Word origins

• LaRouchismThe idiosyncratic political ideology of Lyndon LaRouche and the political movement founded by him.
• larpurlartismAn artistic movement associated with the slogan "art for art's sake".
• LarrowA surname from French.
• larveA larva.
• LaScieA town in Newfoundland, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
• LatulippeA surname from French.
• La Vallée-de-la-GatineauA regional county municipality of Outaouais, Quebec, Canada.
• LavallieA surname from French.
• LeazerA surname from French.
• Le CenterA city, the county seat of Le Sueur County, Minnesota, United States.
• legendairelegendary in act or function.
• leguaanAn iguana.
• lemon soleA European flatfish of the species Microstomus kitt (not a true sole).
• lemoyniteA monoclinic-prismatic mineral containing calcium, hydrogen, iron, niobium, oxygen, potassium, silicon, sodium, and zirconium.
• lepidomelaneA black iron-potash mica, usually found in granitic rocks in small six-sided tables, or as an aggregation of minute opaque scales.
• leptoteneThe first part of the prophase of meiosis, characterized by threadlike chromosomes
• leptyniticRefers to a fine-grained, typically light-colored metamorphic rock primarily composed of quartz and feldspar, often associated with high-grade metamorphic processes.
• Les Collines-de-l'OutaouaisA regional county municipality of Outaouais, Quebec, Canada.
• leseneA low-relief, vertical pillar or pilaster in a wall, usually without a base or capital; used in architecture to divide a facade or other wall surface visually.
• le sighA sigh of longing or disappointment.
• Les PréauxA commune in Eure department, Normandy, France.
• Lesser Slave LakeA lake in Alberta, Canada; one of the largest lakes in Alberta.
• lessesanimal dung
• let George do itLet someone else incur the cost of achieving the shared benefit.
• lettre de cachetA warrant issued by the monarch in ancien régime France, especially one which imprisons someone without trial.
• lierne ribIn Gothic vaulting, any rib which does not spring from the impost and is not a ridge rib, but passes from one boss or intersection of the principal ribs to another.
• lignelAny of the lines along the edge of a voxel, connecting its corners or pointels.
• limaçonA plane curve with polar equation ρ=a+b, sin ,θ or ρ=a+b, cos ,θ, of which the cardioid is a special case.
• limpidityThe property of being limpid.
• lingelA shoemaker's thread rubbed with beeswax.
• LisonA surname.
• lit de justiceA special parliamentary session headed by the king in pre-Revolutionary France, where royal edicts could be forcibly registered.
• -logyA branch of learning; a study of a particular subject.
• longieA Manx cat with a relatively long tail.
• looshA term in contemporary metaphysics indicating psychic energy generated by living beings, including by way of trauma, upon which other entities feed or acquire strength.
• LorangA surname from French.
• L'OrignalA village in Champlain township, the county seat of United Counties of Prescott and Russell, Ontario, Canada.
• Louis-QuatorzeCharacteristic of the reign of Louis XIV (1643-1715) in architecture and decoration.
• Louis-SeizeCharacteristic of the reign of Louis XVI (1774-92) in architecture and decoration.
• lowablePermissible or commendable .
• loxodromicPertaining to motion at a constant angle to the meridians; on a set compass bearing.
• lozengyDivided into or composed of rhombuses (lozenges).
• lucernA lamp.
• LuquetteA surname from French.
• lustringA glossy silk fabric; lutestring.
• lutestringA plain, stout, lustrous silk, used for ladies' dresses and for ribbon.
• LyoneseOf or relating to Lyon.
• lyophilea lyophilic substance
• lyophobeA lyophobic substance.
• machicoulisA machicolation.
• maderizeTo oxidize.
• madreporeA coral of the genus Madrepora or of the order Madreporaria.
• magnaneryA silkworm farm.
• Mahone BayA bay in Lunenburg county, south shore of Nova Scotia peninsula, Nova Scotia, Canada, on the Atlantic Ocean.
• MahoranOf, from, or pertaining to Mayotte or its people or language.
• maillechortNickel silver.
• main droiteIn musical notation, an instruction for the pianist to use the right hand.
• maître d'A headwaiter.
• Malad CityA small city, the county seat of Oneida County, Idaho, United States.
• maladie du paysHomesickness.
• malandersA crusty rash in the bend of the knee of the foreleg of a horse.
• malapropismThe blundering use of an absurdly inappropriate word or expression in place of a similar-sounding one.
• malaproposout of place; inappropriate
• maldevelopmentThe state of an organism or an organisation that did not develop in the "normal" way (used in medicine, e.g. "brain maldevelopment of a fetus").
• Malheur CountyOne of 36 counties in Oregon, United States. County seat: Vale.
• mallemarokingThe act of carousing on icebound Greenland whaling ships.
• malletierA manufacturer of trunks (containers).
• malversationCorrupt behaviour, illegitimate activity, especially by someone in authority.
• malveuilleTo disrespect. To wish ill on someone.
• MamereA surname from French.
• MandardA surname from French.
• mandarinateThe status of holding a position as a mandarin.
• mandoreAn early form of lute that gave rise to the mandolin.
• mandrinA metal wire or stylet inserted into a flexible catheter to give it shape and firmness while passing through a hollow tubular structure.
• mangueThe cusimanse, a genus of mongoose, Crossarchus.
• maniferA large gauntlet worn over the bridle hand during jousting tournaments.
• manilleThe second-highest trump in certain card games.
• manutentionMaintenance, upkeep of a person, place or thing.
• maraboutA Muslim holy man or mystic, especially in parts of North Africa.
• margaricPertaining to pearl or pearls (rare except in the designation of margaric acid)
• Maries CountyOne of 114 counties in Missouri, United States. County seat: Vienna.
• marietA kind of bellflower, Campanula trachelium.
• marivaudageA writing style characterized by an affectation of refinement, originating from the writing of the French novelist Pierre de Marivaux.
• marmitonA chef's assistant; kitchen boy.
• MaroticPertaining to French poet Clément Marot, or characteristic of his light, graceful style.
• marquisetteA sheer cotton fabric used for mosquito nets and curtains
• mashieA metal-headed golf club with a moderate loft, the equivalent of a five iron in a modern set of clubs.
• massasaugaThe rattlesnake Sistrurus catenatus (formerly Crotalinus catenatus) in the family Viperidae, found in three subspecies.
• massecuiteA suspension of sugar crystals in a mother liquor, after boiling of syrup; produced in a sugar factory.
• matelasséA heavy fabric, composed of two layers of cloth, used to form a quilted surface.
• MatottA surname from French.
• mattamoreAn underground storage place for grain.
• mattoirA kind of coarse punch with a rasp-like face, used for making a rough surface on etching ground, or on the naked copper, the effect after biting being very similar to stippled lines.
• MauriceauA French surname.
• mauvaise honteShyness, especially when affected; false modesty.
• mayoryThe mayor's office.
• mazarinadeA scurrilous anti-governmental pamphlet published in mid-seventeenth-century France.
• m.d.Medicinae Doctor (Latin): Doctor of Medicine.
• mediatizeTo make (a state or leader under the Holy Roman Empire) into a mediate vassal rather than an immediate one, directly under the emperor; (by extension) to annex while preserving certain rights and titles.
• medicasterA quack doctor; someone who pretends to have medical knowledge.