by designers is in attempting to obtain high compression in an L-headed engine with a short stroke. 1920Sci. Amer. 3 Jan. 6/3 The intake manifold of several power plants, both on overhead-valve and L-head types of engine, is cast entirely within the detachable cylinder head. 1922Encycl. Brit. XXX. 37/2 The..Vee Renault of 1912,..the..Vee RAF of 1913–14, and the..Vee RAF 4a, all of which had cast-iron L-headed cylinders. 1946R. F. Kuns in Kuns & Plumridge Automobile Engines iv. 60 L-head engines are quiet in operation and are long lived. Ibid., The L-head or, as the English call it, the side-valve engine. 1963Bird & Hutton-Stott Veteran Motor Car 98 Their cylinders were L-headed and cast in pairs.
II. Symbolical uses.
4. Used like the other letters of the alphabet to denote serial order; applied e.g. to the twelfth (or more usually the eleventh, either I or J being often omitted) group or section in classification, the eleventh sheet of a book or quire of a MS., etc.
1850Forshall & Madden Wyclif's Bible Pref. xxxi, [Manuscripts] E, L, and P frequently agree together in differing from the other copies. 1899N.B. Daily Mail 16 Feb. 5, Companies L, D, and H of the Californian Volunteers. 1899Sir A. West Recoll. I. iv. 104 He had carefully put it [an umbrella] away under the letter L.
5. In Cryst., h, k, l are used to denote the quantities which determine the position of a plane.
1868Dana Min. Introd. 28. 1895 Story-Maskelyne Crystallogr. ii. 19.
6. The Roman numeral symbol for Fifty.
As in the case of the other Roman numeral symbols, this was originally not the letter, but was identified with it owing to coincidence of form. In the ancient Roman notation L (with a stroke above) represented 50,000.
1484Caxton Fables of Poge iv, xl or l crownes.
7. Other symbolic uses in science.
a. In Physics L is used to designate the series of X-ray emission lines of longer wavelength than the K-series obtained by exciting the atoms of any particular element (cf. K 3 e); these arise from electron transitions to the atomic orbit of second-lowest energy, with principal quantum number 2, which is thus termed the L-shell, and electrons in this shell L-electrons. L-capture, the capture by an atomic nucleus of one of the L-electrons.
1911,1923[see K 3 e]. 1930Pauling & Goudsmit Struct. Line Spectra x. 172 There are three absorption edges corresponding to the removal of an electron from the L shell. 1930Phil. Mag. IX. 205 The K electron distribution in carbon will be determined mainly by the central nucleus, and the influence of the L electrons will be comparatively small. 1934H. E. White Introd. Atomic Spectra xvi. 326 When a K electron is missing,..the binding energy of the L electron is approximately that for the corresponding electron in the element with the next higher atomic number. 1956Nucl. Sci. Abstr. X. 1123/2 (heading) Effect of the correlations existing between the electron positions on the ratio ρ of the probability of L capture to that of K capture. 1968Physical Rev. CLXVI. 945/1 The exchange correction..in the case of Be7 increases the L-capture probability by a factor of almost 4. 1970E. P. Bertin Princ. & Pract. X-Ray Spectrometric Analysis vi. 182 Elements having atomic number 57 (lanthanum) or higher..are usually determined by measurement of their L lines with gas-flow proportional counters. 1972R. Bolton Org. Mechanisms i. 14 The K-shell is now filled... A third electron must..be placed in the higher-energy L-shell.
b. In Physics l and L denote the quantum numbers of the orbital angular momentum of one electron or a group of electrons, respectively (superseding the k (= l + 1) of the old quantum theory).
The use of l as a quantum number, and the values assigned to it, varied until shortly after the publication (in 1926) of Schrödinger's theory of the atom.
LS-coupling, an approximation used in the quantum theory of the atom when the spin-orbit interaction of individual electrons is small compared with the remaining electrostatic interaction between one electron and another, so that the orbital angular momenta of the electrons may be coupled to give a resultant L, their spins coupled to give a resultant S, and these resultants coupled in turn to give the total angular momentum J of the electrons. Also called Russell-Saunders coupling. Cf. jj-coupling (J II. 6 c).
[1925Russell & Saunders in Astrophysical Jrnl. LXI. 61 Their remaining properties may be explained on the assumption that the two displaced electrons have fixed orbital momenta, L1, L2, of the amount indicated by Landé, but that the inclination of their planes is quantized, so that the resultant angular momentum K may have any geometrically permissible value in the series 1/2, 3/2, [etc.]. 1926Proc. R. Soc. A. CXI. 84 The spectroscopic nature of each term..is specified by a quantum number l which relates to the whole set of electrons not in complete groups. It..is taken to be ½, 3/2, 5/2{ddd}for S, P, D terms, so that l = k1 [≡ k - ½] when there is only one electron in an incomplete group. It may perhaps be thought of as the resultant angular momentum of the incomplete group. 1926Ibid. CXII. 81 Spectral terms are to be designated in the usual way as follows:—S, P, D, F, G,{ddd}corresponding to the values 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,{ddd}for a spectral term quantum number denoted by ‘l’. ]1928H. S. Allen Quantum iv. 66 The quantum number ja is now denoted by l, which is called the ‘group quantum number’... Its value in this case [sc. of a single electron] is l = k - 1. Ibid., The inner quantum number j is compounded vectorially from s and l. 1934H. E. White Introd. Atomic Spectra xii. 190 These cases are known as LS-, or Russell-Saunders, coupling, on the one hand, and jj-coupling, on the other. 1934[see K 3 f]. 1970G. K. Woodgate Elem. Atomic Struct. vii. 140 Along the sequence np(n + 1)s from light to heavy elements, for example C(2p3s), Si(3p4s), Ge(4p5s), Sn(5p6s), there is a progression from LS to j-j coupling. Ge(4p5s) is an example of intermediate coupling for which neither L, S nor j1, j2 are even approximately good quantum numbers.
c. Bacteriol. [L said to be f. the Lister Institute, where Klieneberger worked.] The designation (now usu. as L-form) of an atypical form of certain bacteria which arises from and usually reverts to the normal form but is sometimes stable, and which lacks a cell wall, exhibits a very variable shape, and somewhat resembles a mycoplasma.
