12-letter words starting with l
- landlordless — Without a landlord.
- landlubberly — Like a landlubber.
- landscapists — Plural form of landscapist.
- lane closure — the closing of a lane on a motorway
- langoustines — Plural form of langoustine.
- languageless — without language or a language
- langue d'oil — the Romance language of medieval northern France: developed into modern French.
- languishment — the act or state of languishing.
- languorously — characterized by languor; languid.
- lansker line — (in Pembrokeshire) the linguistic and ethnic division between the Welsh-speaking north and the English-speaking south
- lantern fish — any of several small, deep-sea fishes of the family Myctophidae, having rows of luminous organs along each side, certain species of which migrate to the surface at night.
- lantern gear — a gear mechanism including a lantern wheel.
- lantern ring — gland2 (def 1).
- lantern tree — a Chilean tree (Crinodendron hookerianum) of a family (Elaeocarpaceae, order Malvales) of tropical dicotyledonous trees and shrubs having leathery, elliptical leaves and hanging, red flowers, sometimes grown in the far S U.S. as an ornamental
- lap dissolve — dissolve (def 17).
- laparoscopes — Plural form of laparoscope.
- laparoscopic — a flexible fiberoptic instrument, passed through a small incision in the abdominal wall and equipped with biopsy forceps, an obturator, scissors or the like, with which to examine the abdominal cavity or perform minor surgery.
- laparotomies — Plural form of laparotomy.
- laparotomize — to perform a laparotomy on.
- lapidescence — a lapidescent quality or condition
- lapidicolous — living under stones
- lapis lazuli — a deep-blue mineral composed mainly of lazurite with smaller quantities of other minerals, used mainly as a gem or as a pigment.
- lapped joint — a joint made by placing one member over another and fastening them together
- lappeenranta — a city in SE Finland.
- larch sawfly — a red and black sawfly, Pristiphora erichsonii, the larvae of which infest and feed on the leaves of larch.
- large-format — of or relating to a camera with an image area of 5 inches by 4 inches or more
- large-handed — generous; profuse
- large-minded — having tolerant views or liberal ideas; broad-minded.
- largehearted — having or showing generosity; charitable; understanding.
- lark bunting — a finch, Calamospiza melanocorys, of the western U.S., the male of which is black with a large, white patch on each wing.
- lark sparrow — a North American sparrow, Chondestes grammacus, having a distinctive brown-and-white facial pattern.
- larval stage — Describes a period of monomaniacal concentration on coding apparently passed through by all fledgling hackers. Common symptoms include the perpetration of more than one 36-hour hacking run in a given week; neglect of all other activities including usual basics like food, sleep, and personal hygiene; and a chronic case of advanced bleary-eye. Can last from 6 months to 2 years, the apparent median being around 18 months. A few so afflicted never resume a more "normal" life, but the ordeal seems to be necessary to produce really wizardly (as opposed to merely competent) programmers. See also wannabee. A less protracted and intense version of larval stage (typically lasting about a month) may recur when one is learning a new OS or programming language.
- laryngealize — to pronounce with accompanying constriction of the larynx.
- laryngectomy — excision of part or all of the larynx.
- laryngophone — A type of contact microphone that absorbs vibrations directly from the wearer's throat.
- laryngophony — the sound of the voice as heard through a stethoscope placed on the throat directly over the larynx
- laryngoscope — a rigid or flexible endoscope passed through the mouth and equipped with a source of light and magnification, for examining and performing local diagnostic and surgical procedures on the larynx.
- laryngoscopy — an examination by means of a laryngoscope.
- laryngospasm — An uncontrolled, spasmodic closure of the larynx.
- lascaux cave — a cave in Lascaux, France, discovered in 1940 and containing exceptionally fine Paleolithic wall paintings and engravings thought to date to Magdalenian times (c13,000–8500 b.c.).
- lasciviously — inclined to lustfulness; wanton; lewd: a lascivious, girl-chasing old man.
- laser tuning — a technique for adjusting a laser's output frequency to within a specific range, especially in semiconductors.
- laser weapon — weapons which make use of lasers or lasers used as weapons
- laser-guided — (of a missile, etc) guided with the use of a laser beam
- last but one — next to last
- last honours — observances of respect at a funeral
- last quarter — the instant, approximately one week after a full moon, when half of the moon's disk is illuminated by the sun.
- latch needle — a part of a knitting machine consisting of a thin shaft with a hook on one end and a pivoting latch that closes over the hook so that yarn can be drawn through the developing knitting to make a stitch.
- latchkey kid — variant form of latchkey child
- latchstrings — Plural form of latchstring.