L • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of L

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noun

L n.

L is the twelfth letter of the English alphabet, and a vocal consonant. It is usually called a semivowel or liquid. Its form and value are from the Greek, through the Latin, the form of the Greek letter being from the Phoenician, and the ultimate origin prob. Egyptian. Etymologically, it is most closely related to r and u; as in pilgrim, peregrine, couch (fr. collocare), aubura (fr. LL. alburnus). Note: At the end of monosyllables containing a single vowel, it is often doubled, as in fall, full, bell; but not after digraphs, as in foul, fool, prowl, growl, foal. In English words, the terminating syllable le is unaccented, the e is silent, and l is preceded by a voice glide, as in able, eagle.

As a numeral, L stands for fifty in the English, as in the Latin language.

L n.

An extension at right angles to the length of a main building, giving to the ground plan a form resembling the letter L; sometimes less properly applied to a narrower, or lower, extension in the direction of the length of the main building; a wing. (Written also ell)

(Mech.) A short right-angled pipe fitting, used in connecting two pipes at right angles. (Written also ell)

L n. An elevated road; as, to ride on the L. (Colloq., U. S.)

adjective

L adj.

Having the general shape of the (capital) letter L; as, an L beam, or L-beam.

Elevated; a symbol for el. as an abbreviation of elevated in elevated road or railroad.

See images of 'L'

Etymology of 'L'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"L" Quotes from Famous Books

... there survives in a corner the address of the sender. I pull the letter out gently—"My dear mother"—Ah, I remember! Biquet, now lying in the open air in the very trench where we are halted, wrote that letter not long ago in our quarters at Gauchin-l'Abbe, one flaming and splendid afternoon, in reply to a letter from his mother, whose fears for him had proved groundless and made him laugh—"You think I'm in the cold and rain and danger. Not at all; on the contrary, all that's finished. It's hot, we're sweating, and we've nothing ...

— Under Fire - The Story of a Squad • Henri Barbusse

... was now formed in the following order, commencing on the extreme right: 5th Infantry, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel M'Intosh; Major Ringgold's Artillery; 3d Infantry, commanded by Captain L. N. Morris; two eighteen-pounders, commanded by Lieutenant Churchill, 3d Artillery; 4th Infantry, commanded by Major G. W. Allen; the 3d and 4th regiments composed the Third Brigade, under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Garland; and ...

— The Medallic History of the United States of America 1776-1876 • J. F. Loubat

... not long after that Peace of Oliva, getting tired of his unruly Polish chivalry and their ways, abdicated, retired to Paris, and "lived much with Ninon de l'Enclos and her circle" for the rest of his life. He used to complain of his Polish chivalry that there was no solidity in them, nothing but outside glitter, with tumult and anarchic noise; fatal want of one essential talent, the ...

— The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 12 • Editor-In-Chief Rossiter Johnson

... In teaching to read Such a harum-scarum, was work indeed! And I'm forced to tell That her way to spell Her name was with only a single 'l.' ...

— On the Tree Top • Clara Doty Bates

... bien un frre Paris, moi aussi, un brave homme de prtre, que tu pourrais aller voir.... Mais, bah! moiti fou comme tu l'es, tu n'aurais qu' oublier son adresse....—Et, sans en dire davantage, il se mit descendre l'escalier grands pas. Sa soutane flottait derrire lui; de la main droite il tenait sa calotte, et, sous le bras gauche, il portait un ...

— Le Petit Chose (part 1) - Histoire d'un Enfant • Alphonse Daudet

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