1935E. Klieneberger in Jrnl. Path. & Bacteriol. XL. 93 These swollen elements [among the bacillary chains of Streptobacillus moniliformis], with an associated fine mycelial system resembling that of pleuropneumonia and agalactia, constitute an independent colonial system containing all strains of S. moniliformis so far examined. A delicate streptococcus has also been recovered..from the nasopharynx of healthy guinea-pigs harbouring a similar pleuropneumonia-like symbiont. These two pleuropneumonia-like organisms in association respectively with S. moniliformis and a streptococcus..will be referred to..simply as L1 and L2 pending the coining of appropriate generic names. 1950C. E. Clifton Introd. Bacteria vi. 132 Streptobacillus moniliformis..resembles the actinomyces in many respects but gives rise after several days' incubation to highly pleomorphic forms characteristic of the pleuropneumonia group... Present evidence indicates that there is but one organism involved and that the actinomyces-like form and the L1 form represent different stages of growth of one organism characterized by a complex reproductive cycle. 1968Zinsser Microbiol. (ed. 14) lii. 794/2 Some L phase mutants revert back to normal size organisms as soon as the penicillin is removed from the medium. Others are stable in the L phase on solid media but revert back when subcultured in broth. 1973J. Levy et al. Introd. Microbiol. ii. 39 Because they did not have a wall, they were not affected by penicillin or other antibiotics that interfere with cell wall synthesis. The mutation to an L-form is therefore troublesome if the bacterium is a pathogen.
d. L-band: a frequency band of electromagnetic waves used for radar, extending from 390 to 1550 megahertz.
1947J. S. Hall Radar Aids to Navigation vii. 233 A cross-band airborne interrogator-responser recently developed consists of an L-band (about 25 cm) transmitter operating on a number of preselected frequency channels and a 10-cm receiver. 1967Electronics 6 Mar. 52/1 Tradex, an adaptation of the radar developed for the ballistic missile early warning system, operates at uhf and L band.
III. 8. a. Abbreviations. (Abbreviations given here with the full stop are frequently found without it.)
L. = various proper names as Lionel, Lucy, etc.; L. = † Lord, Lordship (pl. LL.); † lawful (money); in Bot., Linnæus; Latin; in Stage directions, left; in abbreviations of degrees, Licentiate, as L.D.S. = Licentiate of Dental Surgery; (Chem.) Lithium; learner; Liberal (in politics); low (on the selector mechanism in a car with automatic transmission); L or l [L. libra] = pound of money († formerly also in weight, now lb.), now often repr. by the conventional sign {pstlg}; e.g. 100l. or {pstlg}100; see also d.; the three L's (see quot. 1867); l = in ship's log-book, lightning; in references, line, as bk. 4, l. 8; in solmization, la; L.A., local authority; LA, L.A., Los Angeles; L.A.F.T.A., Latin-American Free Trade Association; l.b.w. (Cricket), leg before wicket; l.c. (Printing), lower case; L.C. (A., I., M., T., etc.), landing craft (assault, infantry, mechanized, tank, etc.); L.C.C., London County Council; LCD = liquid crystal display s.v. liquid a. 7; freq. attrib. (esp. with redundant display); L.C.M. (Arith.), least common multiple; LD, lethal dose: used with following numeral, as LD50, LD50, indicating the percentage of a large group of similar animals that is killed by such a dose; LD or L-D (process), in steel-making, the Linz-Düsenverfahren (process) or Linz-Donawitz-Verfahren (process); L.D.C., less developed country; L.D.V., Local Defence Volunteers; L.E., LE (Med.), lupus erythematosus; usu. attrib.; L.E.A., Local Education Authority; L.E.M., lunar excursion module; see also Lem; L.F., low frequency; LH (Biochem.), luteinizing hormone; L.M., (Prosody) long metre; lunar module; LMF, lack of moral fibre; L.M.S., London, Midland, and Scottish (Railway); L.N.E.R. (earlier L.N.E.), London and North-Eastern Railway; LNG, liquefied natural gas; LOI, lunar orbit insertion; LOS, loss of signal; L.P., long-playing (record); LPG, liquefied petroleum gas; LRL, Lunar Receiving Laboratory (building where astronauts and lunar samples are quarantined for a period after returning from the moon); LRV, lunar roving vehicle; L.s., letter (not autograph) signed; cf. A.L.(S.) s.v. A III; L.S. (Cinemat.), long shot; L.S.E. (occas. L.S. of E.), London School of Economics; LSI, large-scale integration (of electronic microcircuits); L.S.T., landing ship, tank(s); LTH (Biochem.), luteotrop(h)ic hormone; L.V., luncheon voucher.
See also LL, lox n.1, LSD2, LXX (as main entries).
1774Connect. Col. Rec. (1887) XIV. 299 To pay said sum of {pstlg}54 14 0, *L. money.
1936Motor Manual (ed. 29) xiii. 193 ‘*L’ plates must be carried at the front and rear of the car. 1936Punch 26 Feb. 248/1 Ermyntrude, inspired by blind jealousy (and aided by some rather L driving by Rachel), emerged from the garage. 1959Manch. Guardian 27 Aug. 6/3 There are still an unknown number of drivers..who may have used L-plates for years without even applying for a test. 1963P. Roberts Know the Law Handbk. vi. 154 (caption) An L driver involved in an accident. 1970G. S. Wilkinson Road Traffic Offences (ed. 6) v. 472 On and from 1st January, 1961, he may drive only as a learner-driver, i.e., with L plates.
1869Whitaker's Almanack 83/1 Andover—Hon. D. F. Fortescue, *L. 1908Daily Chron. 16 Dec. 1/2 Mr. Mackarness (L, Newbury) asked whether [etc.]. 1974Times 11 Oct. 4/1 Accrington... Total vote 42,259 (83·8%)—Lab 20,050 (47·4%), C 15,018 (35·5%), L 7,191 (17·0%).
1684Acts Tonnage & Poundage 86 Alabaster the Load..02*l. 00s. 00d. 1701Dr. Wallis in Collect. (O.H.S.) I. 329 An allowance of 20{pstlg} a year. a1715Burnet Own Time (1724) I. 591 An 100000 l. was given. 1865Derby Mercury 26 Apr., A..dividend of 1s. in the {pstlg}. 1885Law Jrnl. 17 Jan. 38/2 A salary of 4l. a week. 1684R. Waller Ess. Nat. Exper. 103 A mass of 500l. of Ice.
1858Simmonds Dict. Trade, *L.A.C. an abbreviation used by the dispensing surgeon or chemist, implying that he is a ‘licentiate of the Apothecaries Company’.
1870Hooker Stud. Flora 127 Cratægus, *L. Hawthorn, Whitethorn.
