Word origins

• leptocephalusThe flat, transparent larva of an eel, originally thought to be a distinct species.
• leptolithicUpper Paleolithic.
• leptomaA thin-walled area on a pollen grain
• letheticFailing to mirror reality, purely escapist or nonsensical.
• leucisticAffected by leucism.
• leucoOf or relating to leuco dyes and their related compounds.
• leuco-Latinized Alternative spelling of leuko- (“white; colourless; leucocyte”).
• leuconychiaWhite discoloration of the nails.
• leucophoreAny chromatophore that shows white in reflected light.
• leuko-white
• leukorrheaThick, whitish vaginal discharge.
• lexico-words; speech.
• lexicologistan expert at lexicology
• libanomancyDivination by interpreting the smoke or ash of incense.
• lidodermA transdermal patch of lidocaine, used to help reduce pain or itching.
• lilapsophobiaFear of tornadoes and hurricanes.
• -limnionA part of a stratified lake.
• limno-lake, pond
• limnodophyteHelophyte
• limoniadA meadow nymph.
• limosisA ravenous appetite caused by disease; morbid excessive hunger.
• linothoraxA kind of upper body armor made of linen used in the ancient Mediterranean world, from the sixth century BCE through at least the second century CE.
• lipo-lipids: oils, cholesterols, fat/lard, tallow, and so on.
• lipochrinA yellow pigment found in the small round fat drops in the retinal epithelium cells. Its composition is unknown.
• lipogramA word or writing that does not use a particular symbol or symbols.
• lipogrammaticOf the nature of a lipogram, i.e. omitting a letter; composed of words not having a certain letter or letters.
• lipothymicTending to swoon; fainting.
• lissosphincterThe part of a sphincter composed of smooth muscle
• lissotrichousStraight-haired or smooth-haired; belonging to the lissotrichi.
• -liteUsed to form the names of rocks and minerals.
• lith-stone
• lithectasyThe extraction of calculi through the mechanically dilated urethra.
• litholabeA forceps-like instrument for grasping a calculus and holding it while it is crushed.
• lithopedionA calcium-encased foetus that occurs in ectopic abdominal pregnancies when the foetus dies and is not reabsorbed by the maternal body, whereby the maternal system encases the foreign body (foetus) in calcium to isolate it.
• lithophysaA spherical or lenticular felsic volcanic rock with a spherulitic structure and interior cavity with concentric chambers.
• LithosianAny of various moths once grouped in the former family Lithosiidae, now mostly classified in the subfamily Arctiinae of family Erebidae.
• lithotecnonThe true form of a lithopedion, in which the fetus itself is calcified.
• lithotomeAn instrument used for cutting the bladder to remove a calculus; a cystotome.
• litopternAn extinct hoofed mammal of the order †Litopterna, from the Cenozoic period.
• lochageThe head of a lochos in Ancient Greece; an officer or commander.
• -logiaForms names of speech disorders.
• logionA traditional saying of a religious leader.
• logodaedalyCleverness or skill in the coining of new words.
• logogriphA kind of puzzle where a series of verses give clues leading to a particular word.
• logopedicsThe study, and correction, of speech and language defects, disorders in communication and swallowing disorders.
• logopoeiaOne of Ezra Pound's three kinds of poetry, consisting of the use of words for more than their denotation, taking advantage of the context associated with a word.
• logorrheaExcessive talkativeness.
• loidoriaAbusive speech, railing, reviling; a figure of speech characterized by verbal abuse or invective directed at a person.
• loimicOf or pertaining to the plague or contagious disorders.
• loimologySynonym of epidemiology (“the study of infectious diseases”).
• lophineA nitrogenous organic base obtained by the oxidation of amarine, and regarded as a derivative of benzoic aldehyde.
• lophobranchAny member of the obsolete order Lophobranchii of fishes, now roughly corresponding to order Syngnathiformes.
• lopolitha mass of volcanic or igneous rock found within strata which has spilled downward into underlaying strata and forms depressed regions.
• loranthaceousOf or relating to the family Loranthaceae of showy mistletoes.
• LotophagiThe lotus eaters; a people visited by Ulysses who subsisted on the lotus.
• loxodromeA line on a surface (such as the Earth) that cuts all meridians at a constant angle (but not a right angle) – on Earth, the path followed by a ship or aircraft that maintains a constant course by the compass.
• LuwianA member of an ancient Anatolian people related to the Hittites.
• lychnobiteA person who works or labors at night and sleeps during the day.
• lychnomancyA form of divination using a lamp or a candle flame
• lychnoscopeA low side window in a church.
• lyco-wolf
• lygophiliaThe love of darkness.
• lymphangionThe functional unit of a lymph vessel, lying between two semilunar valves.
• lyo-solvent, dissolving, dispersion; freeze-drying
• lyophilicHaving an affinity for the dispersion medium and thus not easily precipitated.
• lyophilizeSynonym of freeze-dry.
• lyophobicHaving no affinity for the dispersion medium and thus easily precipitated.
• lyotropicdescribing a liquid crystal that exhibits phase transitions as a function of concentration
• lysinany substance or antibody that can cause the destruction (by lysis) of blood cells, bacteria etc
• -lysisdecomposition or breakdown
• LysitheaA mistress of Zeus.
• lyterianOf or pertaining to lysis
• lyttaA fibrous muscular band lying within the longitudinal axis of the tongue in many mammals, such as the dog.
• macarena wingA flow-turning device. A drag-reduction device that rotates a drag-inducing downforce-producing wing element into a flipped upside-down position where it does not interfere with airflow.
• MachaonA healer and a son of Asclepius and Epione.
• macharomancyDivination by interpreting swords, daggers and knives. This was popular in Scotland where on July 31st it was performed to predict the deaths and marriages of the following year.
• macro-large
• macrocephalicHaving an abnormally large or elongated head.
• macrocormicHaving a long torso in relation to the length of the lower limbs.
• macrodactylicHaving long toes; macrodactylous.
• macromastiaAbnormal enlargement of the breast.
• macromasticUnusually large.
• MacronesiaThe island of Australia and nearby islands, variously including New Guinea and New Zealand.
• macrophanerophyteAny phanerophyte between 30 and 50 metres in height
• macrotrichiumAn innervated hair on the integument or wing membrane of an insect.
• madaroticOf or pertaining to the loss of eyebrows or eyelashes.
• MaeoniaLydia (a historical region in western Anatolia, modern Turkey).
• magdaleonA medical item in the form of a roll, especially a roll of plaster.
• magiristSynonym of chef: A skilful or learned cook.
• magirologyThe art of cooking.
• magnet-magnet, magnetic, magnetism
• maieuticOf or related to the Socratic method.
• maieuticsSynonym of Socratic method.
• makhairaA type of sword with a backwards curve, originating in Ancient Greece
• malaco-Forms terms relating to molluscs.
• malacolitediopside
• malacosteonMorbid softness of the bones; osteomalacia.
• malacostracologycarcinology, the study of crustaceans
• malakoplakiaInflammation of the mucous membrane of a hollow organ (as the urinary bladder) characterized by the formation of soft granulomatous lesions.
• mano-rare, sparse, thin