lametta

[Cf. Ital. lametta, dim. of lama thin plate.] Thin bra , gold, or silver foil, or wire. lā-mi-a, s . [Lat., from Gr. Lamia a fabulous monster said to feed on man's flesh.] 1. Greek and Roman Mythology : An evil spirit, having the semblance of a serpent, with the head, or at least the mouth, of a beautiful woman, whose whole figure the lamia was supposed to a ume, for the purpose of securing the love of some man, whom, it was feigned, it tore to pieces and devoured. The most circumstantial account that has come down to us is to be found in Phi lost ratus ( de Vita Apol ., lib. iv.), where Lycius is said to have fallen in love with one of these spirits, but was delivered by his master A poll on i us, who, "by some probable conjectures, found her out to be a serpent, a lamia." ( Burton : Anat . of Melan . (1881), p. 495.) Keats' Lamia is an amplification of this story. (Cf. Horace, A. P., 340.) Later the word was used to signify a witch, an enchantre . [INCUBUS, LILITH.] The word lilith occurs only once in the Hebrew Scriptures. In the A. V. (Isa. xxxiv. 14) it is trans lated "screech-owl," with "night monster" as a marginal reading. The Vulgate has lamia , and lamia or lamya is found in the Great Bible, and in Cover dale's, Matthew's, Becke's, and the Bishops' Bible. 2. Entom .: The typical genus of the sub-family Lamine (q. v.). The species chiefly inhabit wooded countries within the tropics, especially South America. lā-mi-ā-çě-a, s. pl. [Lat. lam i (um); fem. pl. adj. suff. -aceӕ.] Bot .: [LABIATE.] lā-mi-dæ, s. pl. [Lat. lam(ium); fem. pl. adj. suff. -idœ.] Bot.: A family of Labiatæ, tribe Stacheæ.