1527Extracts Aberd. Reg. (1844) I. 117 My lord, we your seruandis..hes ressauit your *l. guid mynd..touching your l. brig of Dee. 1554in W. H. Turner Select. Rec. Oxford 218 It was..ordered by the L.L. 1577Ibid. 389 Appointed by order from their LLs. 1601R. Johnson Kingd. & Commw. (1603) A b, If your L. vouchsafe to receive it. 1637Heylyn Answ. Burton 61 Your dealing with my LL. the Bishops.
1951Toboldt et al. Automatic Transmissions i. 15 The selector may be set in any one of five positions, namely, parking (P), neutral (N), low (*L), drive (D), and reverse (R).
1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., L. The three *L's were formerly vaunted by seamen who despised the use of nautical astronomy; viz. lead, latitude, and look-out... Dr. or Captain Halley added the fourth L—the greatly desired longitude.
1932J. L. P. W. Hewison Local Expenditure: Address E. Sussex Ratepayers' Assoc. 4 Let every *L.A. be rationed as to the percentage of its income which it may spend on loan charges. 1967Punch 1 Mar. 292/2 The LAs spend between them on nursery schools 0·281 per cent of their total educational expenditure.
1949H. G. Alsberg et al. American Guide 1199 Los Angeles... Airports: Union Air Terminal, & *L.A. Mun. Airport. 1953Amer. Speech XXVIII. 54 If you're confused—its still L.A... (Native votes on pronunciation of ‘Los Angeles’.) 1969Daily Tel. 12 Nov. 20/3 The centre of California is LA, a concrete and glass mélange embracing 102 incorporated cities and spread over 4,851 square miles. 1972B. Rodgers Queen's Vernacular 109, I can't walk around LA without gettin' the horns—there's so many pretties. 1973Black World Apr. 96 On a junket to L.A. and New York.
1960Times Rev. Industry July 73/1 In February this year Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay signed the Montevideo Treaty, setting up the Latin American Free Trade Association... The *L.A.F.T.A. aims at removing customs duties to fellow members in 12 years. 1966Economist 19 Nov. 826/1 As a member of LAFTA, Venezuela hopes not only to increase exports but also to reap economies of scale, especially in the heavier industries. 1972Buenos Aires Herald 2 Feb. 3/3 A large share of the disequilibrium stemmed from trade with LAFTA (Latin American Free Trade Association) nations.
1795in Lillywhite Cricket Scores (1862) I. 190 Hon. J. Tufton, *lbw, b wells{ddd}3. 1891W. G. Grace Cricket i. in Out-door Games 17 You should all know how difficult it is to get any one l.b.w. when [etc.].
1833Penny Mag. Monthly Suppl. Oct.–Nov. 468 *l.c.,..to have words or letters printed in ‘lower case’, or small letters. 1892A. Powell Southward's Pract. Printing (ed. 4) xvii. 129 l.c., set the word in lower case letters. 1911A. E. Housman Let. 28 Aug. (1971) 119 The type-written text contains the letters: J (cap.) j (l.c.). 1973Collin's Authors & Printers Dict. (ed. 11) 244/2 l.c.,..(typ.) lower case, that is not caps.
1961B. Fergusson Watery Maze i. 42 The mahogany boat..became the standard Landing Craft Assault, or *LCA. 1967Jane's Surface Skimmer Systems 1967–68 97/2 Current amphibious vehicle programmes being conducted for the Bureau of Ships are: Landing Craft Assault (LCA), [etc.].
1898*L.C.C. [see better-to-do adj. phr.]. 1907Daily Chron. 3 Sept. 4/7 This is one of the little matters that the L.C.C...might well look into. 1970Ruck & Rhodes Govt. Greater London iii. 45 The Labour Party Opposition were convinced that a scheme of reform was unnecessary and particularly a scheme which involved the abolition of the L.C.C.
1973Electronics 16 Aug. 33/1 What is claimed to be the first watch using a field-effect *LCD, the Teletime, has been introduced by Gruen Industries. 1979Personal Computer World Nov. 86/4 It's distinguished from an ordinary scientific calculator by its unusually large LCD display. 1980B. W. Aldiss Life in West v. 103 He set the LCD watch down on the step. 1984Listener 5 Apr. 38/3 LCD technology is a ‘strategic’ one because, at present, any computing device that needs to be light and portable must have an LCD screen. 1985Which Computer? Apr. 28 (Advt.), The Apricot Portable incorporates a unique LCD display.
1943Time 22 Nov. 24/3 The broad wake of a PT, plus the outline of the *LCI, must have looked like bigger game. 1944Hutchinson's Pict. Hist. War 12 Apr.–26 Sept. 344/1 One company of Pioneers, some of whom had spent two hours in the sea, after their L.C.I. had been torpedoed.
1943Time 4 Oct. 63/2 As early as 1936 the Navy experimented with tank lighters, and from these tests emerged the *LCM (Landing Craft, Mechanized), a 50-footer which carries a crew of four and a medium tank.
1943Newsweek 27 Sept. 23/2 The row of *LCT's on the beach belching vehicles looks like a long line of stranded, gasping whales. 1955‘N. Shute’ Requiem for Wren iii. 79 This was the L.C.T. Mark 4, the standard tank landing craft, British built and the most common of the lot.
1927J. W. Trevan in Proc. R. Soc. B. CI. 483 Toxicity should be stated primarily in terms of the ‘median lethal dose’, that is the dose which kills 50 per cent. of a large group of animals. As a convenient abbreviation I would suggest the symbol *LD50... For doses which kill other proportions of large groups of animals it is convenient to use the analogous symbols LD75, LD25, for doses which kill 75 per cent., and 25 per cent., and similarly for doses killing other proportions. 1950Proc. Soc. Exper. Biol. & Med. LXXIII. 497/2 Only 4oor of X-irradiation was used. This dose corresponds to LD85–30 for swine. 1958Thomson & Straube in W. D. Claus Radiation Biol. & Med. iv. 101 Two-thirds of an LD50 dose will probably kill less than 1 percent of the animals exposed. 1968Observer 16 June 9/1 Sarin is 30 times more toxic than phosgene, and the amount necessary to achieve what the experts know as ‘LD50’..is 40 drops on the skin.
1954H. A. Trenkler in One Year LD-Oxygen Refining Process 11/1 Our method of steel refining with pure oxygen by blowing downwards into a bath of metal..is called ‘*LD-process’ (Linzer Düsenverfahren). 1965New Statesman 7 May 709/3 The building of modern plants, LD converters, bigger blast-furnaces, wider sinter plants, automated soaking pits and rolling mills. 1973Times 30 May (Austria Suppl.) p. iii/7 The Japanese have the highest production of LD steel, and by 1972 51 percent of world steel production was based on the LD process.
1967Times 25 Sept. p. xiv, There is no doubt that the speedy economic advancement of the less developed countries (*L.D.C.s) would benefit the whole world economy. 1973Advocate-News (Barbados) 19 Feb. 9/1 The assembled CARIFTA leadership prepared a package for progress, and the LDCs emerged apparently satisfied that their future was assured.
1940H. Nicolson Diary 20 July (1967) 104 Opinion slides off into..rage that the *L.D.V. are not better equipped. 1967G. F. Fiennes I tried to run a Railway iii. 21, I fired this shot without first putting on my L.D.V. armlet.
1948Proc. Mayo Clinic XXIII. 26 The..cell..has been called an ‘*L.E.’ cell in our laboratory because of its frequent appearance in bone marrow cases of acute disseminated lupus erythematosus. 1961R. D. Baker Essent. Path. x. 263 Systemic (disseminated) lupus erythematosus... In the blood are L.E. cells (lupus erythematosus cells), consisting of damaged polymorphonuclear cells or lymphocytes which are surrounded by viable polymorphonuclear leukocytes. 1970Passmore & Robson Compan. Med. Stud. II. xxv. 26/1 The serum of patients suffering from lupus erythematosus..contains an abnormal globulin (LE factor) which can exert a uniquely harmful action on nuclei.
a1912W. T. Rogers Dict. Abbrev. (1913) 113/1 *L.E.A., (educ.). Local Educational Authority. 1945[see Burnham]. 1966P. H. J. H. Gosden Devel. Educ. Admin. Eng. & Wales x. 213 The Inner London Education Area, has a special committee of the G.L.C. to exercise the powers of an L.E.A.
1963M. Caidin Man-in-Space Dict. 26 Two astronauts will transfer to the *LEM and descend to the moon. 1969Listener 6 Feb. 162/2 The weakest link is likely to be the LEM or Lunar Excursion Module, which will be the craft used in the actual touch-down of two astronauts. 1969Guardian 22 July 6/1 Armstrong: Going to step off the LEM now... That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.
1922Wireless World 18 Nov. 233 (heading) The switching of *L.F. valves. 1923Ibid. 6 Jan. 463/1 Methods of intervalve coupling, namely, ‘high frequency transformer’,..and ‘low frequency transformer’..‘H.F. transformer’ and ‘L.F. transformer’. 1941Electronic Engin. XIV. 404 The L.F. input to the amplifier must be kept at the same voltage for all frequencies. 1971Wireless World Apr. 184/2 It follows that the difference frequency produced when h.f. noise is sampled at a high rate will be l.f. noise.
1936Anatomical Rec. LXV. 267 The *LH produced..enlargement of the testicles. 1957[see gonadotrophin, -tropin]. 1970New Scientist 29 Jan. 200/2 An important cause of infertility in women is the failure to ovulate because of a lack of FSH or LH (or both).
1969*L.M. [see command service module (command n. 10)]. 1970R. Turnill Lang. of Space 73 Because it is not used for re-entry, and the moon has no atmosphere, the LM does not need to be heat-shielded.
1952M. Tripp Faith is Windsock i. 19 They whose nerves snapped with the prolonged tension of operational flying, who refused to go on with it, were grounded, with the terrible initials *LMF (Lack of Moral Fibre) against their names. 1971New Society 22 July 150 When the second world war began..the term LMF (‘lack of moral fibre’) was coined as a pejorative for those pilots who would today be diagnosed and treated as having psychiatric illness.
1923Times 28 Dec. 15/7 (heading) *L.M.S. railway's dock charges. 1934Discovery Nov. 314/2 Many expresses on the L.M.S. and G.W.R. now load up to 500 tons or over..and loads exceeding 600 tons are not unknown on the L.N.E.R. 1967J. Joyce Story Passenger Transport in Brit. vii. 173 The LMS..locomotive was also a streamliner,..of the same wheel arrangement as its LNER counterpart. 1972‘G. North’ Sgt. Cluff rings True iv. 30 ‘You travel much?’ ‘Not since they did away with the LMS.’
1923Times 6 Dec. 9/4 Alternative routes are wholly within the *L.N.E. system. 1934,1967*L.N.E.R. [see L.M.S.].
1967N.Y. Times 13 Jan. 22 Technology is currently being developed for the use of liquefied natural gas, *LNG, as a motor fuel. 1970Sci. Jrnl. Mar. 39/1 LNG is already widely used wherever natural gas is transported or piped on a large scale. 1972Sunday Times 17 Dec. 55/2 There is still uncertainty about what would happen if an LNG carrier were holed in a collision.
1969Radio Times 10 July 31/4 *LOI, Lunar orbit insertion. 1970N. Armstrong et al. First on Moon ix. 204 On the first LOI the crew had burned two seconds less than the flight plan called for.
1969Times 22 July (Moon Rep.) p. i/1 Neil Armstrong on the porch of the Eagle at 109 hours 19 minutes and 30 seconds to *L.O.S., all systems go. 1970N. Armstrong et al. First on Moon x. 222 Got about two minutes to LOS here, Mike.
1948Musical Amer. July 19/3 The new disc, called *LP (long playing) Microgroove, requires a new pickup. 1958Times 20 Jan. 10/4 Stereo records will give almost as much playing time as present LPs. 1958Spectator 15 Aug. 220/2 That barbarous invention, the LP song recital. 1967LP [see anthology 2].
1961New Scientist 23 Mar. 730/2 The gas used, butane or propane, becomes available as a by-product of oil refining, and is commonly known as *LPG (liquefied petroleum gas). 1974BP Shield Internat. Oct. 26/4 The natural choice for cooking and heating is butane or LPG.
1969New Yorker 12 Apr. 88/2 The *L.R.L. is the building to which the astronauts, the spaceship, and the samples will be brought when the trip is over. 1970N. Armstrong et al. First on Moon xiii. 330 The manager of the LRL, thought the chance of anything harmful coming back with the astronauts was ‘probably one in a hundred billion’.
1971New Scientist 3 June 574/1 Design requirements for the *LRV were such that a pneumatic tyre would not be practical.
1894Ellis & Elvey's Gen. Catal. Rare Bks. & MSS. 38 George I. King of England. *L.S. ‘George R.’, dated St. James, le 1er Octobre, 1715, to Madame de Kameke, congratulating her on the birth of a son. 1971Sotheby & Co. Catal. Bks., Autogr. Lett., Hist. Documents 20 July 104 (heading) Tennyson:..L.s. (text in his wife's hand), acknowledging a gift of Misunderstood.
1953K. Reisz Technique Film Editing iii. 71 Shooting up subway steps. The blind man stands helpless at the top... *L.S. Blind man. A small boy is helping him. 1960C. Morris in D. Wilson Television Playwright 447 L.S. of a drive in summer along which, walking towards the Camera, are a woman..and a boy.
1896B. Webb Diary 16 Sept. in J. Dunbar Mrs. G. B. S. (1963) ix. 116 We, knowing she was wealthy, and hearing she was socialistic, interested her in the *LS of E. She subscribed {pstlg}1,000 to the Library. 1942Partridge Dict. Abbrev. 58/2 L.S.E., London School of Economics. 1969G. S. Jones in Cockburn & Blackburn Student Power 45 Then, in 1967, mass demonstrations against the raising of overseas student fees and the explosion at the LSE suddenly signalled the beginnings of change. 1973G. Sims Hunters Point xv. 136, I..did a course of Political Science at the L.S.E.
1966,1967*LSI [see large-scale adj. (large a. 15 a)]. 1968New Scientist 7 Mar. 521/2 The very high circuit density possible with LSI means that the time-delays inevitable in the cabled interconnections of present day computers will be greatly reduced. 1971Illustr. Weekly India 18 Apr. 19/1 In 1958, integrated circuits were invented. Since then they have been joined by LSI—large scale integration.
1943F. D. Roosevelt Let. 6 Nov. in W. S. Churchill Second World War (1952) V. xiv. 222 The Combined Chiefs of Staff to-day authorised Eisenhower to retain until December 15 sixty-eight *L.S.T.s now scheduled for an early departure for the United Kingdom. 1946T. Blore Commissioned Bargees ii. 21 And by the time victory arrived there had grown..a great fleet of weird craft, some of American origin, ranging from those quaint sea monsters, the L.S.T., or Landing Ship-Tank, to the Landing Barge. 1973Philadelphia Inquirer 7 Oct. 17/4 The Defense Department..provides..elderly LST's.
1961Recent Progress Hormone Res. XVII. 119 The demonstration that a luteotropic hormone (*LTH) causes the maintenance of corpora lutea in rats..established the concept that the pituitary glands of all mammalian females secrete a luteotropic substance. Ibid., The term ‘LTH’ will be used in this review (for animals other than rats) with the understanding that it could be an as yet unidentifiable substance, or that it could be LH. 1965Lee & Knowles Animal Hormones ii. 20 After ovulation blood levels of LH increase which induce the development of a corpus luteum, but it may be that this will only secrete progesterone if sufficient LTH reaches it.
1955Evening Standard 28 Oct. 15/3 (heading) Copy typist with some experience of statement work, required by City firm. Commencing salary..according to age & ability plus *L.V's. 1966New Statesman 4 Mar. 317/1 (Advt.), 32½-hour week (no Sats) LV's and superannuation scheme. 1974Times 2 Oct. 27/1 (Advt.), American law firm..seeks..secretary... Own office, IBM Golfball, excellent salary and L.V.s.
b. Alphabetic abbreviation of elevated, = Elevated Railroad. Also attrib. U.S. (Cf. El, el.)
1881[see elevated ppl. a. 1]. 1899J. L. Williams Stolen Story 23 He was making for the Seventy-second Street ‘L’ Station. Ibid. 189 He took the L train for Cortlandt Street. 1904Sun (N.Y.) 4 Sept. 7 The owners of express wagons are praying that the L strike will come off. 1929E. L. Rice Street Scene i. 5 The noises of the city rise, fall, intermingle: the distant roar of ‘L’ trains, automobile sirens and the whistles of boats on the river.
c. Chem. (i) l = lævorotatory.
[1891Jrnl. Chem. Soc. LX. 1175 Arabinose can be converted into l.-glucose, whilst xylose, under the same conditions, yields l.-gulose.] 1894Ibid. LXVI. i. 487 The cultures have no action on l-mannose, l-gulose, l-arabinose,..or a-glucooctose. 1926J. Read Text-bk. Org. Chem. xvii. 353 Most of the essential oils of plants are also optically active, owing to the presence of such constituents as d- and l-pinene, l-menthone, l-menthol, d-camphor. 1939Jrnl. Amer. Chem. Soc. LXI. 3201/1 l-Propylenediamine was prepared by resolving commercial propylenediamine with tartaric acid. 1971J. D. Roberts et al. Org. Chem. xiv. 392 The sign of rotation of an enantiomer, (+) or d, (-) or l, reveals neither the molecule's absolute configuration nor its configuration relative to some other compound. 1971L. S. Harris in D. H. Clouet Narcotic Drugs iii. 93 With pentazocine the l-isomer is 20 times more potent than the d-isomer.
† (ii) l was formerly used to denote configuration (now superseded by l: see (iii)). Obs.
1890Jrnl. Chem. Soc. LVIII. i. 466 In view of the fact that the rotation of derivatives of each isomeride is not always in the same direction..it is necessary to adopt some method of indicating the optical activity of the parent glucose, and the author [sc. E. Fischer] proposes to distinguish the derivatives of dextro- and lævo-rotatory, and of inactive mannose, irrespective of their own peculiar rotation, as derivatives of d.-, l.-, and i.-mannose respectively. Ibid. 469 The l.-levulose (that is, the dextro⁓rotatory modification) could not be isolated. 1906Jrnl. Amer. Chem. Soc. XXXVIII. 114 The chemical relationships are indicated by the letters d and l prefixed to the names of compounds. Thus, ordinary glucose and its corresponding fructose (levulose) are designated, respectively, d-glucose and d-fructose, notwithstanding the levo-rotation of the latter. 1937F. C. Whitmore Org. Chem. 481 When the cinchonine salts of racemic acid are crystallized, the l-tartrate separates first. 1947Jrnl. Biol. Chem. CLXVIII. 443 d-Alanine of previous experiments..is l-alanine according to the nomenclature used in the present paper.
(iii) As a small capital l: applied to (a compound having) a configuration about an asymmetric atom analogous to that of an arbitrarily chosen standard compound (now l-glyceraldehyde for organic compounds). When there is more than one asymmetric carbon atom: (a) for sugars, the l refers to the configuration about the asymmetric carbon atom most remote from the aldehyde group (in aldoses) or the ketone group (in ketoses); (b) for amino-acids, the l refers to the configuration about the carbon atom adjacent to the—COOH group.
When it is desired to indicate the direction of optical rotation in addition to configuration, a + or - (for dextro- and lævo-rotation respectively) are added in parentheses, as d(-).
1947Jrnl. Biol. Chem. CLXIX. 237 Distinction between the stereoisomers of the amino acids is made by a prefixed small capital letter d or l to denote the configurational family to which the a-carbon atom belongs. 1951I. L. Finar Org. Chem. I. xvii. 333 d(-) Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is more efficient than l(+)-. 1964Jrnl. Chem. Soc. 1370 The most stable isomer of the tris-(-)-trans-cyclohexane-1,2-diamineiridium (iii) cation will have the l-configuration. 1968R. F. Steiner Life Chem. ii. 26 Only amino acids of the l-configuration occur in natural proteins. 1970R. W. McGilvery Biochemistry xxviii. 699 Some l-amino acids cause a rotation of plane polarized light to the left, others to the right.
Add:[III.] [8.] [a.] LCL, less than container (formerly, car = goods truck) load; cf. FCL s.v. *F 3 a.
18822nd Ann. Rep. Railroad Commissioners Alabama App. C p. xxi, *LCL stands for Less than Car Load. 1968Jane's Freight Containers 1968–69 377/1 The company provides..a distribution service at the consignees' end for cargo which cannot fill a container (less than container loads/LCL's). 1984Materials Handling & Distrib. (Austral.) May–June Data Sheet No. 69, Charge made by ocean carrier for packing LCL cargo.
Add:[III.] [8.] [a.] L Physics, lambert.
1915Trans. Illuminating Engin. Soc. X. 648 (table) Photometric Units and Abbreviations... Brightness... Lambert. *L = dF/dS. 1929Recueil et Compt. Rend. Commission Internat. de l'Éclairage: Septième Session 254 Apparent total brightnesses of background from 1 mL to 400 mL. 1971S. Dresner Units of Measurement i. 62, 1 L = 1 / π cd/cm2 = 1 / π stilb... The use of this unit, although common in the US, is deprecated: the stilb should be used in its place.
Linguistics, language, esp. in L1, first language, L2 second language.
1959J. C. Catford in Quirk & Smith Teaching of English vi. 188 Conscious preverbalization in *L1, and translation into L2, may be entirely suppressed, but errors due to interference from L1 still keep breaking through. 1964M. A. K. Halliday et al. Linguistic Sci. iv. 78 This distinction, between an L1 and an L2, a native and a non-native or learnt language, is of course not clearcut. 1987ELT Jrnl. XLI. 63/1 Even L1 literacy is perceived as more of a problem than an asset.
L or l, large.
1942Partridge Dict. Abbrev. 55/1, l., large. 1987Damart Stately Homes Collection Autumn/Winter 8/1 Golf glove... Sizes S, M, L. Ibid. 30/3 Wraparound skirt... Size M 12–16, L 18–22.
litre(s).
1872S. P. Sanford Common School Arithmetic 372, 10 decilitres = 1 litre, *L. 1881E. M. Avery Elements of Chem. 316 The cubic centimeter (cu. cm.) is .0001 of a liter (l). 1957Amer. Jrnl. Med. XXIII. 567/2 His daily urinary output increased to 2 L. after dialysis. 1978BSI News Oct. 14/3 A number of countries (including the USA) have already decided to use ‘L’. 1991Lancet 5 Jan. 56/1 Platelet count below 50 000/µl.
LATS (also with pronunc. læts) Med., long-acting thyroid stimulator.
1961Jrnl. Clin. Endocrinol. XXI. 799 A thyroid-stimulating agent which differs from thyrotropin..is present in the serum of thyrotoxic patients... In the past, this agent has been called, variously, ‘an abnormal thyroid-stimulating hormone’..‘the thyroid activator’..and ‘the abnormal thyroid stimulator’... It is now called ‘long-acting thyroid stimulator’, abbreviated as *L.A.T.S. 1974J. D. Maynard in R. M. Kirk et al. Surgery xii. 248/1 It is generally accepted that the disease is the result of the presence of a humoral..substance known as long-acting thyroid stimulator (LATS). 1981R. N. Hardy Endocrine Physiol. viii. 102 LATS is one of a group of IgG immunoglobulins which affect the thyroid.
LAV Med., lymphadenopathy-associated virus (a former name for the virus now called HIV-3).
1983Jrnl. Amer. Med. Assoc. 26 Aug. 1010/1 Antibodies to *LAV proteins have been demonstrated in all six patients. 1985New Statesman 27 Sept. 14/1 HTLV-III, or ARV in the United States and LAV in France, is now known to have infected hundreds of thousands of people across the world, mostly within the last ten years. 1991Lancet 9 Mar. 568/2 The LAV strain of HIV-1 grown in CEM cells.
LBC, London Broadcasting Company.
1973Times 10 Dec. 4/8 An emergency resolution..calls for rigorous investigation..of the conduct of *LBC's board and management in running the station. 1983Listener 27 Jan. 15/1, I was asked recently by LBC to take part in a phone-in programme.
LDL Biochem., low-density lipoprotein.
1962Canad. Jrnl. Biochem. & Physiol. XL. 1300 The low-density lipoproteins (*LDL). 1978Detroit Free Press 2 Apr. (Parade Suppl.) 7/1 LDL seems to be involved in transporting cholesterol to—and depositing it in—tissues, including blood vessel walls. 1990Medical Observer (Sydney) 27 Apr. 2/2 (heading) Decaf coffee linked to higher LDL.
LDP, Liberal Democratic Party (in Japan).
1964Pacific Affairs XXXVII. 277 Rank and file *LDP Diet members. 1987S. H. Nolte Liberalism in Mod. Japan viii. 322 The Liberal Democratic party (Jiyū Minshutō, or LDP, formed when the Liberals merged with the Democrats in 1955). 1991N.Y. Rev. Bks. 25 Apr. 39/1 Ishihara Sintaro, LDP politician, novelist, hawk-about-town,..coined the famous phrase that Japan must say No-No to Big Brother USA.
Lf Med. [notionally f. limit of flocculation], that quantity of a specified toxin which flocculates most rapidly when mixed with one unit of antitoxin; freq. attrib. in Lf dose, Lf value.
1924Glenny & Okell in Jrnl. Path. & Bacteriol. XXVII. 189 We think it useful to employ the symbol *Lf for the amount of a toxin equivalent to 1 unit of a standard antitoxin as established by flocculation... The Lf value may therefore be added to the Lo, L+ and Lr values in defining the combining properties of individual toxins. 1949Jrnl. Hygiene XLVII. 107/1 The potency of toxins and toxoids, as measured by the Lf dose, may constitute some rough measure of antigenic efficiency. 1981Lancet 1 Aug. 219/2 Single doses (100 Lf or 250 Lf) of a potent tetanus toxoid were given to such individuals with naturally acquired antitoxin.
LGV Med., lymphogranuloma venereum.
1949New Gould Med. Dict. 564/1 *L.G.V. 1964King & Nicol Venereal Dis. xix. 193 (heading) Lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV). 1979D. Barlow Sexually Transmitted Dis. iii. 24 Only treatment for the recognized venereal diseases would be free, i.e. gonorrhoea, syphilis, chancroid, and LGV. 1991Traveller Spring 11/3 In tropical countries, more exotic diseases also occur, such as chancroid and LGV.
LIBOR, libor (pronunc. ˈlaɪbɔː(r)) Comm., London inter-bank offered rate, the basic rate of interest used in lending between banks on the London inter-bank market.
1974Times 5 Mar. (Europa Suppl.) p. ii/2 The loan will be for seven years... The rate will be fixed according to *LIBOR (London inter-banking offered rate). 1986Daily Tel. 2 Sept. 17 Both will pay eight basis points over their Libor rate. 1988Mortgage Mag. May 9/3 We intend to make the initial lower interest rate a continuing feature of the LIBOR linked mortgage.
LIFFE, Liffe (also with pronunc. laɪf), London International Financial Futures Exchange.
1982Times 30 Sept. 16 *LIFFE. 1983Times 10 June 19/6 The day's business brings Liffe's total volume since its inception to more than 750,000 contracts. 1996Financial Times 11 Jan. 32/2 On Liffe the March 10-year bund future reached 100.15 but slipped in the afternoon.
LJ (pl. LJJ), Lord Justice.
1866Law Rep. Chancery Appeal Cases (Council of Law Reporting) I. 45 (heading) *L.JJ. Ibid., Sir G. J. Turner, L.J. 1987Daily Tel. 30 Mar. 19/3 Slade LJ delivered a concurring judgment.
LL.B., Legum Baccalaureus, Bachelor of Laws (see B III. 1).
1796Cambr. Univ. Calendar 20 Trinity Hall... Members, *L.L.B. Ds. Allan [etc.]. 1888T. E. Kebbel Life Geo. Crabbe iii. 49 As a degree was necessary to enable him to hold his new preferment, he obtained an LL.B. at once from the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Moore. 1987Oxf. Univ. Pocket Diary 1987–1988 156 Oriental Institute... Secretary Miss J. M. Noon, MA status, LLB.
LL.D., Legum Doctor, Doctor of Laws (see D III. 3).
1763J. Bell Trav. from St. Petersburg I. Sig. a4v, T. Llewellin, *L.L.D. 1830F. Witts Diary 10 May (1978) 89 My neighbour at Adlestrop has proceeded to the degree of LLD as he tells us. 1987Who's Who, Denning, Baron... Hon LLD: Ottawa, 1955.
LL.M., Legum Magister, Master of Laws (see M III. 6 b (b)).
1874N. & Q. 21 Feb. 149/2 *LL.M. Degree.—I have just taken this comparatively new degree at Cambridge. 1986Cambr. Univ. Handbk. 1986–87 37 Except with the approval of the Vice-Chancellor, no degree other than those of B.A., LL.M., Mus.B., Vet. M.B., and B.Ed. may be conferred on a day of General Admission.
LME Stock Market, London Metal Exchange.
1957Metal Bull. 2 July 23/1 The behaviour of the market recently has left the R.S.T. fixed price above *L.M.E. quotations most of the time. 1986Times 28 May 24/2 The LME's members..did what they could to defend sanctity of contract.
LMG, light machine-gun.
1922H. Wilson Jrnl. 1 Mar. in M. Gilbert Winston S. Churchill (1977) IV. Compan. iii. 1792 Collins was very much alarmed at the theft..of 300 rifles, much ammn & *LMGs by Valera's from the RIC. 1964T. White tr. P. Leulliette's St. Michael 164 It was..hopeless to try to give covering fire with L.M.G.s or ordinary machine-guns aimed at the entries to the caves. 1990C. Allen Svage Wars of Peace (1991) 60 Each troop also had its Bren light machine gun. ‘The youngest member of the troop will always be lumbered with the LMG,’ remembers Lillico.
LMH, Lady Margaret Hall (Oxford).
1890Daisy 8 Feb. 2/2 A meeting of the *L.M.H. Guild was held on Jan. 23rd. 1986A. Lejeune Strange & Private War ii. 25 Diana's voice..spoke of Benenden and LMH.
LMS, local management of schools (in the U.K.) (the Education Reform Act of 1988 largely devolved responsibility for financial and other aspects of school management from local education authorities to individual state schools).
1988Q. Thompson et al. Local Managem. of Schools (Coopers & Lybrand Rep.) 5/1 The changes require a new culture and philosophy of the organization of education at the school level. They are more than purely financial; they need a general shift in management. We use the term ‘Local Management of Schools’ (*LMS). 1990Independent 24 May 17 Changes have included GCSE, profiling..and now local management of schools (LMS).
LMT, local mean time.
1909Webster, *L.M.T. 1951Gloss. Aeronaut. Terms (B.S.I.) iii. 9 Local mean time abbr. L.M.T. 1982Giant Bk. Electronics Projects xi. 494 All one needs to know is one's approximate longitude..and the local mean time (LMT).
LO Electronics = local oscillator s.v. local a. 4 b; freq. attrib.
1946Radar: Summary Rep. & Harp Project (U.S. Nat. Defense Res. Comm., Div. 14) 142/1 *LO, Local oscillator... The LO signal is mixed with the echo to give a ‘beat’ at intermediate frequency. 1982Giant Bk. Electronics Projects v. 182 To stop this LO feedthrough, the converter output is filtered.
LP, low pressure.
1899A. F. Ravenshear Man. Locomotive Engin. iii. 67 (caption) *L.P. cylinder 26{pp} × 24{pp}. 1975Petroleum Rev. XXIX. 359/2 One tank contained 300 tons of material and the other 775 tons, and both were fitted with LP steam coils.
lpm, LPM Computing, lines per minute.
1966C. J. Sippl Computer Dict. & Handbk. 106/2 *LPM. 1979Personal Computerworld July 4 (Advt.), New low-cost printer..112 cps-84lpm bi-directional. 1984Australian 6 Nov. 25/1 (Advt.), C. Itoh's new..printer is a high speed performer, prints out with a throughput of 100 LPM.
LPN N. Amer., licensed practical nurse.
1948Amer. Jrnl. Nursing May 316/3 South Carolina... The title of Practical Nurse and the letters L.P.N. are protected by the law. 1958Hospitals (Chicago) 16 Aug. 52 (table) LPN. 1976Islander (Victoria, B.C.) 13 June 2/2 I'm sure she's a nurse's aide, or more properly, an L.P.N.—Licenced practical nurse. 1986Cambridge (Mass.) Chron. 6 Mar. 9a/4 (Advt.), Addiction Treatment Center of New England..seeks LPN to facilitate groups, counsel individual clients and dispense Methadone.
LPO, London Philharmonic Orchestra.
1932Gramophone Dec. 268/2 The *L.P.O. sounds heaviest. 1958Spectator 6 June 732/3 The string tone of the LPO. 1988Financial Times 20 Jan. 21/8 To keep the festival spirit going orchestras, like the LPO, have been prepared to change their schedule to play works like Mahler's 9th Symphony.
LPTB (obs. exc. hist.), London Passenger Transport board .
1933Times 3 July 11/1 The new letters indicating the change of control, ‘*L.P.T.B.’, will not begin to appear until next week. 1959Britain: Official Handbk. (H.M.S.O.) 357 In that year [sc. 1933] these were all vested in a single public corporation, the London Passenger Transport Board. In 1948, with the establishment of the British Transport Commission, the London Transport Executive took over control. 1983Buses Extra No. 26. 7/3 The fleet of motorbuses never in fact increased in size very much beyond that originally acquired by the LPTB in 1933.
LSO, London Symphony Orchestra.
1920Musical Times 1 Dec. 820/2 At this first L.S.O. concert M. Cortôt played Rachmaninov's fourth Pianoforte Concerto. 1973Times 27 July 15/4 Mr Previn drew the right pliable phrasing from the LSO.
LTA, Lawn Tennis Association.
1896Lawn Tennis 17 June 4/2 Another change is the abolition of the entrance fee for all members of the A.E.L.T.C. and players nominated in writing by a club belonging to the *L.T.A. or an affiliated association. 1988Today 4 Feb. 39/4 The semi-finals of the LTA men's indoor event.
LU, lu Austral., (of a building) lock-up.
1969Sydney Morning Herald 24 May 37/2 (Advt.), Kitchen, laundry and a *L.U. Garage. 1986Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 9 Aug. 55/3 (Advt.), New Markets.., 120 stalls, l.u. premises.
LWR, light-water reactor.
1974Times 7 Oct. 13/7 Far from reflecting on the safety of *LWRs..I submit that the facts demonstrate the stringent safety controls built into the United States programme. 1991Nuclear Energy June 165/1 Light Water Reactor (LWR) fuel rod irradiations are conducted using irradiation capsules specially designed to simulate Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) and Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) operational conditions.
LZ, landing zone.
1956W. A. Heflin U.S. Air Force Dict. 310/2 *LZ,..landing zone. 1969I. Kemp Brit. G.I. in Vietnam ii. 29 The L.Z.s (landing zones) where we were to drop were clear. 1987D. A. Dye Platoon ii. 13 Second Lieutenant Wolfe had mentioned that when Chris and Gardner had met him at an LZ hacked out of the bush.
▸ LGB adj. and n. (also with lower-case initials) lesbian, gay, and bisexual; also (occas.) as n.; cf. GLB adj. at G n. Additions.
1990Re: Is Camp Misogynist? in soc.motss (Usenet newsgroup) 23 Sept. But for men to act (as opposed to being by their nature) effeminate is to court heavy disapproval from some *LGB quarters. 1999Gay Times May 135/1 (advt.) London Clubs... Men only cruise bar... Palace Pinks group for lgb based in Crystal Palace. 2003Observer 19 Oct. (Rev. section) 1/5 The study confirmed other findings that young LGB people are three to seven times more likely to think about suicide or to attempt it.
▸ LGBT adj. and n. (also with lower-case initials) lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered; also (occas.) as n.; cf. GLBT adj. at G n. Additions.
1992GayNet Digest Volume 5 Issue 617 in bit.listserv.gaynet (Usenet newsgroup) 11 Aug. In this issue:..1993 National *LGBT Studies Conference. 1997Advocate 14 Oct. It sometimes seems that the university world is more open in theory to LGBT studies than in actuality to LGBT persons, scholarly or otherwise. 2005Cape Etc. (Cape Town) Feb.–Mar. 85/1 Triangle Project's Gay and Lesbian Helpline is a telephone counselling service for LGBTs (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered) seeking assistance or information.
▸ LSB n. Telecomm. lower sideband, the sideband below the carrier frequency of a signal.
1971IEEE Trans. Computing Technol. 19 9/1 The received signal is filtered into its USB, carrier, and *LSB components. 1976R. L. Perkowski & L. P. Stral Joy of CB vii. 70 It is..possible for two SSB transmissions to occur simultaneously on a single CB channel. One can take place on the upper sideband (USB) above the carrier frequency, and another on the lower (LSB) sideband. 1999IEEE Microwave & Guided Wave Lett. 9 317/1 Optical up-conversion loss of 2.7 and 1.4 dB is measured for the LSB and USB.
▸ LTP n. Physiol. = long-term potentiation n. at long-term adj. Additions.
1978Brain Res. 150413 Hippocampal long-term potentiation (*LTP) represents a unique form of synaptic plasticity. 1984European Jrnl. Pharmacol. 98 385/2 The present experiments provide evidence that both PCP and cyclazocine..block LTP. 2001Science 2 Nov. 984/2 In LTP, hyperstimulation makes synapses..more responsive to future stimulation.
▸ LTTE n. = Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam n. at liberation n. Additions.
1984India Today 31 Mar. 53/3 Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (*LTTE) better known as Tamil Tigers. This, the oldest, largest and militarily the most organized group, is led by 29-year-old Velupillai Prabhakaran. 2002New Internationalist May 8/2 This act of de-legitimization and the events flowing from 11th September have induced the LTTE to bend with the wind. |